British wine seeing rapid growth

British wine is seeing rapid growth across both the on and off-trade, according to new figures in industry body WineGB’s 2023 report. The anlaysis the group, which represents the British wine trade, reveals that on-trade sales have increased to 22% from 14% and off-trade has almost doubled from 25% last year to 41% this year. Additionally, exports are up from 4 to 7% and it is predicted production will reach 25 to 29 million bottles by 2032 with 7,600 hectares of vines planted. At present there are 4,000 hectares. Following a call from Sussex last week to accelerate wine tourism, the report showed almost a quarter of all revenue came from tourists (24%), with visitor numbers up 17% on 2021 as it recovers from the pandemic. Employment in the wine trade is now estimated at 2,300 full-time roles employed with a further 8,300 people used in part time or seasonal work. There is a prediction of a 50% growth rate in full-time roles by 2025. WineGB said the report is “the most robust set ...