Taittinger plans to be selling English sparkling wine in five years’ time, after teaming up with wine agents Hatch Mansfield and other investors to buy 69 hectares of Kent farmland for a vineyard.
The French champagne house is aiming to plant 40 hectares with pinot meunier, pinot noir and chardonnay grapes in 2017, as part of a £4m investment plan.
The move comes as production of English sparkling wine increases amid growing demand for the product. Sales of sparkling wines at retail outlets have risen by 27% in volume terms over the last year, although champagne sales are up just 1%.
The Daily Telegraph, p. 21
The Guardian, p. 3
