We’re raising a glass for English Wine Week!
We’re very proud to be celebrating and supporting English Wine Week once again this year. The event is organised annually by Wines of Great Britain (Wine GB). This year, English Wine Week has been moved to coincide with the Summer solstice – kicking off the start of Summer in style!
About the event
English Wine Week provides a great opportunity for individuals and businesses to enjoy the wonderful taste of English wine. Why not visit one of your local vineyards and enter into the spirit of the event?
The WineGB Awards 2021
As category sponsors, John Billings was delighted to present the trophy for Best Still Bacchus to Chapel Down as part of the WineGB Awards. Congratulations to the team at Chapel Down and to all the other trophy and medal winners as well.
Drinks on your doorstep – support your local vineyards!
We are very lucky to have some incredible local vineyards right in the heart of Sussex. You may already be a fan of some of them without even knowing! Below is a list of some of the local vineyards in the area to keep you in the know:
Find out more about Ridgeview Wine Estate had to say about working with us in the video below:
Hot off the press
A new report carried out by independent research consultancy Vinescapes has discovered that the South Downs National Park has “huge potential” for the area to be turned into vineyards, becoming a winemaking hub in the UK.
The study identified 39,700 hectares of land in the South Downs National as being suitable for viticulture. If just 10% of this land were to be converted for growing grapes, it would cover an area larger than the current UK viticulture sector (3,500 ha in 2019) and more than 22 million bottles of wine could be produced annually (currently 2.5 million are produced annually).
Currently vineyards in the South Downs National Park cover 436 hectares, representing 12% of vineyards in the UK.
Nick Heasman, a countryside and policy manager for the national park authority who commissioned the study said:
Commercial vineyards have existed in the national park area since the 1950s, and there are references to vineyards in the region going back to Roman times. Then, as now, the special nature of the South Downs National Park provides a working landscape that helps produce world-class wines. This study is really important – in terms of improving our understanding of the current viticulture sector in the National Park and also the potential for wine-making to grow sustainably.
We are proud to work with many Vineyards and Wineries across Sussex and the South East. To find out how we can help, get in touch with one of our specialist Vineyard team on 01903 234094.
