Albarino doing surprisingly well in the UK

Spanish grape variety Albarino is doing well here in the UK. It has been planted in English vineyards for over 15 years, but recently plantings and sales have been increasing, with Balfour Winery releasing it’s first wine this year.

Early plantings were started by English winemaker Owen Elias in the mid 2000's while he was at Chapel Down and were successful according to Owen who says that “sugar levels are surprisingly high, though high acidity remains an issue.”

Albarino is grown across the border between Spain and Portugal, in the wet west coast, where its thick skin helps to protect from moulds and mildews, although still susceptible to them. Importantly for the UK, it is an early to mid ripening grape variety.

Plantings in the UK are expected to increase slowly and steadily with Balfour Winery saying they will plant over 1,000 vines per annum in the coming years.