United Kingdom makes more wine than it can reasonably drink, in more styles than any single guide can carry. This almanac is our reading of it. 22 regions, ranked the way we'd visit them; the houses our critics keep returning to; and a short list of restaurants where we'd spend the evening.
Femente · Country Almanac
A wine guide toUnited Kingdom
United Kingdom
22
500
2,859
The country, in numbers and adjectives.
The terroirs, by hand.
9 regions worth the trip first — chosen by the Femente desk for the houses we’d open with, the variety of styles within each, and the cooking that grew up around them.
England
English winemakers have stopped chasing Burgundy and Bordeaux, pivoting instead to the chalky soils that birth Champagne-method fizz with…
Sussex
Sussex sparkling dominates the chalk downs, but its still whites—lean, mineral Bacchus and Chardonnay—prove the region's real complexity…
Kent
Kent's chalky slopes pull London's orbit toward serious sparkling wine—bone-dry, brioche-tinged bottles that rival Champagne's structure…
South West England
The chalky soils and cool maritime climate here coax restless, mineral-edged whites and insistent sparkling wines—bottles that taste like…
London
London's vineyards wake to chalk and clay beneath the city, yielding lean, mineral whites and crisp sparkling wines that taste of…
Wales
Welsh winemakers chase ripeness on south-facing slopes where Atlantic wind and cool soil push acidity into the bottle—most pour sparkling…
Devon
Devon's producers chase precision in cool-climate whites and sparkling wines, where maritime influence and marginal ripening create wines…
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire's vineyards chase ripeness on south-facing slopes where chalky soils mirror the neighbor counties, yet the region's cool…
Surrey
Surrey's chalk slopes grow lean, mineral-driven sparkling wines and still whites that taste of flint and green apple—a temperament closer…
The country’s house grammar.
The 8 styles United Kingdom makes most of, ranked by bottle count on Femente. The bar beneath each cell shows that style’s share of united kingdom’s production.
965
English Sparkling — the country’s most numerous bottle.
612
433
195
105
37
22
20
The houses that keep showing up.
9 United Kingdom estates the prestige critics have agreed on — ordered by the count of 95+ scores across Vinous, Decanter, Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.
Where to spend the evening.
12 rooms across United Kingdom our editors keep coming back to — chosen for the cooking and the wine list, in that order.
Moor Hall Restaurant
European · Fine Dining — West Lancashire
100
The Connaught
European — London
100
Core
Street Food · European · Fine Dining — London
100
sketch
Creative · Modern — London
100
L’Enclume
Street Food · Traditional · European — Cartmel
100
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
European — London
100
The Fat Duck
Comfort · European — Bray
100
The Waterside Inn
Traditional · European — Bray
100
La Dame de Pic London ⭐️⭐️
Modern · European — London
97
The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant
European · Fine Dining — Crieff
97
Opheem Restaurant
Pizza · European · Indian Fusion — Birmingham
96
Ikoyi Restaurant and Lounge
Modern · Ethnic Fusion — City of Westminster
96
Add United Kingdom to your cellar journal — or pick a region and start walking.
A short note in your inbox when we add a new region, find a winery worth crossing town for, or open a tasting we’d send you to. No noise. Just the ones we’d book ourselves.