The Knight who invented Champagne

Stephen Skelton has been involved with growing vines and making wine since 1975. He spent two years in Germany, working at Schloss Schoenborn in the Rheingau and studying at Geisenheim, the world-renowned college of winegrowing and wine-making, under the late Professor Helmut Becker. In 1977 he returned to Britain to establish the vineyards at Tenterden in Kent (now home to Britain's largest wine producer, Chapel Down Wines), and made wine there for 22 consecutive vintages. From 1988 to 1991 he was also winemaker and general manager at Lamberhurst Vineyards, at that time the largest winery in the country. During his time as a winemaker he won the Gore-Browne Trophy in 1981, 1990 and 1991. Stephen now works as a consultant to vineyards and wineries in the UK, setting up new vineyards for the production of both still and sparkling wine and helping existing growers expand. He was instrumental in finding the site for and setting up Domaine Evremond, the Champagne Taittinger vineyards and winery in Kent and has planted all their vineyards to date. In 1986 Stephen started writing about wine and lecturing for the WSET and has contributed articles to many different publications. He has written several books on the wines of Great Britain: The Vineyards of England in 1989, The Wines of Britain and Ireland for Faber and Faber in 2001 (which won the Andre Simon Award for Drinks Book of the Year), the UK Vineyards Guide in 2008, 2010 and 2016 and The Wines of Great Britain, part of the Classic Wine Library, in 2019. In 2014 he wrote and published Wine Growing in Great Britain and published the 2nd Edition of this book in 2020. His best-selling book is Viticulture - An introduction to commercial grape growing for wine production which was first published in 2007, with an updated 2nd edition published in 2020, and has sold well over 10,000 copies. This book is aimed at WSET Diploma and Master of Wine candidates and is now being translated into Japanese and Chinese. He was for many years the English and Welsh vineyards contributor to the annual wine guides written by Hugh Johnson and Oz Clarke and currently writes the section on English and Welsh wine in both Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson's World Atlas of Wine. Stephen was a director of the English Vineyards Association (EVA) from 1982-1995 and of its successor organisation, the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA) from 1995-2003. He was Chairman of the UKVA from 1999-2003. He was also at various times between 1982 and 1986 Treasurer, Secretary and Chairman of the South East Vineyards Association, Secretary of the Circle of Wine Writers between 1990 and 1997 and has served on various EU committees in Brussels representing UK winegrowers. Since 2018 he has chaired WineGB's Viticultural Working Group. In 2000 he completed a BSc in Multimedia Technology and Design at Brunel University. While at Brunel, Stephen was awarded the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize for his final year project, a touch-screen 'retail wine selector'. In 2011 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University and in 2012 he completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. In 2003 Stephen became a Master of Wine, winning the prestigious Robert Mondavi Trophy for gaining the highest marks in the Theory section of the examination and in 2005 won the AXA Millesimes Communicator of the Year Award for services to the MW education programme. Between 2003 and 2009 he served on the MW Education Committee and was Course Wine Coordinator, served on the Council of the Institute of Masters of Wine between 2009 and 2015 and was Chair of the Research Paper Examination panel from 2013 to 2021. Stephen has been the panel Chairman for English and Welsh wines for the Decanter World Wine Awards since 2008 and has judged in the past for the International Wine Challenge, the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the Japan Wine Challenge and the Veritas Wine Awards. In 2020, Stephen was awarded the Wines of Great Britain Lifetime Achievement Award even though, at the age of seventy-two, he believes he still has a few years remaining.