Top vine value? Believe it or not, the only way is Essex

French producers are investing in Essex vineyards – the old jokes need to be laid to rest, or you risk missing out on some of the most delicious wines going

- Rosamund Hall

If anyone asks me where I grew up, I generally answer: “Perilously close to Essex.” Sleepovers in Chigwell, avoiding nightclubs in Epping, house parties in Theydon Bois (if you were wondering, it’s pronounced boys). Needless to say, at the time, my wine drinking wasn’t sophisticated, but who cares? I really did think Lambrini was pretty chic.

But Essex is much maligned. It is, in fact, one of the country’s most beautiful counties. It may not have rugged cliffs or craggy hills, but in its rural corners you'll find the landscape that inspired Constable, and on its easterly edges a soft, yielding coastline whose estuaries give way to the North Sea. And it’s in this landscape that something remarkable is happening in English wine.

The counties south of London have often claimed the headlines on wine: Kent and the Sussexes, I’m talking about you - and for good reason. But their northeastern neighbour is quietly gaining ground. In looking at the map in The Vineyards of England and Wales, published in 1981, there were a total of 15 vineyards mapped in Essex; there are now more than 55, with the highest density centred around the Crouch Valley, located to the southeast of Chelmsford.

This area is garnering quite a lot of attention for being a perfect site for creating still wines, especially pinot noir and chardonnay. It’s a holy trinity of factors that make this area so special: its proximity to the River Crouch gives it protection from extreme frosts and cold winds; the moisture and nutrient-retaining rich, heavy clay soils; and last, but definitely not least, its wonderfully dry and sunny microclimate. This is one of the sunniest and warmest spots in the UK.