English Bacchus wine: How it tastes plus wines to try

Bacchus is fast becoming England's signature grape variety, and this sparkling example is an easy introduction into English fizz. It may not have the cachet or complexity of the Champagne varieties, but instead it offers herby gooseberry scents with flavours of cut grass, lime and juicy stone fruits. It has a smooth feel rather than the prickly character of some sparkling wines, and slips down all too easily.

Honeysuckle, fresh pears and green apple on the nose. Newly-cut grass and citrus on the palate, crisp and simple, linear and cleansing. Perfect for summer drinking with cured ham and vegetable salads. Alcohol sits at 12.5% and sugar level at 5g/l.

There’s a touch of oak in this wild-fermented Bacchus that gives it a smoky note and a creamy texture. Packed with ripe mango and passion fruit flavours, it is juicy and bold with a long spicy finish.

This new release is the sixth single varietal Bacchus from Chapel Down. In this case it's from the 38.5ha Kit’s Coty vineyard in the North Downs in Kent, to the south of steep, chalk hills that shelter it from the cool northerly winds. The grapes are handpicked and whole-bunch pressed before being fermented with wild yeasts in old French oak, spending nine months maturing. The result is a lovely wine which has good typicity but also pushes forward what the varietal is capable of achieving. The nose is fairly subtle, but in the mouth it explodes with a salty, blackberry leaf and gooseberry attack. A large dose of limey acidity floods in down the sides of your tongue, bringing with it a wave of tangy grapefruit, fresh herb and some peachy lift, leading onto a flinty, saline finish. It has a good texture - the oak has certainly aided it here. A great alternative to village Chablis or Sauvignon from the Loire, and perfect with a tomato and goat cheese salad.

Floral and grassy on the nose, this is a refreshing Bacchus from Bolney Estate. The majority of the fruit was crush-destemmed, giving it a pungent new-cut grass, lime and elderflowers nose, followed by a crisp and saline palate. Green apple and lime juice flavours are spiced by white pepper, salivating and expressive.

A quintessential taste of the English countryside, brimming with aromas and flavours of gooseberry, elderflower and hedgerow. 'This is the UK's answer to Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc,' says Gavin Monery. It's an extroverted style, with high acid and punchy flavours, and the crisp, clean, juicy palate is moreish and the perfect picnic wine. The 2019 vintage, released in September 2020, is equally as delicious and exuberant, with tart grapefruit notes alongside the gooseberry, elderflower and hedgerow. The fruit for both vintages comes from the Yew Tree Vineyard in Oxfordshire. 5,500 bottles made.

Vibrant Bacchus with zesty aromas of lime, gooseberry and mango. Wild-fermented and with a touch of oak, that lends a creaminess to the palate, alongside juicy lime, tropical mango and passionfruit, all buoyed by brisk, bright acidity. Finishes long with juicy citrus and a touch of spice.

An aromatic nose of green peas, asparagus and green apple, with a hint of passion fruit. Clean and mineral on the palate with fragrant herbs such as rosemary and mint, in addition to fruity notes of citrus and crunchy green apple. Cleansing and salivating.

Sealed under a crown cap, this English Bacchus is made in the 'Nat Fiz' (Naturally Fizzy) style by only one fermentation (20% on skins), and has only been riddled and disgorged once. A perfumed nose of white peach, elderflowers, green apple and citrus freshness, with newly cut green grass, lemon and crunchy apple on the palate. A touch of apple peel adds astringency and an extra layer to the flavour. Similar to the previous vintage, the owner has chosen Jamie, who works in a grooming salon in East London, to appear on the label, though noted that the 2019 is a cooler vintage with less alcohol (11%). The production of this sparkling Bacchus is 2100 bottles per year.

Sales of English wine at The Wine Society have 'gone bananas' in the last few months, according to buyer Matthew Horsley. Bacchus is probably the most well-known white grape used for still wines in England, offering a fresh and aromatic character, with elderflower, hedgerow fragrance and some lime citrus zestiness. This bottling from the great 2020 vintage has 4.7g/L residual sugar to round out the palate, and is an easy-drinking alternative to Sauvignon Blanc that isn't too pungent.

Made using fruits sourced from Crouch Valley in East Anglia, the Bacchus has a classy, herbal nose of elderflower, green peas, and flinty smokiness, in addition to limey freshness. Crisp green apple juice on the palate with a touch of crushed mint and lime zest. Saline and cleansing, a lovely food wine.