There is now a week to go until WineGB’s new look Trade & Press Tasting, taking place next week on Tuesday 5th September from 10.30 – 5.30pm at Battersea Arts Centre in London.

This year sees the highest number of exhibitors, totalling over 60, including many first-time exhibitors such as Coolhurst (Sussex), Domaine Hugo (Wiltshire), Missing Gate (Essex), JoJo’s Vineyard (Oxfordshire) and House Coren (Sussex).

Sustainability will be a major theme with the recent appointment of Anne Jones in the newly created role of Sustainability Ambassador, who will be present at the Industry Press Briefing at the beginning of the day. Anne will outline how the UK, as an emerging wine industry, is shaping its future and the strategies WineGB is setting out to position Britain as a world leader amongst wine regions in sustainability including through its Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB) certification scheme.

The briefing will also see WineGB Chair, Sam Linter, give an update on the industry overall, and incoming Chief Executive Nicola Bates will also be present ahead of taking up her post on 30th October.

The tasting will feature focus, free-pour tables to highlight some of the styles now produced in Britain including:

  • Still wines from the 2022 vintage
  • 2018 Classic Method sparkling wines
  • Pet Nat and natural wines
  • Trophy Winners in the WineGB Awards 2023
  • SWGB-certified wines
  • Other grape-based products

Head of Marketing Julia Trustram Eve says: “We are entering a new phase in Britain’s wine industry, and we are incredibly excited about this landmark event in our calendar, which is going to be bigger than ever before. The tasting is an excellent opportunity for trade buyers to see what is available from producers from all over the country, both large and small and to meet the producers themselves. We are seeing increasing numbers of UK distributors adding English & Welsh wine to their portfolios, as well as retailers looking for own label offerings.”

Some exhibitor highlights:

  • Langham Wine Estate will be showing what is believed to be the UK’s first Col Fondo in keg. Made to the same exacting standards of their other award-winning English sparkling wines, Zig Zag is a blend of 50% Madeleine Angevine and 50% Chardonnay, sold in 20 litre kegs to bars, restaurants and festivals, to be served by the glass
  • Hambledon will be showing the first release of their Première Cuvée Rosé. A blend based on the 2016 harvest, with some reserve wine from their Solera tanks and barrels, the wine is produced by the traditional saignée method with a longer lees ageing – the wine was bottled in 2017 and disgorged in 2022 – which adds depth and complexity
  • Simpsons’ Wine Estate will be pouring their Chalklands Classic Cuvée NV, which will be available in Club World on board British Airways flights from October to December 2023, trailblazing the ‘best of British’ bubbles at 35,000ft. This flagship Simpsons’ sparkling wine has won gold and “Best in Class” at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships and celebrated its first non-vintage release in 2022. Another exciting luxury travel partnership is Simpsons’ rail-inspired Q Class premium magnums, this year being poured on board the Belmond Pullman trains
  • Ridgeview will be celebrating both the one-year anniversary of becoming B Corp certified, as well as the opening of their new winery extension ahead of harvest
  • Balfour Winery is launching two new vintages: Blanc de Noirs 2019, from a vintage which favoured black grapes, whereby 19 individual parcels, all chosen due to their ripe fruit character, were selected for the final blend. The result is a release of only 5,000 bottles, which have been aged on lees for 4 years before release. Their Skye’s Chardonnay 2022 is arguably the finest release yet of one of Balfour’s most popular still wines. Their winemakers use gentle battonage in the winemaking. This vintage is described by Head Winemaker Fergus Elias as “the best he’s ever worked with”. From September, Balfour Winery will be launching a brand-new pop-up restaurant concept at their winery home – “The Winemaker’s Kitchen”, featuring a menu of seasonal, local dishes which has been specifically created to complement the English producer’s award-winning range. Launching early September and open throughout the month on Fridays and Sundays

To register for the tasting please visit the event page on the WineGB website.

The online tasting catalogue, powered by Bottlebooks, will be live from Friday 1st September – the link will be available on the WineGB website.

Please note that the tasting is open only to bona fide trade and press.