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Digby the first English fizz down under
Digby Fine English is the first English sparkling wine to go on sale in Australia on a commercial scale after striking a distribution deal with retail giant Woolworths.
The brand, founded by UK-based American Trevor Clough in 2013, has secured a listing at Australia’s most powerful drinks retailer in time for the Christmas rush.
Digby Non Vintage Brut went on sale at 40 Woolworths-owned Dan Murphy’s this week priced at AU$89.99 (£53) a bottle.
“What an amazing few weeks, my hair is on fire! We won our first three Michelin starred listing at Alinea in Chicago just after our US launch and now we are leading the English wine movement into Australia,” an enthusiastic Clough said.
Digby’s Trevor Clough and Jason Humphries
Helping to secure the deal was Hampshire-based The British Bottle Company, run by Red Johnson, which specialises in distributing UK-made alcoholic drinks around the globe, and Woolworth’s Endeavour Drinks Group.
Michael Jackson, general manager of buying and marketing for the Endeavour Drinks Group said: “The growth of Champagne and sparkling wine over the past five years has really surprised us.
“This trend has become a regular purchase for our customers, who are now more engaged with the category and are looking for new and interesting regions.
“We feel the quality now coming from England will add to the choice we currently have in our Dan Murphy’s stores.”
Last year, Champagne sales in Australia grew by over 24% making it the sixth largest export market in the world for Champagne. English sparkling wine producers are clearly hoping for a slice of the sparkling action down under.
An increasing number of UK producers have their sights set on selling their wares abroad.
As reported by db earlier this year, the British Bottle Company sent its first full 20ft container of English wine – more than 5,000 bottles of fizz – to the US in August. Around half of the shipment was wine from Hush Heath Estate in Kent.
In addition to the US and Australia, Canada, Japan and the Nordic countries are also being targeted by English sparkling producers keen to raise the global profile of homegrown fizz.