In article , Sam wrote:

Out of interest the vines I chose - and I'm only really interested in wine
grapes - were Rondo, Regent, Phoenix, Orion and Bacchus. All are growing
vigorously.

That isn't the problem. Pretty well all varieties of Vitis vinifera
will grow well in the UK. The problem is getting them to crop, and
getting the grapes to ripen.

All the vines I chose are supposed to ripen well in Northern climes - german
breeding origins - and all but Bacchus are supposed to be disease
resistant - another consideration for our soggy climate. As to whether they
actually will ripen well I can't comment until we get our first crop.

The main wine-growing areas of Germany get significantly more reliable
and usually warmer and sunnier summers and autumns than we do, even in
East Anglia. Despite the bullshit about global warming turning this
country into a wine-growing area, English wines are pretty fair gnat's
**** in general. You MAY be luckier ....

Over the years, I have tried ones with good reputations half a dozen
times, and frankly I can't see why anyone bothers. What I regret is
the unavailability of decent cider and perry - no, I do NOT like the
modern sweetish, sugar-enhanced to 6%+ for rapid intoxication rubbish.
You can still get reasonable stuff further west, but it is gettin
harder, and is pretty well impossible here. And most of the better
ones are the semi-scrumpy style, rather than the refined sort that
you also used to be able to get.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.