Bumper year puts a sparkle into £100m English wine industry
ENGLISH wine enjoyed a bumper year in 2016 to see it become a £100million industry, a study shows.
Independent producers saw turnover rise to a record £132 million, a 16 per cent increase on 2015, showing that the industry has enjoyed major growth in recent years, according to Funding Options.
Research by the online business finance firm revealed that wine producers are benefiting from the burgeoning popularity of boutique British alcohol production, which also includes gin and craft beer.
Conrad Ford, founder of Funding Options, said: “The English wine industry is not only gaining traction among domestic consumers, but is now being ranked with wines from traditional white wine-producing countries such as France and Germany.”
In May, a variety from Norfolk was named the best white wine globally at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Winbirri Vineyards Bacchus 2015, which sells for £13.95 a bottle, beat off 17,200 other entries to win the Platinum Best in Show, and was given a score of 95 out of 100 by a panel of 200 international experts. Winbirri is a family-run vineyard, beside the Norfolk Broads national park, which was established in 2007.
At the time, Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “It comes as no surprise to us that an English Bacchus wine has won a major international award.
Until now, English sparkling wine has been grabbing most of the headlines for its outstanding quality. It was only a matter of time before an English still wine showed the world it can also compete with the best.
“The UK climate is ideal for growing the Bacchus grape, which is why it has become the favoured grape grown in the majority of UK vineyards making still white wine.
“We believe Bacchus has the potential to do for English wine production what Sauvignon Blanc did for New Zealand.”