Something has changed when you enter a respectable bar on a warm afternoon in Kent or Sussex. In addition to the premium gin list and the rotating cask ales, there’s a good chance you’ll find a glass of local sparkling wine on the menu that is priced between a Prosecco and a Champagne, described in plain English, and poured with the same effortless confidence a bartender gives a well pulled pint. This wasn’t always the case. Listing English wine seemed like a quirky form of patriotism a few years ago. These days, it just seems like sensible menu choices.
The numbers supporting this change are startling. According to WineGB’s 2025 industry statistics, there are 238 wineries and 1,104 vineyards in England and Wales. The planted area has increased by 510% from 2005 to 4,841 hectares. This scale is significant because it addressed the issue of dependability that the hospitality sector had long held against English wine. A product that vanishes after a few weeks or cannot be reordered through a merchant cannot be the focal point of a pub’s menu. That calculation has completely changed as a result of more vineyards, larger estates, improved distribution networks, and more reliable vintages. For the first time, supply has kept up with the ambition.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 (merger of English Wine Producers and United Kingdom Vineyards Association) |
| Vineyards (2025) | 1,104 registered vineyards across England and Wales |
| Wineries (2025) | 238 active wineries |
| Area Under Vine | 4,841 hectares (up from 4,209 hectares the previous year) |
| Growth Since 2005 | 510% increase in area under vine |
| 2024 Production | Over 10.6 million bottles (a difficult vintage year) |
| 2025 FSA Production | 124,377 hectolitres — equivalent to more than 16.5 million bottles |
| Commercial Vineyards | 779 commercial vineyards registered with the Food Standards Agency |
| Leading Counties | Kent, West Sussex, Essex, East Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, Devon, Gloucestershire, Suffolk |
| Key Grape Varieties | Chardonnay (~33%), Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Bacchus, Pinot Gris, Solaris |
| Production Split | ~69% sparkling, ~31% still wine |
| Sales Channels | Direct-to-consumer 30%, on-trade 26%, national off-trade 26%, independent retail 9%, export 9% |
| Employment | More than 10,000 people across the wider industry (FSA 2025) |
Additionally, there has been a change in quality that is easier to taste but more difficult to quantify. Thin, sharp English whites from the 1990s may still be remembered by older British drinkers as being more of a patriotic experiment than a true joy. That reputation is out of date. Chalk and limestone soils in southern counties, grape varietals appropriate for a maritime climate, enhanced winemaking expertise, and growers that have made significant investments are the foundations of the current English wine business. Wine buyers in bars and restaurants had to pay attention when English sparkling wines started to show up in tastings alongside Champagne and hold their own. Honestly, the wines themselves were just as important as awards and media attention.
English wine may have benefited more from the food led pub trend than anything else. The beverages list had to follow after gastropubs persuaded patrons that a pub could serve serious food without sacrificing its essence. If the wine list looks like it was put together in 1997, a pub with a daily changing menu, local beef, day boat fish, and a cheese board from three counties over appears inconsistent. The same question that their chefs had been posing for years started to be asked by restaurants and gastropubs: what’s nearby? What is local? What has a compelling tale? All three were addressed by English wine.
For menus, the expansion of still wine production has been especially significant. The credibility of the category was established by sparkling wine, which still makes up about 69% of English output. Pubs require more than just bottles for festivities. For Tuesday lunch, they need a glass of white to go with the chicken pie; in July, they need a rosé for the garden patio; in October, they need something light and red for a plate of mushrooms.
According to WineGB data, still wine production in England increased by 10% in 2024, and the variety is growing: English Chardonnay can be either unoaked and bright or more textured and barrel influenced; Bacchus offers something aromatic and crisp that goes well with Sauvignon Blanc on a menu; Pinot Gris and Solaris add more options. Instead of only a showpiece bottle for exceptional events, the collection offers consumers practical by the glass options.
The client seems to have evolved as well. Today’s wine patrons may not be wine experts, but they are curious in a manner that earlier generations might not have been. They are aware of local sourcing. They have witnessed craft beer demonstrate that something produced locally can be quite good. They have witnessed the rise to prominence of British cheesemakers, charcuterie makers, small batch distillers, and seasonal vegetable growers.
English wine is a perfect fit for that change in culture. Customers who choose a local brew based on its provenance are frequently just as open to trying a sparkling from Kent or a Bacchus from Essex, particularly if a staff person can explain it in simple, approachable terms like “fresh, floral, a bit like Sauvignon Blanc, made about twenty miles from here.”
Pubs are now adept at making expensive drinks affordable. That’s just what English wine requires. A 175ml pour with a food is a low stakes trial, but few customers will risk a complete bottle on an unknown English still wine. This is where the by the glass approach is crucial. This experiment is now more accessible because to preservation systems, improved cellar management, and employee training.
According to the Morning Advertiser’s trade coverage, The New Flying Horse in Kent carries eight or nine regional Kent wines in addition to a wider selection, selling the majority of bottles by the glass using preservation technology. It’s a pub that thought the local category should have a fair shot, not a wine bar.
The same is the case with economics. Publicans are aware that they cannot substitute house wine with local bottles without increasing prices because English wine is rarely inexpensive. That isn’t really the purpose. In terms of margin and experience, a local sparkling wine is inherently superior to Prosecco. A more expensive glass than the house white can be justified by a high end Bacchus.
A seasonal special that sells well and looks great in photos for the pub’s social media accounts may be an English rosé. These are positional decisions rather than budgetary ones. A unique drink deal encourages patrons to visit at a time when pubs are fighting for spend per head against home drinking and restaurant delivery.
It’s difficult to ignore the tourism aspect as well. Nowadays, vineyards in Kent, Sussex, and the West Country are popular tourist attractions where people purchase wines at the cellar door, schedule tours, and attend harvest celebrations. Those guests are likely to recognize and select a wine they just came across at the source when they sit down to eat at a local bar.
The cycle reinforces itself. bars can suggest local wineries as an afternoon activity, and vineyards can direct visitors to neighboring bars. Pub menus using English wine are more than just a trend in beverages. It’s starting to have a role in how a region markets itself in various sections of the nation.
It would be incorrect to assume that every bar is prepared to create an English wine section with four solid points. Practical assistance is needed for this category: suppliers who are willing to interact with the unique rhythms of pub service rather than merely leaving a price list; menu notes that make unfamiliar bottles feel approachable; and training for employees who are still unable to describe Pinot Noir Précoce without apologizing.
These things are in place in the pubs that handle English wine well. They don’t have silent, forgotten bottles collecting dust in the incorrect area of the refrigerator. The wine has never been better. Given how successfully it has handled craft beer, single malt, and artisan cider over the past 20 years, the question now is whether the pub sector can have the operational confidence to sell it correctly.
i) https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2023/05/22/how-can-i-turn-my-pub-into-a-venue-for-wine-fans
ii) https://en.uhomes.com/blog/british-pubs-and-drinks
iii) https://wine-intelligence.com/blogs/wine-news-insights-wine-intelligence-trends-data-reports/uk-wine-industry-boom
iv) https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/07/english-wine-sales-climb-3/