Second Edition

Wild vines have grown in Britain for over 50 million years. Only in the Ice Age of the last 2 million have vines retreated from Britain during the glacial maxima, returning during warmer interglacials, such as the present one. The 'Winelands of Britain' uses a database of some 500 vineyards ancient and modern, to map the ebb and flow of viticulture correlative with temperature across the British Isles since Roman times.

The winelands of the world occur between the 10-20 degree C. annual isotherms. Between these limits the interplay of geology and climate controls the landscape within a vineyard stands, and the soil in which it grows. The 'Winelands of Britain' shows how the interplay of geology and climate forms important winelands such as the Pleistocene terrace gravels of the Thames and other rivers, the sunny southern slopes and dry valleys of the chalk Downs, , and the Palaeozoic rocky rivieras of Wales and the West Country.

The 'Winelands of Britain' combines geology with climate change to delineate the past, present, and prospective winelands of England and Scotland. In the present Industrial Revolution Warm Phase abandoned Roman and Medieval winelands are becoming re-established, sometimes with vineyards being re-planted on the sites of ancient ones. New winelands, such as the Weald, have become established in areas that were not de-forested until the Little Ice Age. Some ancient winelands, like the Greensand Hills of Surrey, have not been re-established, due to re-forestation. Since the publication of the first edition in 2004 the northern limit of English vineyards has advanced from Mount Pleasant, Lancashire, to Accomb, Yorkshire, within 5km of Hadrian's Wall.

Changes in the new edition

• The latest predictions of global warming show that the average summer temperature in southern England may rise by 4.5-5.0 degrees C. by 2008 and by 6.0 degrees by 2100. The new edition describes how these data can be used to predict the areas where different grape varieties may be planted across the UK. Some parts of southern England may be too hot for viticulture by 2080.
  
  
• Includes new evidence of the extent of viticulture in Roman Britain, including additional vineyards and wine amphora potteries.
  
  
• Update of past & present vineyard data bases, references and news of the war on 'Terroir'.

Map to show where different varieties of grape may be grown in 2080 based on current predictions of global warming.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1. Introduction.

BRITISH WINELANDS: PAST

CHAPTER 2. Viticulture in Roman Britain

CHAPTER 3. Viticulture in the Medieval Warm Period

CHAPTER 4. Viticulture in the Little Ice Age

BRITISH WINELANDS: PRESENT

CHAPTER 5. Geological controls on viticulture

CHAPTER 6. Viticulture in the Industrial Revolution Warm Phase

BRITISH WINELANDS: PROSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 7. The future of British viticulture in a changing climate

GEOLOGICAL AND OENOLOGICAL GLOSSARY

INDEX

COPIES MAY BE PURCHASED AS BELOW

DETAILS: Selley, R.C. 2008. The Winelands of Britain: Past present & prospective. 2nd Edn.
Colour map & time chart. 47 mono. figures. 9 tables. 119 A4 pages.
Published by Petravin, P.O. Box 425, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 4WA.
ISBN ISBN 978-0-9547419-2-1 Paperback. xi + 113 pages. Colour frontispiece. 1 colour & 49 b & w figures. 11 tables. RRP £15.00

TO ORDER: Copies may be ordered from by mail from Petravin, P O Box 425, Dorking, Surrey RH5 4WA.
Price: including post & packing the book costs £16.50 (UK), £17.00 (Europe) and £18.00 for the rest of the world.
Please make cheques payable to R Selley No. 1 Account. Either send a cheque together with your postal details to the above address, or alternatively click here to download a Word document which may be printed and sent to the same address.

Richard Selley is Emeritus Professor of Geology and a Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College, London. He has used the opportunity provided by a lifetime spent travelling the world exploring for natural resources to study the geology of winelands, with all the collateral conviviality that such demanding research necessarily entails.

Richard has applied his global geological experience to the winelands of England, recommending the planting of Denbies vineyard on the North Downs. At 105 hectares (260 acres) Denbies is the largest vineyard in England, and one of the largest in Europe.

Richard has communicated his knowledge through the media, including radio, film, written articles, field trips, workshops and lectures to audiences as disparate as MPs in the Houses of Parliament, and members of the Dorking U3A. The 'Winelands of Britain' is the authors' sixth book, the first that he has written for his own amusement.

You may contact the author here: