English wine to look at apprenticeships as it boosts production

The English wine industry is looking at the possibility apprentices could pay to meet growing demand for a skilled workforce.

The WSTA and representatives of the English and Welsh wine industry discussed export growth with Secretary of State Liz Truss

The area under vine is set to double in the UK by 2020, having already increased 100% since 2009 and a recent Round Table with Defra, the WSTA and representatives of the English and Welsh wine industry, and retailer Waitrose, discussed how to boost production and the hectarage under vine, and also the potential in the industry to create a large number of skilled jobs.

Also on the agenda was ways to improve data collection,  “overly restrictive” planning rules and access to pesticides, and the use of LIDAR data to identify potential sites for vineyards.

The Round Table also discussed exports, pledging to see exports increase tenfold by 2020. Currently around 250,000 bottles of English and Welsh are exported, but the industry wants to see this rise to 2.5m by 2020, to around £30m-worth of exports.

Miles Beale said the first ever English Wine Round Table had been a “fantastic” opportunity to have a full and frank conversation about how the government could support the industry to meet its goals by 2020 and the input from all parties had been “extremely positive”, with collaboration between vineyards increasing in recent months.

“English wine is earning itself a world class reputation for quality. And with government support there is a sparkling future ahead,” Beale said. “English wine’s potential and ambitions for rapid growth are clear in the aims, agreed today, to double production and to see exports increasing ten-fold by 2020.”

Vineyards represented included Bolney, Rathfinny, Chapel Down, Ridgeview, Nyetimber and Biddenden as well as Pierpaolo Petrassi from Waitrose, which is one of the largest retailers of English and Welsh wine.