As the English wine industry gears up to celebrate its national campaign English Wine Week from 18-26 June, Wines of Great Britain (WineGB), the national body for the UK wine industry, releases the latest sales and planting figures which show how the sector continues to go from strength to strength.

Sales of English and Welsh wines have risen by 69% since 2019 – from 5.5m bottles in 2019, to 7.1m in 2020, growing to 9.3m in 2021. Hectarage has more than doubled in just eight years, and more than quadrupled since 2000, and now stands at approximately 3,758 hectares1 under vine.
96% of all sales are now sold on the domestic market, with over 50% of all English and Welsh wines sold through winery websites and via the cellar door, illustrating the growing pace of direct to consumer sales. But sales on the high street are also showing strong growth:

● Majestic reports that sales of English sparkling wines are already up by over 58% compared to the same period last year.
● Aldi reports 160% year on year growth for its English still rosé
● The Jubilee provided a significant boost for the industry2 with Sainsbury’s reporting the English Sparkling Wine category was up 370%,
Exports, representing 4% of all sales, grew by 21%, with Scandinavia the leading market and more specifically Norway, which alone saw 85% increase in sales in 2021 (over 2020)

Wine Tourism continues to flourish as wineries expand their cellar door offering with events, restaurants, visitor centres and accommodation and is fast becoming an important part of the sector, contributing to further rural employment opportunities. Airbnb has just launched a new ‘vineyard’ search category for travellers wishing to incorporate vineyard visits, reflecting the rise in popularity of wine tourism. (View Press release here)

WineGB CEO Simon Thorpe MW comments: “It really is boom time for the English wine sector – our wines are attracting more and more fans, proven by the fantastic growth in wine sales in the home market. With vineyards open up and down the country and the wide availability across retailers and on trade – there’s never been a better time to celebrate our flourishing home wine industry, and English Wine Week is the perfect time to enjoy some of England’s wine gems!”

1 This figure is attributed to data supplied by Wine Standards Branch (Food Standards Agency) May 2022 This figure does NOT include the plantings from 2022. Estimates are between 300-440ha which would bring total ha to over 4000.
2 https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fruit-and-veg/british-food-and-drink-gets-major-boost-during-jubilee/668309.article

Visit WineGB’s website to find out what’s on during English Wine Week:
English Wine Week Round Up – WINEGB
or follow on social media @WineGB (Instagram, FB) & @Wine_GB (Twitter)

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Further information and interview opportunities:
Madeleine Waters | Madeleine@weareco.co.uk | 07778 702221

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Notes to Editors

Sales by year:
2021: 9.3m bottles
2020: 7.1m bottles
2019: 5.5m bottles

2020 sales:
Cellar door = 28%
Winery websites = 22%
UK on-trade = 18%
Independent retail = 15%
Off-trade (national accounts) = 13%
Exports = 4%

There are a total of 66 grape varieties planted in the UK.
The Top 10 varieties planted by hectare:
Chardonnay 1,179
Pinot Noir 1,164 (This includes 63ha of Frühburgunder / Pinot Noir Précoce)
Pinot Meunier 327
(These three varieties make up 71% of total plantings)
Bacchus 264
Seyval Blanc 117
Solaris 93
Reichensteiner 69
Rondo 60
Pinot Gris 56
Müller-Thurgau 46

In the past five years, plantings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier have amounted to 1,343ha out of total plantings of 1,646ha, which equates to 82% of all plantings.
The next most planted varieties in the past five years are:
• Bacchus 75 ha
• Solaris 56ha
• Pinot Gris 20ha
• Seyval Blanc 24ha

Plantings by year:
2018: 1.6m vines planted
2019: 3m vines planted
2020: 1.4m vines planted
2021: 1.6m vines planted

Production by year:
2021: 8.95m bottles
2020: 8.7m bottles
2019: 10.5m bottles
2018: 13.2m bottles