Britain’s wine producers have pledged a tenfold increase in exports by 2020, Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss has announced.

The growth would take the value of exports to over £30 million a year.

Top wine producers meet

The announcement came after the first ever English Wine Round Table was held to discuss ways to boost future production.

Producers and wine industry representatives vowed to increase wine exports from 250,000 bottles to 2.5 million bottles by 2020.

To do this, the industry will grow the area of planted vineyards from 2,000 to 3,000 hectares, with the goal of doubling production from 5 million bottles to 10 million bottles a year by 2020.

To help, they will be given access to new data on soil types, water resources and infrastructure networks to help find the best areas of land for production.

The Government’s recently-created Great British Food Unit will back the drive, while the Government has also pledged to help identify an extra 75,000 acres suitable for sparkling wine production.

Good time for British wine

The British wine industry has been growing steadily over recent years, with figures showing production has doubled in the last 5 years.

Last year, sales broke the £100 million barrier for the first time as producers adopted cutting-edge technology.

One of the longest established English sparkling wines is Nyetimber,  which has the country’s largest wine estate, with 177 hectares of vineyards in West Sussex and Hampshire. Over the years, Strutt & Parker has been instrumental in Nyetimber’s expansion, says Nick Watson, Land Management Partner in the Lewes office: negotiating the purchase of additional acres for vineyards, acquiring commercial buildings and the company’s London offices, securing planning consent for a state-of-the-art pressing centre, and providing architectural, listed buildings and valuation advice.

Nyetimber’s success in the UK is impressive: it won gold and silver medals at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships in 2015 and was the official sparkling wine at Cowes Week. Now, the company is turning its attention to the export market – but owner and Chief Executive Eric Heerema believes there is a long way to go before we see full international acceptance of English sparkling wine. “That will take time, further professionalism and marketing,” he says. “The main challenges for the development of the industry are the costs and high risks.”

Elizabeth Truss aims to get the industry to a point at which it can start to compete with Australia, France and Italy.

The round table meeting included some “full and frank conversations” about how the Government can support the industry to meet its goals by 2020, says Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

The UK Vineyard Association (UKVA) says exports should increase from 5% of production to 25% by 2020.

Barry Lewis, CEO of UKVA, says investment in this industry has exceeded £60m and has led to a significant growth in production that has created more skilled employment and boosted the rural economy.