>
Chapel Down raises a glass to record sales as the UK wine industry continues to go from strength to strength
Chapel Down hailed a ‘spectacular’ Christmas as the UK wine industry goes from strength to strength.
England’s largest wine producer sold 100,000 bottles of sparkling in December, 10 times more than a year earlier, as the Covid pandemic paid out family gatherings.
Boss Andrew Carter said ‘December was spectacular’ and customers ‘wanted to spoil themselves’.
Delicious bubbly: Chapel Down sold 100,000 bottles of fizz in December, 10 times more than a year earlier as the Covid pandemic paid out family gatherings
They increasingly chose English sparkling wine over French champagne, he added.
Carter, 54, said: ‘When you put a bottle of Chapel Down on your Christmas table, you really make a statement about what you believe in and who you are as a consumer.’
He believes fans of English sparkling wine are trendsetters and the drink will only grow in popularity.
Chapel Down’s roaring Christmas capped off a year in which it sold a record 790,000 bottles of sparkling wine.
Total sales rose by a tenth to £15.6m, with the company saying it had “considerable momentum” this year.
And as a sign of the growing appeal of British bubbles to its French and Spanish rivals, Chapel Down saw a rise in sales in bars and restaurants, as well as exports abroad.
Carter, who took over Chapel Down in 2021, said: ‘It’s been a fantastic year, we’re producing award-winning sparkling wines and consumers are discovering that en masse.’
The English wine industry has been booming for the past decade, aided by warmer temperatures for grape growing. The climate has even attracted French champagne houses to set up shop in the UK.
And Simon Thorpe, the boss of trade organization Wine GB, said there is a ‘solid growth pipeline’ for the industry in the coming years. Another wave of vineyards was planted last year, with a total of 897 in England and Wales.
Thorpe added that there has also been a shift in consumer preferences towards sparkling wine, and English sparkling wines in particular.
‘People find buying local increasingly important and like to understand where their product comes from. Consumers are certainly becoming more involved with English and Welsh wines as well. It’s kind of cool to have on the table now.’
Carter said 2023 will be another peak year for Chapel Down, with customers brushing off the rising cost of living.
He said, “Drinks are a little more recession proof, and even in tougher times people want to buy something to celebrate and enjoy with family and friends.”
Shares of Chapel Down, owned by an army of 8,500 wine aficionados who enjoy discounts on its products, rose 3.6 percent, or 1.38 pence, to 39.5 pence.