Britse stille wijnen gaan de Franse of Italiaanse niet van het schap concurreren. Ze zullen nooit de (constante) kwaliteit van topwijnen halen. Daarvoor is het klimaat niet geschikt. De druiven rijpen niet gelijkmatig genoeg. Daarom moeten de Britten te vreden zijn met een beperkte markt. Dat zei bubbel-producent Richard Balfour-Lynn bij de opening van zijn nieuwe wijngoed bij Marden in Kent. Een provocerende mening of de waarheid? Balfour houdt vast aan het laatste. In een uitschietend oogstjaar kunnen Britten best een paar aardige wijnen maken, maar het blijft maginaal, vindt Richard.

Een echt gouden toekomst voor Britse wijnen zit er dus niet in, uitgezonderd voor de ‘sparkling’. Verneem wat Balfour nog meer zei , opgetekend in Decanter:

‘There is little future for English still wine beyond its curiosity value, renowned English sparkling producer Richard Balfour-Lynn has said.

Speaking at the opening of his new winery building at Hush Heath near Marden in Kent earlier this week, Balfour-Lynn told Decanter.com the English climate simply would not allow the consistent ripening of grapes for still wines.

Moreover, it would be impossible to compete with New World producers.

‘Do I believe we should focus on still wines? Probably not. There are some great still wines made all over the world and we’d struggle to make a good red.

‘In the odd year we might make a small amount but it will always be a curiosity. It’s unlikely we’ll ever be able to make a consistent brand.’

He conceded that there were some ‘good whites around’ particularly from the Bacchus and Ortega grapes, but again, ‘in terms of competing with a Chilean or a South African, it will remain a minor interest.’

Balfour-Lynn, who owns the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin groups, said that as English wine became more popular there was a danger of a ‘bandwagon effect’ lowering standards.
‘The thing I worry about is the amount of grapes being planted by a lot of enthusiastic people, who would be surprised by just how much work is involved in producing quality grapes.’

It is essential, he said, to maintain quality and exclusivity. Selling to the supermarkets – ‘where you suddenly get involved in price cutting and promotions’ - would be another sure way to erode quality as ‘you would have to cut corners to keep commercially viable.’

As well as opening his new winery – built with capacity for 100,000 bottles – Balfour-Lynn is also celebrating British Airways announcement that it will be serving the Balfour Brut Ros