English wine made its debut Tuesday at the Great British Beer Festival, a dramatic new venture for the 40th annual celebration of traditional ale. Besides the 900 types of real ale, ciders and pear-based perries at the five-day festival, a small selection of wines were on offer for the first time, in a nod to the growing reputation of England's vineyards.
Between Tuesday and Saturday, around 50,000 beer lovers are expected to pour through the doors at the Olympia, an 1880s glass-roofed exhibition hall in London temporarily transformed into the biggest pub in the world.
Among the bitters, stouts and porters were four wines from the vineyards of southern England: a sparkling brut, a sparkling rose, a still Chardonnay and a Burgundy-style Pinot Noir.
Goat's Milk by Church End Brewery in Warwickshire, central England, was named the 2017 Champion Beer of Britain.
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