Stephen Skelton Vine Varieties, Clones and Rootstocks for Vineyards in Great Britain and other cool climates - 3rd Edition 2026

Vine varieties, clones and rootstocks for vineyards in Great Britain is a comprehensive guide for anyone contemplating planting and establishing a vineyard in Great Britain or other cool climates. It contains up-to-date data on the winegrowing industry in GB including yields and performance data, plantings and production levels. Much of this data has never been seen before. There are also detailed descriptions of the thirty-one most widely planted varieties with advice about future plantings and varieties to be grown. There is also a completely new chapter on PIWIs (disease resistant varieties) and hybrids. This covers the history of vine development from the mid-1800s to the present day. there is also a chapter on the PIWI and hybrid varieties being grown in GB as well as those which show potential to be planted in GB. This is the first time that some of these varieties have been written about in an English language publication. Stephen Skelton has been growing grapes, making wine and working as a viticultural consultant since 1975 and is an expert on the vineyards and wines of Great Britain. After training in Germany, he returned to establish the vineyards at Tenterden in Kent, today home to one of the UK's best-known producers, Chapel Down. From 1979-2000 he was a winemaker at both Tenterden and Lamberhurst Vineyards, and since then has been a viticultural consultant, helping establish a large number of vineyards in the UK. He became a Master of Wine in 2003. Stephen is the author of several editions of the UK Vineyards Guide, winner in 2001 of the André Simon Award for Drinks Book of the Year and of the highly acclaimed book for students: "Viticulture - an introduction to commercial grape growing for wine production". In 2020 he published the 2nd Edition of "Wine Growing in Great Britain - a complete guide to growing grapes for wine production in cool climates". He has also written 'The Wines of Great Britain' for the Infinite Ideas Classic Wine Library. In 2020 he wrote and published The Knight who Invented Champagne, the story of Sir Kenelm Digby, the person credited with making, in 1632, the first bottle strong enough to take the pressure of a secondary fermentation. This strong verre Anglais bottle allowed for the production of the first truly 'bottle-fermented' sparkling wine, several decades before Dom Perignon took over the winemaking at the Abbey of Hautvillers.