Fine wines to be produced up North as UK gets balmier

FINE wines could soon be produced further North and West as Britain gets balmier.

Experts reckon much of the UK will be competing with France to make the world’s best plonk possibly because of climate change.

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The South East and East are already more than 1C warmer during the growing season compared to the 1980s.

And with temperatures expected to rise by as much as another 1.4C by 2040, conditions here will be similar to wine regions Champagne and Burgundy.

Parts of south-central England and Lincolnshire will also be suitable for vineyards, along with areas of southern and north-eastern Wales, according to the University of East Anglia.

Lead researcher Dr Alistair Nesbitt, from winery consultancy Vinescapes, said: “If warmer growing seasons continue, we can expect to see a northward expansion of viticulture in the UK.”

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Even before the findings, which are published in the journal OENO One, the amount of land used to produce UK wine had expanded by nearly 400 per cent since 2004.