In 1972, British wine merchant Steven Spurrier was trying to arrange delivery of five cases of English wine to the British embassy in Paris, where the Queen was due to host a black-tie dinner for President Georges Pompidou. Two days before the event, he got a call. The wine couldn't be cleared through customs, he was informed, because 'English wine does not exist'. For centuries, the idea that Britain could produce drinkable wine has been widely mocked.