Wine Growing in Great Britain is an A to Z of growing grapes for wine production in the British Isles and other cool climate regions. For anyone contemplating planting and establishing a vineyard and for those already growing vines on a small scale who perhaps wish to expand their vineyards and improve their winegrowing skills, it will be an invaluable guide. It will also be of interest to students of viticulture and wine studies. The book covers not only the viticultural tasks involved in setting up, establishing and managing a vineyard, but also, uniquely, covers the financial aspects of cool climate wine growing: the costs of land, vineyard establishment and management, and the income from both grape and wine sales. The second edition, published in 2020, has been expanded and updated contains much unique data on yields and the performance of vineyards in Britain's different regions. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to winegrowing in Great Britain, looking at the changes that have taken place over the last sixty years. Chapter 2 starts with the financial viability of a winegrowing enterprise, giving the likely costs of: buying suitable land, establishing a vineyard, managing that vineyard and the costs of making both still and sparkling wines. It then covers the possible income from the vineyard, covering the value of the grapes and the likely income from wine sales. Chapter 3 looks at the question of site selection, giving guidance on where the best places to plant a vineyard are and the reasons why site selection is the most important decision in the whole process. Chapter 4 covers the all-important aspect of varietal choice with full descriptions of thirty varieties - all those currently being grown in Great Britain in excess of 1.50-ha - together with a section on new vine varieties, clones of Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Meunier for sparkling wine and rootstocks suitable for Great Britain. Chapters 5-10 cover pruning and trellising systems, the planning and preparation of the site, vineyard nutrition, planting techniques, trellising systems, and the machinery and equipment required to manage a vineyard successfully. Chapters 11-16 cover the management of the vineyard from planting through to full cropping, frost protection, weed control, protected vinegrowing, and pest and disease control. Chapter 17 is devoted to the important topic of Trunk Diseases and Chapter 18 to Organic and biodynamic viticulture. Finally, Chapter 19 is on 'Getting started'. There then follow eight appendices: - Useful addresses - Vineyard pre-planting check list - Vineyard running costs - Vineyard machinery costs - The Agricultural Flat Rate Scheme - The story of Wrotham Pinot - The complete history of sparkling wine production in Great Britain - so far - Jack Ward, Horam Manor and the Merrydown Wine Company
Imprint: S. P. Skelton Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:
Height: 297mm,
Width: 210mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9781916329607
ISBN 10: 1916329608
Pages: 252
Publication Date: 09 October 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
CONTENTS 1. A short history of wine growing in Great Britain 2. Why plant a vineyard in Great Britain 3. Site selection 4. Vine varieties, clones and rootstocks 5. Pruning and trellising systems for vineyards in Great Britain 6. Site planning and preparation 7. Vineyard nutrition 8. Planting your vineyard 9. Trellising systems - construction 10. Machinery and equipment 11. Vineyard management - establishment phase 12. Vineyard management - cropping years 13. Frost protection 14. Weed control 15. Protected vinegrowing 16. Pest and disease control 17. Trunk diseases 18. Organic and biodynamic viticulture 19. Getting started Appendix I - Useful addresses Appendix II - Vineyard pre-planting check list Appendix III - Vineyard running costs Appendix IV - Vineyard machinery costs Appendix V - The Agricultural Flat Rate Scheme Appendix VI - The story of Wrotham Pinot Appendix VII - The complete history of sparkling wine production in Great Britain Appendix VIII - Jack Ward, Horam Manor and the Merrydown Wine Company
Stephen Skelton, Master of Wine, 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 winegrowing and winemaking college, with the late Professor Helmut Becker. In 1977 he returned to the UK to establish the vineyards at Tenterden in Kent (now the home of the UK'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 UK. He now works as a consultant to vineyards and wineries in the UK and is currently setting up vineyards for the production of sparkling wine. In 1986 Stephen started writing and lecturing about wine and has contributed articles to many different publications. In 1989 he wrote (and published) his first book, The Vineyards of England and in 2001 his second, The Wines of Britain and Ireland (Faber and Faber) which won the Andre Simon Award for Drinks Book of the Year. This was followed by three editions of the UK Vineyards Guide (2008, 2010 and 2016), Vine Varieties, Clones and Rootstocks for UK Vineyards (2014) and Wine Growing in Great Britain (2014). His latest book is The Wines of Great Britain (2019), one of the titles in the Classic Wine Library series. He has also written Viticulture - A guide to commercial grape growing for wine production which is aimed at Master of Wine (MW) and WSET Diploma students, plus anyone considering owning or establishing a vineyard anywhere in the world. Viticulture was originally published in 2007, but was revised and updated in 2019. He also writes on English and Welsh wine for Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson's World Atlas of Wines. 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. In 1999 he took three years off from the wine business to do a BSc in Multimedia Technology and Design at Brunel University. While at Brunel, Stephen was awarded the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize. In October 2011 he received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University. In September 2011 he completed an MA in Life Writing (Biography) at the Creative Writing Department of 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. In 2005 he won the AXA Millesimes Communicator of the Year Award for services to the MW education programme. He served on the MW Education Committee from 2003 - 2009 and was the education course wine coordinator. In 2009 he was elected to the Council of the Institute of Masters of Wine and served on it until 2016. He is now Chairman of the MW Research Paper Examination Committee and Panel Chairman for the English and Welsh wines for the Decanter World Wine Awards. In 2020, Stephen was awarded the WineGB Lifetime Achievement Award.
