M&S adds 20 English wines to its range

Marks & Spencer has added twenty new English wines to its range ahead of English Wine Week at the end of May.

The retailer has added eight new lines from existing suppliers, Denbies Wine Estates, Halfpenny Green Vineyards, Eastcott Estate and Plumpton College, as well wines from new suppliers Bluebell Vineyard Estates, Camel Valley, Castlebrook, Digby Fine English, Giffords Hall and Hambledon Vineyards.

The additions takes it stock of English wines to 37, representing 14 different counties in England and Wales. Four wines will be available nationally, with the majority on shelf on a regional basis. Prices start at £11 for still to £30 for sparkling wine.

They include a Dornfelder sparkling rosé, a Pinot Blanc and Sparkling Rosé from Plumpton, Eastcott Classic Cuvée Brut and Halfpenny Rosé Sparkling Brut. Three new Bacchus whites will be launching from Giffords Hill, Oaken Grove and Winbirri Estate.

M&S wine buyer Elizabeth Kelly said the retailer was delighted to be working with so many new producers on sparkling wines. “The grapes for the Castle Brook are grown by the Chinn family, who also grow the English Asparagus for M&S, and the wine is then vinified by one of our long term partners – Ridgeview. This is exactly the sort of collaboration that is making the English wine scene so exciting to be a part of,” she said.

She also noted the addition of new still wines to the range was evidence of English wine producers branching out to incorporate less widely used varieties, naming varieties such as Auxerrois, Huxelrebe, Madeleine Angevine, Ortega, Phoenix, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Rondo, Seyval Blanc, Siegerebbe and Solaris.

“Whilst there is now a wealth of great sparkling wine and Bacchus available, it is encouraging to see producers experimenting with other varieties,” she said. ” We’re excited to be launching a Pinot Blanc from Stopham and the Elgar Promenades Dry White, an interesting blend of Phoenix, Madeleine Angevine, Huxelrebe and Siegerebbe from Lovells Vineyard in Worcestershire. We have also managed to secure a small parcel of Pinot Gris from Denbies, which is made in the vein of the traditional Alsace style but with that trademark English acidity running through it.”

The wines are on shelf now, and will be supported throughout English Wine Week, which runs from 28 May to 5 June.