Beer and cider boosts Chapel Down results

English winery Chapel Down has announced positive sales in the first half of the year with its beer and cider arm soaring.

For the six months ending 30 June, the company reported year-on-year sales were up 26% to just over £4 million.

Wine sales over this period were up 14% to £2.5m but the company’s beer and cider arm, Curious Drinks, rocketed up 55% to £1.5m with gross profits up 55% to £473,000. In total, the company reported earnings before tax of £93,000 versus the £84,000 in the same period last year.

The company has also planted 95 acres of new vineyards so far this year, 40 acres on its own land in Kent and 55 acres with contract partners. Curious Drinks has also raised over £1.7m, which will be put towards a new brewery.

Chief executive Frazer Thompson, said: “We continue to deliver good growth, with sales and gross profits both growing strongly. Consumers’ interest in English wines and specialist or craft beer shows no sign of abating and Chapel Down has worked hard to be well positioned to benefit.

“We are planting more vines in the finest sites, improving our production facilities, winemaking equipment and systems and developing our people and brands. The successful fundraising of £1.736m for Curious Drinks will enable us to build an exciting new brewery and develop our business for the long term. We are encouraged by the prospect of another good harvest in 2016, with excellent quality, which will enable us to continue to improve the quality of our wines and help our goal to have supply in place to meet future demand.”

Speaking to the drinks business, Thompson repeated his assertion made elsewhere that he thought women were key drivers of the beer and cider category.

“I think the beer category has become much more attractive to women because of its offering more than flatulent, flavour-free fizz,” he declared. “A lot of the changes in the industry are being driven by women’s drinking habits. The boom in sparkling wine and Prosecco for example, you don’t see blokes drinking Prosecco at the pub. And at the lighter end of the craft beer and cider sector it’s being driven by women and we are benefiting from that.”

He added that this year’s harvest was looking “nothing short of sensational – certainly the best I’ve seen in 15 years of English wine,” although it was still unclear what the final volumes would be.