How an Essex valley became one of the UK’s most exciting new wine regions

English wine grown in Crouch Valley is fast becoming globally renowned – even the French are taking notice

It was a Thursday afternoon spent basking in the sunshine, strolling through rolling hills and expansive plains laced with fruit-bearing vines. Surely I must have been dispatched to Tuscany or Bordeaux but no, this was the scene a mere 20-minute drive from Chelmsford, Essex.

While the unassuming city might be better know as the stomping ground for the cast of The Only Way is Essex, with ITV cameras a frequent sight, the surrounding area could soon have another claim to fame as an emerging capital of English wine, which is on the up.