Champagne beware, the English are taking over.

Tattinger, the renowned champagne house, has become the first French company to invest in British fizz after investing in a former Kent orchard. Together with UK-based wine merchants Hatch Mansfield and a handful of private investors, Taittinger has acquired the sixty-nine hectare plot near Chilham.

A collection of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes will be planted in 2017, with the first bottles hopefully being ready by 2020.

“We believe we can produce a high quality English sparkling wine drawing upon our eighty years of winemaking expertise,” said Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, the current president of the champagne group.

“Our aim is to make something of real excellence in the UK’s increasingly temperate climate, and not to compare it with champagne or any other sparkling wine.”

This new range of British sparkling wine will be named after Charles de Saint-Evremond, the man who is credited with introducing champagne to London in the 1600s.

Ironically, Saint-Evremond lived most of his life in exile after falling foul of the French monarchy. Despite serving in army, he was banished from French territories due to his critical letter on the Peace of the Pyrenees and his previously public support for Nicolas Fouquet, who was imprisoned in Pignerol garrison by Louis XIV.

During his time spent in the English capital, Saint-Evremond promoted the qualities of certain wines from France and became a favourite of Charles II.

Speaking about the announcement, Miles Beale, the chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, had this to say: “You cannot get a much better seal of approval than a Champagne house as renowned as Tattinger recognising the quality of the sparkling wine we can produce on UK soil.