The English wine industry is toasting the start of what it hopes will be a bumper summer for homegrown vintages.
The once-maligned sector, based mainly in the south-east, has shown extraordinary growth in recent years and yesterday insiders told City A.M. it was set for the best summer of sales yet. Those hopes were boosted overnight by the award of a host of high-profile awards for English wines at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards.
The UK posted a record-breaking year for total medals awarded including a first-ever ‘Best in Show’ for English sparkling rose to Chapel Down’s rose brut, with eight other golds and one platinum across the range of English wines.
The success of English wines on the tasting circuit is being mirrored by improved financial performance.
Gusbourne, another highly rated producer which won a gold medal for its Boot Hill Blanc de Blancs Brut 2018, saw gross profit up 30 per cent last year as well as a more than 16 per cent increase in UK sales.
Last night Gusbourne CEO Jonathan White told City A.M. that “There has been a real surge in appreciation and recognition for the quality and diversity of English wines in recent years, with many rivalling some of the very best in the world.
“Whilst the summer weather that we’ve been hoping for hasn’t quite come to fruition yet, we’re feeling confident… that this is going to be a marquee summer for English wine with worldwide interest continuing to grow exponentially and wine tourism seeing a real boom.”
Chapel Down’s head winemaker Josh Donaghy-Spire meanwhile said the summer – which sees them launch a special Ascot blend this week for the annual Royal meeting – was a “great moment to reflect on how far we have come in creating a brand new wine region here.” Margins, revenue and profit all saw double-digit percentage increases at the winemaker last year.
Berry Bros & Rudd have seen sales in English wines jump 50 per cent year on year. Chief executive Emma Fox (pictured) told City A.M. that “this is such an exciting time for English wine.
“Last year, when we acquired Hambledon Vineyard, alongside our friends Symington Family Estates, it was a statement of our confidence in the premium English sparkling wine category and its future potential.
“We believe that these are world-class sparkling wines that will play a leading role in the development of English sparkling into a globally recognised fine wine.”