Retailers looking to stock English and Welsh wine should consider increasing their still wine offer and diversifying sourcing, following whiplash vintages in recent years. 2023 brought the highest grape yield on record – over 20,000 tonnes and around 20–23 million bottles of wine, according to WineGB.
While many producers diverted surplus fruit into sparkling, Wine Britannia reported an uptick in high-quality still wines, particularly Bacchus and Pinot Gris, which are now hitting the market. According to WineGB, sales of English and Welsh still wines more than doubled in five years, rising by 117% from 1.2 million bottles in 2018 to 2.6 million in 2023.
Nick Brewer, founder of Oastbrook Vineyard in Sussex, whose production is 70% still, told FFD the 2023 glut created risks around overstocking – especially for traditional method sparkling, which takes at least 3–5 years to release.
“Stock-to-use ratios rose, but that doesn’t automatically mean lower prices for retailers.”
At Heppington Vineyard in Canterbury, Kent, co-founder Henry Blaxland said it dropped 15 tonnes of “perfectly good Chardonnay” due to overproduction.
Heppington, with 15.5 acres under vine, was initially planted for sparkling, but its Burgundy clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have allowed it to build a strong still wine portfolio.
By contrast, 2024 was “wet and wretched”, said Blaxland, and yields fell by up to 70% in some areas due to poor flowering and mildew. Heppington’s harvest totalled 47 tonnes – around 75% of its best – with most Chardonnay diverted to sparkling. Still wines were made from Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, which, he said, “ripened better than we’d feared”.
Oastbrook managed an adequate vintage despite the weather.
“Quality was decent, if yields were lower – slightly higher acidity, lower sugars. Further west and north, it was much harder.”
As for 2025, it is too early to predict – but Brewer is cautiously optimistic.
“We’ve avoided frost, and buds look good. If we get a warm June and September, we’re in for a good year.”
With most English wine sold DTC or at the cellar door – over 57% of total sales in 2024, according to WineGB – Brewer advises retailers: “English wines have higher acidity, making them excellent for food pairing. That’s under-communicated. They might not be ideal apéritifs, but they shine alongside rich dishes. Menu pairing is a great way to present them.”
This article first appeared in the June-July 2025 issue of Fine Food Digest.
