We're celebrating English Wine Week!

We're celebrating English Wine Week so we thought we'd share a few interesting stats on English wine production from Wine GB, as well as introduce you to our friends at Halfpenny Green, our nearest English vineyard in Staffordshire.

• 2023 saw the biggest bottling of English wine, around 22 million bottles!
• In 2017, production was around only 5.3 million, so we've seen some significant growth of our wine industry in recent years.
• It's not just an increase in plantings that's driven the growth, warmer weather, better sites and improved vineyard techniques have resulted in higher yields.
• The top 4 grapes in terms of plantings include, Chardonnay (31%), Pinot Noir (29%), Pinot Meunier (9%) and Bacchus (8%).
• Bacchus is widely regarded as England's signature grape, producing an aromatic dry white wine similar in style to Sauvignon Blanc (more akin to a French Sauvignon than a New Zealand Sauvignon).
• Sparkling wine is still very much at the forefront of English wine, accounting for around 68% of all bottles. Although warming up, our climate is still cool, which is perfect for the production of quality sparkling wine.
   

Halfpenny Green Estate

We've been working with Halfpenny Green for a number of years and their Penny Red is regularly in our top 10 best-selling wines. Their 30-acre estate in the heart of Staffordshire was established over 30 years ago and the estate now produces the full range of styles including white, red, rosé and sparkling. If you're local, their vineyards are well worth a visit!