English wine producers and vineyards set to enjoy a record year

A RECORD number of new English wine producers and vineyards launched their business in the past year, a study shows.

The figure of 64 new entrants to the market was 73 per cent up on the previous year, but English wine only accounts for one per cent of sales in the UK despite the increase, said accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.

Its research found that 204 producers and vineyards have opened in the past five years, adding that the fall in sterling because of Brexit is expected to benefit English wine producers as the cost of exporting alcohol from Europe rises.

James Simmonds of UHY Hacker Young said: “English wine production, in particular English sparkling wine, is now being taken seriously on both a local and global platform which has enabled the industry to thrive.

“As the cost of exporting to Europe falls and with imports rising, English sparkling wine has an opportunity to become a real contender for Prosecco and Champagne in the global market.”

Mr Simmonds added: “With Brexit now on the horizon, it is more important than ever to support local industry and to cement the UK as a globally recognised exporter of high-quality goods.”

Almost 400 new breweries have opened in the past year, up by 58 per cent on the previous 12 months. The Yorkshire Post reported last month that one million vines are due to be planted in England and Wales this year and more than 5,000 acres are now under vine, with forecasts that the current annual output of five million bottles will double within five years.

Only a few of the nation’s 500 vineyards are in Yorkshire, but the effects of climate warming and hardier strains of vine have undermined the North-South divide that used to separate the hop from the grape.

Britain’s wine industry has seen a rapid growth in recent years that has dispelled myths that the nation’s vineyards could not compete with their rivals around the world.