The more I think about Welsh wine the more I realize you just have to visit to really understand it. Wales isn't like England. It isn't like Scotland or Ireland. It's a truly different place, with different conditions and different types of people. And they all conspire to make different types of wine.

I absolutely confess that my first feelings about whether Wales could ever produce interesting wine were fairly negative. Too wet, I thought - endless sheeting rain piling in from the brooding Atlantic and dumping on the first high ground the clouds encountered - ah yes, that would be Wales. Mostly mountain was Wales. Wet. And windy. From Blaenau Gwent to Brecon Beacons, to Plynlimon and Snowdon itself. It's mostly wet, windy mountains, isn't it? Well, no, it's not. But those mountains are of massive importance.

They ARE wet and windy. Which means that the whole of Eastern Wales benefits from their protection, as well as areas like the Conwy Valley and the Vale of Denbigh in the north. There really are rain shadows in Wales, just as there are in places like Burgundy and the South Island of New Zealand. And increasingly they're being put to good use.

And there are significant stretches of the country that are suitable for vines even without the help of the mountains. The Vale of Glamorgan has some of the highest average mean temperatures in the United Kingdom. Llandudno was developed as a resort in Victorian times because it boasted some of the most temperate conditions in Britain.

But it's all very site-specific. I've stood with a grower in Conwy amongst his flourishing Chardonnay vines and listened as he demonstrated how limited and precise the conditions were that allowed him to ripen his crop. I've stood on a slightly north-facing plot of Cabernet Franc near Abergavenny and had every aspect of soil and sun, rain and wind pointed out to me to show that it was just precisely this small patch of earth that could ripen his Cabernet vines. Specific? Very.

And this is one of the joys and challenges of Welsh wine. You can't just pick a county - as some winemakers in England seem to do - and say - oh, that'll be just right for a vineyard. You have to be far more specific. You have to make precise calculations as to where you can get a crop, where your grapes will ripen. Of course you do. Wales is as marginal a wine area as you can find, which brings problems, but also great excitement.

The most enthralling wines, the most alluring, and definitely the most refreshing, are generally made at the limit of a grape variety's ability to ripen. That would describe most Welsh vineyards today.
But being at the limit affects different grape varieties in different ways, and each grape variety should be celebrated for what it can offer, and never apologised for. Let's consider Burgundy for a moment. Over the centuries Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have gradually been decided on as the most suitable grapes to grow. But don't try complimenting a Burgundian producer on his Pinot Noir or Chardonnay flavours. "I make Volnay", or "I make Meursault" will be their sniffy retort. Pinot Noir or Chardonnay have merely proved themselves over time as the most suitable vehicles to express the character of the precise patch of vineyard land.

It's early days for Wales, but this is where your Welshness lies. Some of you can ripen the Pinots, some of you Chardonnay, one brave soul has succeeded with Cabernet Franc, others of you are using Rondo and Regent, Solaris, Phoenix and Orion. Things will change as the climate changes, but right now these are the grapes that will help you express your particular piece of land, your particular vision of flavour, your Welshness.

'Iechyd Da' to you all ...

Oz Clarke, Feb. 2024