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Waitrose has revealed that customer demand for English wine is at an all time high, with sales up 47% year on year.
Vine planting has increased across the country according to Waitrose, its wine experts predict the English wine industry will “reach new heights in the coming five to 10 years”.
It has seen national distribution in sparkling wine up 45% in the last year, still wines and local fizz up 28%, local red sales up 70%, local sparkling up 73%, local sweet wine up 18%.
Alexandra Mawson, sparkling wine buyer for Waitrose, said: “While still a relatively young industry compared to the rest of the world, the winemaking passion and expertise in this country is proving itself to be deserving of the world stage time and time again.
“We’re seeing the culmination of the hard work of our viticulturists and winemakers paying off in customer recognition and this, coupled with the expansion of vineyards makes it an incredibly exciting time for English wine. Our customers love supporting homegrown, local produce and English wine is a shining example of this.”
Waitrose has its own vineyard, at the Leckford Estate in Hampshire, which produces a Brut and a Blanc de Blanc from vines planted in 2009. It increased the vineyard at Leckford by 50% in 2017 to cope with demand.
