So just how BIG is the Market?

The peak year of English wine production in 2010 saw 4m bottles produced. Sounds a lot, but is actually less wine than we consume each day in the UK. Some other figures: 

Nyetimber produced 400,000 bottles of wine in its peak year of 2009 on its 430 acre site

Vineyards cover 3,500 acres of English countryside: still small in absolute terms – brussel sprouts occupy more than twice that – but almost double the acreage of 2004.

The winemaker at the Furleigh Estate in Dorset named Winemaker of the Year – The Winemaker with the Highest Average Score for Three Wines – at the English and Welsh Wine of the Year 2012 Competition, has 85 acres.

Furleigh Estate in Dorset: Winemaker of the Year 2012

Top 20 grape varieties planted in 2010 were:

Chardonnay                   249.30  hectores          18.84% of total 

Pinot Noir                       247.77                         18.72

Bacchus                         128.35                          9.77

Seyval Blanc                   92.99                           7.02

Reichensteiner               85.38                           6.45

Muller Thurgau                61.39                           4.63

Pinot Meunier                52.58                           3.97

Madeleine Angevine       47.03                           3.55

Rondo (GM 6494/5)       44.91                           3.39

Schonburger                    42.03                           3.17

Ortega                             29.67                           2.24

Pinot Blanc                      21.34                           1.61

Phoenix                           21.19                           1.60

Regent                             19.49                           1.47

Dornfelder                      18.54                           1.40

Fruhburgunder                 18.39                           1.39

Huxelrebe                       17.44                           1.32

Triomphe                         15.04                           1.13

Siegerrebe                       12.79                           0.97

Orion                                10.76                           0.81

                       

Total Hectarage recorded (all varieties)             1323.51

The revenue of the Industry was £67 million, the annual growth of the industry 08-13 3.2%; 1166 employed in 120 businesses