British influence on the wine trade

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

For centuries, wine consumption in Britain has had significant ramifications in many of the world’s most important wine regions. A cool, wet climate has limited the production of wine in england, so that British wine drinkers historically had no choice but to look overseas for their supplies. Since they owe no permanent allegiance to any one wine region or wine-producing country, they have traditionally had a broad range from which to choose, although that choice has been dictated by convenience, fashion, economics, and politics as often as by taste.