Visit Essex highlights Crouch Valley Wines
Visit Essex, the county’s tourism body, launched a new campaign today to showcase the county’s top vineyards ahead of English Wine Week.
Essex is the best place in the UK for wine!
English wine has been winning international accolades over the past few years and the Crouch Valley has become renowned for its Bacchus, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes.
Across Essex vineyards have expanded exponentially, creating a dramatic change to much of the region’s agricultural scenery and is proving popular with visitors. Essex is home to over 55 vineyards and latest figures1 reveal that Essex is the second-largest producer of the Bacchus grape (45 hectares), fourth-largest producer of Pinot Noir (104 hectares) and fifth for Chardonnay (68 hectares) and Pinot Meunier (18 hectares).
The Crouch Valley is jam-packed with vineyards, in fact it has the greatest number of vineyards to area ratio than any other part of the UK². The Crouch Valley has become a wine-growing hotspot thanks to its proximity to the river Crouch, dry sunny climes and heavy clay soil which retains moisture and nutrients, creating the perfect growing conditions to produce quality wines.
Over the past few years, Crouch Valley wines have picked up a number of prestigious awards. This year at the Independent English Wine Awards, New Hall Wine Estate won two silver awards for their Barons Lane Red 2021 and Barons Lane Rose 2021 and a bronze award for their Barons Lane White 2021, while Crouch Ridge vineyard picked up a bronze award for their 2021 Chardonnay.
Helping to boost the profile of Essex Wines is the Essex Wine Awards, which will take place at Clayhill Vineyard in the Crouch Valley on 16 June, set-up to raise awareness of the county’s wine making industry. Major influencers in the area include New Hall Wine Estate – one of the oldest family-run vineyards in the UK.
Crouch Valley vineyards are also diversifying and becoming a hub for tourism. Crouch Ridge Vineyard offers quality accommodation, a thriving restaurant, wine tastings and tours as well as live music and tapas nights, whilst Clayhill vineyard offers a beautiful café within the vines plus stunning views across the Crouch Valley. New Hall Wine Estates also offers cellar door sales, plus regular picnics, with the next taking place on 23 and 24 June to celebrate English Wine Week, and an open day social on 21 July.
Councillor Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, says: “Vineyards in Essex are growing at a phenomenal rate; we love seeing these beautiful vines throughout our stunning county. Some of the region shares the same geology to the Champagne region in France and with our sunny dry climes Essex is believed to be the best place in the UK to grow award-winning wines.”
He continued: “Visitors love to visit our vineyards, go on a wine tasting our, sample the latest vintages and enjoy top food from the area too – making it a winning combination!”
To find out more about the county’s vineyards, places to stay and eat, head to www.visitessex.com/things-to-do/attractions/vineyards-breweries-and-distilleries.
To visit Essex by train, Greater Anglia provides very frequent service. The Crouch Valley can be reached via Burnham-on-Crouch and is a short drive from Chelmsford. To purchase tickets, visit www.greateranglia.co.uk.
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