A recent visit to Black Chalk vineyard and winery in Hampshire’s Test Valley highlighted that a bumper harvest could be on the way for the English wine sector.
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Importer Mentzendorff has added Hampshire winery Exton Park to its portfolio.
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Hamish Graham caught up with Jacob Leadley from Black Chalk Wine in Hampshire to talk minimal intervention and why it’s ultimately all about the people.
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Wine GB’s Industry Report 2025 shows that vineyard numbers in England and Wales have risen by 74 to 1,104 over the past year. There are also 25 newly registered wineries bringing the total to 238.
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The challenges posed by climate change to viticulture are now well documented, with the likes of experimental plantings of Touriga Nacional in Bordeaux, or the flight of mainland Oz winemakers to cooler Tasmania, bearing testimony to the pressure on established varieties in their more traditional vineyard homes. And the UK – despite its cooler-climate island reputation – is not immune to such change, with both warmer and more erratic weather patterns affecting its vineyards.
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Global wine consumption is on a downward spiral thanks to a perfect storm of negative influences, from economic factors and health concerns to the moderate drinking trend and changing consumption patterns across occasions. According to the IWSR’s 2024 report, What’s Driving Wine’s Structural Decline, per capita consumption of wine in the UK peaked in 2009 and has been in decline since, “except for a small temporary boost during Covid. On a per-adult basis, the UK now drinks about 14% less wine than it did in 2000.”
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English sparkling wine’s forward march has been a sight to behold in recent years. With a growing reputation both domestically and internationally, producers are looking to channel this steam towards a growing market share. Although the domestic market accounts for the bulk of sales revenue, exports are providing an increasing share of returns.
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Hampshire wine estate Black Chalk has announced the addition of Neil Irvine to the newly created role of sales director. The onboarding comes as the producer seeks to boost sales growth.
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Surrey-based Denbies Wine Estate has been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development category. The award reflects the producer’s commitment to the environment which has seen it gain a number of green accreditations in recent years.
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To describe the current macroeconomic environment as challenging would be a distillery-sized understatement. Yet the growing ethos on buying local, a natural corollary of the gradual shift towards sustainably produced wines and spirits, has given stakeholders cause for (tentative) optimism in 2025. The question is: can a movement transform into a stampede?
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Producer of English and Provençal wines MDCV UK has announced a fresh on-trade distribution partnership with wholesaler LWC. The deal will see LWC distribute two of MDCV’s English wine brands: Silverhand Estate and Harlot.
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London Wine Fair has announced the ‘Battle of the Bubbles’ as the theme of its annual Icon Tasting. The event will see Champagne go up against its global competitors in a blind tasting contest, drawing upon expertise from across the British wine trade to cast a fresh assessment.
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In 2023, 1.5 million visits were made to UK vineyards and wineries, up 55% on 2022. These visits provide vital support to UK estates, with wine tourism accounting for 25% of total winery income on average.
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A new report on English sparkling wine from Wine Lister, the fine wine consulting agency, shows that on average critics’ score the category 90.6, which compares favourably with sector-leading Champagne wines (90.8).
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Bancroft Wines has added South Norfolk-based winery Flint Vineyard to its portfolio. The partnership means Bancroft will now become the exclusive UK distributor of the East Anglian winery’s two sparkling wines, a Charmat and a Charmat Rose.
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Hallgarten & Novum Wines has announced a partnership with producer MDCV UK which will see the importer become the key distributor for Château de Berne, Ultimate Provence, Kingscote Estate and London Clay.
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Plumpton College, home of the UK’s National Wine Training Programme, has announced the launch of the National Competency Framework (NCF). The new initiative is designed to define essential skills and competencies for employment across key sectors of the UK wine trade.
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Andrew Catchpole catches up with a tech-entrepreneur turned fine English winemaker at his Oxfordshire estate.
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February is to see the opening of a restaurant and bar at Hambledon, backed by a team studded with well-respected names. Head chef Nick Edgar, who won a Michelin star at Samling in the Lake District, will ply his trademark seasonal cuisine, rooted in kitchen garden and local produce. James Osborn, formerly MD at Squerryes Wine Estate in Kent, brings wine expertise, and Katherine Fromm, out of The Pig, Limewood and Portetta, comes aboard as head of hospitality. And, as you might expect from this Berry Bros & Rudd-owned estate, there’s a private St James Tasting Room available for bookings, overlooking Hambledon’s oldest vines.
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Following a challenging growing season, beset with “recurrent rainfall and higher disease pressure”, UK wineries are nonetheless relatively optimistic that 2024 will deliver wines with “a high level of phenolic ripeness” – a concomitant of longer hang times due to the late harvest period.
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