US wine giant eyes up English wine market
The untrammelled success of the English wine industry has already seen two top French Champagne houses snap up land in the UK to cash in on the burgeoning sector.
Both Champagne houses Pommery and Taittinger have already seen the potential of the fast-growing sector and have acquired land in the south of England to plant with vineyards.
And now, the head of the California-based Jackson Family Wines is the latest wine company to express an interest in the commercial potential of English wine. Barbara Banke, a self-confessed fan of the product, said she was considering an English wine project and had toured several English vineyards.
“It’s a great industry that’s developing here and it's really coming into its own,” she told Drinks Business. And she said she believed the quality of the wine would only get better as the industry matures.
“I like the fruit and the restrained character [of English sparkling wine] and, as the vineyards age and the stock continues to age the wines are going to improve,” she said.
If the Jackson family do invest in the English wine industry it will be the first American wine company to buy into the business, and one of only a handful of foreign investors to do so. This is likely just the beginning of overseas investors muscling into the fast growing English wine market. Earlier this year Chapel Down brand ambassador James McClean said: “English wine is gaining respect both within the wine industry and internationally, and the Taittinger investment was great as it shed light on the industry and brought attention to our wines.”