London’s urban wine boom gathers pace

By Lisa Riley

Published: 06 June, 2018

The capital’s nascent urban winemaking scene is continuing to develop with the release of a Battersea winemaker’s first wine and the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to develop a new winery in southeast London.

Battersea’s Blackbook winery’s 2017 English rosé, made from Pinot Noir grapes from Clayhill Vineyard in Essex, is now on sale in nine bars and restaurants across the capital with further listings on the cards. Two more English still wines are scheduled later this year.

“We source our grapes from carefully selected English growers in order to produce still and sparkling single vineyard English wines,” said Lynsey Verrillo, who co-founded Blackbook with her husband Sergio in 2017.

“Blackbook follows a traditional winemaking approach with low sulphur wines and indigenous ferments as a means to preserve the varietal character. We are proud to be a London winery and a London business, and are passionate about this city. We seek to reflect the vibrancy, colour, culture and energy of London in our wines.”

In August, the business will open its doors to visitors, offering weekly winery tours and tasting sessions that will cover the history of the English winemaking scene.

Meanwhile in southeast London, canned English fizz producer The Uncommon has kickstarted a crowdfunding campaign to develop a new urban winery and canning line, after winning a listing at Selfridges earlier this year.

The brand is seeking £25,000 of investment for the project to enable it to scale up its operations. “We plan to launch new organic and natural wines and rosé made from English pinot noir,” said a spokesman.

“The dream is to open up the new space to the public, with a bar featuring the cans, kegs, as well as wine on tap. Contributions will guarantee a variety of discounted perks from their limited edition 2019 wine to personalised wine cans and bespoke experiences.”

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