WinesGB boosts board with new director

WineGB, the trade body representing the English and Welsh wine industry, has bolstered its board with the appointment of Bolney Wine Estate’s Sam Linter.

Linter, who is managing director and lead winemaker at the Sussex-based wine estate, will join the board of WinesGB as a director with immediate effect. She is one of three directors appointed to represent the larger growers and producers. 

WineGB chairman Simon Robinson said he was delighted Linter has joined the WineGB Board.

“Her commitment to WineGB and its success is clear and unequivocal: in the last two years she has led the industry’s export committee and, in that position, has driven that agenda forwards with considerable pace and success.”

The English sparkling wine industry is currently enjoying its best vintage on record with supply projected to reach 6 million bottles this year, up from 4 million bottles last year, with the increase of planting in the last 3-5 years set to see this rise to around 8-10m bottles within the next 10 years – representing around a third of the size of the market for Champagne in the UK, which was 27.7m in 2017. However, some in the industry experts has warned that the English sparkling wine industry needs to adopt a more coherent approach to production and supply in order to grow sales sustainably, although producers are confident that  the increased quality of the product, the strength of the brands in the market, growing domestic sales and a healthy export potential, will see strong growth.