Chapel Down surpasses one million bottle milestone

Despite the impact of Covid-19, Kent-based English wine Chapel Down has said it has passed the one million bottle sales milestone in a calendar year.

The English wine estate announced it had surpassed the figure in October with the festive sales rush yet to come.

CEO Frazer Thompson said the brand was “growing faster this year” than at any point in the last decade.

“We have seen an explosive growth in our e-commerce and direct sales and real excitement from our retail partners,” he said. “One million bottles sold, with Christmas still to come, shows how far English wines have come and how far we could go.”

Back in 2018, the wine producer announced that it had leased a further 388 acres of land, which would take its potential production volume up to one million bottles. Last year, Chapel Down began planting at the site in Boarley, and once complete, it will have over 950 acres under vine, including owned and leased land as well as contract supply.

Thompson said the winery achieved its third largest vintage this year and that yields were “above expectations with fruit quality perhaps even better than the extraordinary 2018 harvest”.

In its half-year report published in September, Chapel Down reported that wine sales were up by 20% in the six months to 30 June, despite the loss of a third of its business due to on-trade closures. This was due to a 473% rise in direct-to-consumer sales. However, its beer and cider division suffered, with sales down 38% to £1.2m. This reflected the fact that 90% of its Curious Brew portfolio is sold via the on-trade.

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