English wine is to become a major feature of one south-west London pub from next month.
The owners of the Bricklayer's Arms in Putney were so impressed with the range and quality of English wine when they started researching the sector that they now plan to launch an exclusively English wine list this September.
The initial list ranges from the familiar to the relatively undiscovered names in the English wine world. While the country's sparkling wines are represented by Ridgeview Vineyard in East Sussex, the whites include a Pinot Blanc from Chapel Down in Kent and UK bestseller Surrey Gold from Denbies.
The Bricklayer's Arms will also be offering a five-strong selection of red wines. Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex has its Pinot Noir listed, as well as Dark Harvest, its blend of Dornfelder and Rondo, while Biddenden Wine Estate in Kent is providing a Gamay.
The ongoing rosé trend has not been forgotten either, represented by a Pinot Noir and Reichensteiner blend from a'Beckett's Vineyard in Wiltshire.
The independent pub, which was named the Campaign for Real Ale's Greater London Pub of the Year last year, has been run by Becky Newman since 2005. She has sampled a wide variety of the UK's wines over the past year and has been impressed with her findings.
"I grew up in the generation that avoided English wine because of the poor quality and price," she said. "How times have changed. The range and quality available is astounding. I genuinely thought I would find only one or two."
Newman now aims to create one of the most comprehensive lists of domestically produced wine in the United Kingdom.