I ran into Ed Dallimore at a Wine Garden of England event at Squerryes Hall earlier this year on a classic overcast English summer’s day. Very different to the weather we’re having at the moment. He was selling his incredibly thorough and beautifully put together book, The Vineyards of Britain. Well how could I resist? I have been devouring it avidly ever since. Ed really does seem to have been everywhere, met everyone and tried everything. It made me realise that I have so far only scratched the surface of all the exciting things that are going on in English and Welsh wine. At the moment if you want to know what’s going on, then you need to buy a copy (go to 59Vines.com). Oh and the photographs are superb, especially the ones of Peter Hall from Breaky Bottom. I’d highly recommend following Ed on social: @59Vines.
To tell you more about it, here he is:
How did you get into wine?
Wine has always been at our family dinner table or present in some way. Dad worked in British brewing and Mum’s always loved drinking wine! Not necessarily the most flash kit but always as a means of celebration, or family meal times, or with friends. We still use a cork screw that belonged to my great great grandfather circa 1850s. Oh the stories that thing could tell!
Professionally speaking, I left uni in 2008 and didn’t know what to do. I saw a ‘graduate scheme’ for Majestic and thought I would do that for a year, learn a bit about wine, something that will always be relevant and interesting, then use that time to work out what I wanted to do ‘when I grow up..’ About six months in I tasted a 2006 McLaren Vale Shiraz Viognier by Kangarilla Road – and I knew pretty much there and then I would be in wine forever. It was the variety, quality, value and approach of the wonderful people behind many of the great wines of Australia that I was seeing and meeting – that attracted me most of all. Specifically an 03 Hunter Sem by Mount Pleasant. I felt such a disconnect from the desire to immerse myself in these wines – so moved to Sydney in 2012 and funnily enough got a job working for Mount Pleasant.
What was it that got you into English wine? Was there a particular bottle?
Prior to returning from Australia I had tasted two English wines total. On return – and prior to embarking on the journey to visit around150 English and Welsh producers writing The Vineyards of Britain – but with the idea forming in my mind, I bought some wine from Tommy and the crew at Emerging Vines. Including a bottle of Will Davenport‘s 2018 Diamond Fields Pinot Noir. I was blown away by the depth and structure especially, something that, largely due to climate, I didn’t imagine I would encounter too much of in our domestic red market! A great example to ever remain open minded… Very early on in the project I visited Harrow & Hope. Totally blown away by one of the most precise range of wines I’ve ever seen – and of course the quality – I could see there and then it was going to be a very tasty project! More importantly the professionalism – and potential for the future of English and Welsh wine was – was so evident.
What was the first English vineyard you visited?
Little Oak, Chipping Campden, from vines planted in 1880 and 42 degrees in the Hunter Valley one week, to three acres of Seyval and Siegerebbe in about 2 degrees and snow in the Cotswolds the next!
What gave you the idea for the book?
First and foremost a desire to broaden my own knowledge of the domestic industry. I knew I couldn’t just waltz back into the English industry and into a great job working with local producers – which is something I always want to champion for multiple reasons. I needed to learn as much as possible, and meet as many people as possible, and the best way to do that is at source. I struggled to find an exhaustive resource to point me in the right direction, and thought this would make for a useful tool for people who either wanted to learn a bit more about who’s doing what, where, or maybe wanted to visit a few cellar doors themselves, or just be pointed in the direction of a few interesting wines. Secondly, having always been a photographer who loves to write – I wrote a book in Australia which was self published with a few friends – it was an absolutely obvious opportunity to combine a few passions – what could be better!
How long did it take to research?
The research started whilst still in Australia – but was agreed with the publisher in December 2020. The next three months was pretty much all planning – the initial plan was for it to include 250 producers. But I also wanted to share their stories in an exhaustive way and for it to be accessible, so no more than £19.99. So… the publisher quickly pointed out that 250 producers therefore was out of the question. I started with a list of every producer in the UK and honed this to a desired list of about 135 – knowing that I would undoubtedly be pointed in the direction of some great producers along the way. I think the final tally was 153 who I approached – and 147 are in the book. Which says a lot for the people and their willingness to contribute to the wider industry. Between April to November I covered 18,000 miles visiting every producer – some more than once for additional imagery. I wrote it on the way, often with a glass of wine from that day’s venues.
Which of the newer producers are you most excited about?
Stonor Valley Vineyard are producers to watch out for, once the vines come online. One of the best sites I’ve seen. I’m really looking forward to seeing the wines of Ham Street as the site again looks exceptional and I like what I’ve seen about their approach. Black Chalk have fast forwarded themselves to the very pointy end of the quality spectrum and I’ll always be keen to see their new releases. Martin’s Lane too seem to have formed themselves a formidable rep within the industry… Chris Wilson at Gutter & Stars is making some great wines with fruit from Essex and Oxfordshire, another release email list well worth being on!
What do you think the future holds for English wine?
Overwhelming excitement and potential. We’re currently (on average) producing about 65% traditional method sparkling annually – this will remain the leading category – but see it continuing to dissipate slightly, in favour of more stills in the riper vintages and more sparkling outside of this bracket. Charmat is causing a bit of a stir with some huge plantations going in. Anything that can act as a gateway into the English and Welsh industry is good as far as I’m concerned and Charmat can provide this given style, as long as it’s priced appropriately. Export will continue to grow (currently at about 15%) – and it will have to with around 4 million vines in the ground these last few years… But with 33million wine drinkers in the UK importing the best part of 30 million bottle of champagne currently, there is so much scope to welcome more people into the domestic bracket and crucially, because the quality is good, this is hopefully where they’ll stay!
What problems does the industry face?
I still see climate as the biggest challenge. Not merely a lack of ripening warmth in some seasons but also increasingly dramatic weather patterns, milder winters and devastating, potentially crop threatening, late spring frosts. This of course contributes to cost, which is a major challenge in winning over the everyday drinker. Compounding this can be price point on some wines from very young vines… Not to say these young producers can’t make good wines… but such a hugely important aspect is people’s first experience with English or Welsh wine… which is most likely to be very positive… but if it’s considered to be well over priced then they are less likely to keep exploring. To that point we owe much to our big producers who put lots of resource into marketing themselves and therefore the wider industry…
How did you go about getting the book published?
In many ways setting out to write a thorough book on wine makes about as much financial sense – personally speaking – as planting a vineyard… But I didn’t get into either wine or writing about it to make money… which is lucky! I approached the publisher with what I thought was a good opportunity for them – they agreed – but as is standard in publishing, I funded the entirety of the research phase (and I’m not someone who has come out of the city with loads of cash… far from it). I crowdfunded via 100 pre sale copies, selling lots of these along with framed prints etc., all delivered on publication. This, plus savings, funded the whole of last year.
What are your favorite books on wine?
A Life in Wine Stephen Spurrier
Bursting Bubbles Robert Walters – offered me a job once, probably should have taken it!
The Wine Hunter Campbell Mattinson
I love all of my editions of The World Atlas of Wine – I used to love getting back from long days shifting cases of wine at Majestic and just wanting to read more about wine
Noble Rot’s Wine from another galaxy… plus all the mags
Do you have another book planned?
Absolutely! I can’t wait to share more stories and those of the producers I’ve discovered since writing the first book. There is so much going on, always so much more to say, and so many more great wines to be shared. I would like to do an update of this book in a few years. In the short term I’m currently working on a couple of projects which may come to fruition slightly sooner – and I hope to do a book rich in imagery of all the wonderful wine dogs of England I’ve met along the way.
Thank you Ed!
Henry's World of Booze 