82,000 bottles sold during Royal Ascot

UK wine importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines has reported that over 80,000 bottles of wine were bought across the five days of Royal Ascot this year.

One of the key events of the UK’s social calendar, the five days of racing at Royal Ascot drew a reported 301,818 guests who drank around 82,000 bottles of wine between them across the various bars and restaurants around the racecourse.

Hallgarten was recently named the exclusive supplier to all the venues at Ascot which include fine dining restaurants run by Simon Rogan, Philip Howard and Raymond Blanc.

Given the excellent weather that was enjoyed throughout the meet, sales of rosé and white wine were reportedly very strong.

Jonathan Parker, director of Food and Beverage Ascot Racecourse, said: “We received wonderful feedback from our clients about the quality of wine on offer at Royal Ascot this year and how well the wines were paired with the fine dining menus.

“The strength of wine sales overall was pleasing, which is a great response to our new upgraded wine list for 2018, where both the Gérard Bertrand Gris Blanc and the Château De L’aumérade rosé performed exceptionally well. With fine weather and seafood at the core of the Royal Meeting, Sancerre saw a major comeback across the fine dining restaurants.”

Hallgarten national account manager, Howard Corrigan, added: “Year one of our partnership with Ascot has so far been a fantastic success. The wines at Royal Ascot this year received glowing reviews from all areas, including celebrity chefs, sommeliers and the Ascot Authority. The logistics on this huge scale went smoothly from day one to five, saving the Ascot team precious time. We are already reviewing the event and planning for 2019, when we are sure it will be an even bigger success.”