It is my birthday tomorrow and this year it has fallen on a particularly good day. For the first time in years and years I will not be celebrating my relentless maturing at the annual London Wine Fair. Hurrah! Second, it has fallen on a Friday. More hurrahs! And, last, it is on the eve of English Wine Week.

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! Yes, really.

Jokes about English wines are tired, out-of-date and, in many cases, utterly unjustified. You do still get the odd howler but overall the quality is good and it is improving all the time.

Just the other week I was at the Waitrose Press tasting in London where they were sharing news of their plans to begin planting their very own vineyard in the following days.

As this announcement was being made I overheard the great (and charming) wine critic, Steven Spurrier, telling his colleague that he too would be planting his English vineyard in the coming days.

This enthusiasm for England’s potential as a quality wine-producing nation is nothing new. We have all heard the stories about the French Champagne producers buying up sites in Kent and Sussex, and Laithwaites has its own vineyard for sparkling wine in Theale, near Reading.

That such large and serious outfits are taking English wine so seriously should help persuade the doubters that these wines deserve our attention and support.

Waitrose, Laithwaites and the like may well have waded in (albeit thoughtfully, I’m sure) to English wine but we must not forget that English wine is where it is now because of the years of hard work that has been done by a myriad of unsung heroes across England.

I am not going to take you on the full UK tour but instead draw your attention to three of Oxfordshire’s finest vineyards. They are a welcoming and quality-conscious group who I know would be thrilled to share their wines with you.

Bothy Vineyards (www.bothy-vineyard.co.uk) is a five-acre estate in Frilford Heath, west of Abingdon. Their philosophy is to produce the highest quality wines from grapes cultivated in as environmentally friendly a way as possible. The award-winning wines are something of a favourite of mine and owner Richard gives brilliantly informative and entertaining tours.

Covering fourteen acres, Brightwell Vineyard (www.brightwellvineyard.com) is Oxfordshire’s largest estate. Situated just outside Wallingford, it is a truly beautiful vineyard with some breathtaking views. Benchmark English wines are made here; invigorating and refreshing. Great summer wines.

Hendred Vineyard (www.hendredvineyard.co.uk) can be found in East Hendred and their dry white, Callaghans Furlong is a real treat of a wine. It is made from Madeleine Angevine which has a fantastically aromatic quality and delivers crunchy, citrus whites that are in fashion at the moment.

So, what am I doing for my birthday? Well, I am sharing it with friends and, whilst I have put my foot down and am not cooking my birthday dinner, I will have a wee drink at the house before we hit the town. To toast more grey hairs — and English Wine Week — I will be serving something sparkling and, most definitely, English!

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