This article was produced in partnership with Virgin Wines.
What does a jug of cloudy Devon scrumpy and a glass of English sparkling wine have in common? Quite a lot, as it turns out.
For comedian and author Helen Lederer, her taste in drinks began on a youth-hostelling trip around Devon with three friends.
“It was all very exciting,” she recalls. “We even hitchhiked occasionally in between our wanderings.”
“We had rucksacks and slept in dormitories – but with all the excitement and roughing it we also found out what a pub garden looked like.”
“One of us would go in and ask for a ‘scrumpy’. Out came these massive pint jugs of yellow, sweet, cloudy liquid and that was us sorted for the rest of the afternoon.”
But it wasn’t just the quantity that stayed with her.
“That lovely apple aroma…was the start of a sweet relationship with all things appley with alcohol, which in turn led to a firm affection for a white grape and a white wine.”
And there was something else about the cider that made a lasting impression.
“Even though there was a cloudy look to it, there was also a slight fizz of fermentation which I’m convinced led me to my passion for Sparkling English wine today.”
It might seem quite a leap from rustic cider to fine sparkling wine. Yet the two drinks share a surprisingly intertwined history.
All about bubbles
During fermentation, yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
In cooler regions (like England), fermentation could be unpredictable. Winter temperatures might bring it to a halt, only for the yeast to spring back into action as the weather warmed. Usually, that gas escapes, leaving us with a still drink. But trap it, and some dissolves into the liquid, creating the fizz we recognise.
While this process has been occurring for as long as humans have been making fermented drinks, deliberately producing and preserving the bubbles was another matter entirely.
Cider has been made in England for at least 800 years, with references to the drink appearing in royal records as far back as 1184. But for much of its history, cider was stored in barrels, allowing the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation to escape.
By the 17th century, however, English cider makers were finding ways to keep the bubbles in. One was Ralph Austen, who established a bottled-cider operation in Oxford. In 1657, he recommended adding a little sugar to each bottle before sealing it, encouraging further fermentation and creating a natural sparkle.
And we know the results could be impressive. In 1663, Silas Taylor described bottled cider that fizzed and hissed as it was poured, providing a wonderfully vivid account of English sparkling cider more than 350 years ago.
A year earlier in 1662, physician and scientist Christopher Merrett presented a paper to the Royal Society describing how English wine merchants were adding sugar and molasses to wine to make it fizzy. The additional sugar encouraged further fermentation, producing more carbon dioxide and, crucially, more bubbles.
This was decades before sparkling Champagne became widely established as the region’s signature style, as many French drinkers still preferred their wines without bubbles. It was British enthusiasm which helped drive demand for the sparkling style, encouraging producers in Champagne to develop it further.
A taste of place
“The allure was also the fact that this was a local drink served in lovely country pubs, and that everyone seemed to be drinking it,” Helen remembers.
Cider has been part of life in the West Country for centuries, its production shaped by the region’s orchards, climate and agricultural traditions.
It’s perhaps fitting, then, that Helen’s tastes have led her towards another distinctly English drink.
And while the enormous jugs of scrumpy have given way to wine glasses, the pleasure of sharing a drink remains much the same.
“I do love that first sip of wine from a glass after a day at work when I might join friends round a table to connect and have a laugh,” she says.
The drinks may have changed, but Helen’s affection for something refreshing, a little fizz and good company clearly hasn’t.
Helen Lederer hosts her own podcast, Eff It, recorded live at London’s Phoenix Club and available wherever you get your podcasts. Previous guests include comedian Stephen Bailey and The Wanted star Jay McGuiness.
She also presents Writing Funny, the Comedy Women in Print podcast celebrating women who write comedy. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Her memoir, Not That I’m Bitter – A Truly, Madly, Funny Memoir, is out now, and to enjoy more of Helen’s writing, you can also subscribe to her Substack, where she shares her regular columns.
Photo credit – Steve Ullathorne
Three English sparkling wines with a little apple appeal
Flint Vineyard Charmat NV — £22.99
Helen also mentioned that she loves Sauvignon Blanc, which makes sense as it’s got high acidity (like English sparkling) and green fruit flavours like the cider. This one made in Norfolk, blends Sauvignon Blanc with Bacchus (often described as England’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc), Reichensteiner and other aromatic grapes. Made using the same tank-fermentation method as Prosecco, it’s fresh and fruit-driven, with notes of lemon, pear, melon and elderflower – with a softness to the fizz.
Vineyard Collection English Sparkling Wine NV — £35.99
For a nod to the apples that started it all, this Sussex sparkling wine, made for Virgin Wines, has notes of Cox’s apple and pear alongside citrus and brioche. Made using the traditional method, with a proportion of reserve wine and barrel-fermented Chardonnay adding richness and depth, it’s a step up from those enormous jugs of scrumpy, but there’s a familiar fruit character running through it.
Henners Foxearle English Sparkling Brut – £44
And finally, a wine with a little history of its own. Foxearle takes its name from the medieval hundred (an old administrative district) in which the Sussex village of Herstmonceux and Henners’ vineyards lie. The name, and the fox on the label, pay tribute to the area’s past and the wildlife still found among the vines. In the glass, red apple makes an appearance alongside red berry notes, complemented by a delicate floral lift of Parma violet. A fitting way to round off our journey through the history of English bubbles.
This article is part of our First Times with Virgin Wines series, exploring the bottles, tastes and drinking moments that stay with us – and the stories and culture behind them.