Corks popping at Chapel Down after English wine maker bought 1m bottles of fizz for first time final 12 months
Kent firm Chapel Down sold more than 1m bottles of sparkling wine for the first time last year and is aiming to hold 1pc of the global champagne market by 2035.
Its sales are now equivalent to around 0.4 per cent of market share.
Boss James Pennefather said English sparkling wine is booming because it is associated with ‘more informal celebration occasions, such as wedding anniversaries, birthdays, graduation ceremonies’.
It has also been boosted by a shift in tastes towards grapes grown in cooler climates, which produce a ‘lighter, fresher, crisper style of wine’.
Sales rose 19 per cent to £19.4million last year with a profit of £469,000, compared to the £1.4m loss it made in 2024.
English winemakers suffered the second-worst harvest on record in 2024, with wet weather and disease hitting yields.
Cheers: English wine-maker Chapel Down is edging towards its ambitious goal to hold the equivalent of a 1% share of the global Champagne market by 2035
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