WineGB is returning to ProWein this year with its largest ever presence of England’s wine producers.

Nine English wine brands are exhibiting on the Wines of Great Britain stand in Hall 14 (Stand A50).

Going to ProWein are: Black Chalk, Bolney Wine Estate, Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Hattingley Valley, Ridgeview, Roebuck Estates and exhibiting for the first time are Lyme Bay Winery and Rathfinny Estate. These producers between them span much of England’s wine-producing region from east in Kent to west in Devon.

The main focus across the producers on show will be a wide range of world-renowned classic method English sparkling wine. Several will also be exhibiting some of their still wines, primarily those produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Exports of English and Welsh wines, according to WineGB’s current industry report (based on 2021 sales data*) account for some 4% of all sales of UK wines and wines are shipped to 30 export markets. Sparkling wine shipments rose 33% that year.

Britain’s core wine export markets are Scandinavia, Japan and USA. Key market growth is driven from Scandinavia, with Norway the largest market, which grew by 85% in 2021. Other export markets include Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland and Netherlands.

Export activity also supports the drive to promote more inbound tourism – wine tourism in the UK is now a sector that is growing exponentially.

Simon Thorpe, CEO of WineGB commented: “The wine industry of Britain is thriving and engaging with an ever-growing crowd of followers and fans across the world as more and more trade buyers, influencers and consumers recognise the word-class credentials of our wines. We are delighted that there will be a larger presence at ProWein this year, providing an opportunity to showcase our wines and producers to an international trade audience”

Andy Gadd, Sales Manager, Rathfinny – first time exhibitor at ProWein: “We are very much looking forward to ProWein 2023, our first in conjunction with Wine GB. We’ll be presenting our full range of 2018 vintage traditional method English Sparkling Wines. 2018 is widely regarding as the ‘Vintage of the Decade’ for English Sparkling and the wines are tasting incredibly well. 2022 was a year in which our export sales grew dramatically, we are now exporting to 8 international markets and are looking to expand that further.”

Michael Kennedy, CEO at Roebuck Estates comments: “Roebuck has grown alongside the interest in English Sparkling Wine we’re seeing on the world stage. It’s an exciting time for our industry, and the international distribution we’ve already achieved shows us that our future is bright. Being ‘Vintage Only’ can have its challenges, but not when you have the quality of estate-grown fruit that we are harvesting from our collection of rich and diverse vineyards. We’ve always known this would be what sets us apart, and we look forward to showing our individual vintage sparkling wines to many potential international partners once again at ProWein.”

*The latest industry report, based on 2022 activity, will be released in June this year.

Simon Thorpe MW, CEO, WineGB will be on the stand at ProWein during the Fair and available for interview. Please contact Julia Trustram Eve to arrange a meeting.