English wines assessed blind

English sparkling wine really does seem to have a head of steam (carbon dioxide?) behind it at the moment, with upbeat reports on the rise of its popularity emerging on all sides. You may have seen in this report from Berry Bros just how much English fizz Berrys are selling, and this report on Decanter.com suggested, somewhat questionably in my view, that English sparkling wine is preferred to champagne by many British fizz drinkers.

I recently had the chance to taste blind a range of wines from some of England's most reputable producers on entirely neutral ground. The most obvious...