The Grocer – 10 August 2019

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Heerema has the financial capital to make

his dream of owning the world’s biggest lux-

ury English wine brand a reality. And he’s

got the wines to back it up, thanks to his win-

emakers Brad Greatrix and Cherie Spriggs.

Spriggs was named Sparkling Winemaker

of the Year by the IWC in 2018 – the first time

a winemaker outside champagne has won

the title.

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Neil Bruce

Head of wine, Fuller’s

There are no shortage of posh restaurants

serving upmarket English wines to deep-

pocketed oenophiles. Convincing the general

public as to the merits of Sussex slosh, how-

ever, is a different game. Especially when you

consider the mainstream hospitality indus-

try’s paper-thin margins. Thus Neil Bruce’s

decision in 2017 to replace all the house cham-

pagnes across Fuller’s estate of pubs with

English wines (after a storming trial in 28

pubs) is all the more monumental.

“I was convinced consumers were ready to

accept English sparkling wine on wine lists

at the same price as champagne,” he says.

“If anything I think we could have done it

ea rl ier.”

Others have since followed: JD

Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin announced with

fanfare that JDW would replace champagne

with English sparkling, as a way for the una-

shamedly pro-Brexit business to distance

itself from EU suppliers ahead of the UK’s

departure. But Bruce’s move was a genuine

show of faith in English wine rather than

political point-scoring, showing that English

fizz didn’t just have to compete with cham-

pagne, but could actually replace it on wine

lists across the country.

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Miles Beale

CEO, Wine & Spirit Trade Association

The wine industry’s lobbyist-in-chief has

spent the seven years of his tenure boost-

ing English wine’s profile on the world stage.

He was fundamental in creating the WSTA’s

English Wine Trail to boost lucrative vine-

yard tourism, organised the first and only

English wine roundtable with Defra, and,

most memorably, organised a blind testing

in Paris that saw English wines smash their

champagne rivals.

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Oz Clarke

Wine writer and broadcaster

English wine is not short of advocates in

the media. But among suppliers there is an

almost unanimous sense that Clarke’s sup-

port has done the most to bring English wines

to a wider audience. “He has been a consistent

supporter over the past 18 years,” says Chapel

Down’s Thompson, adding it is Clarke’s sup-

port that “will make the biggest difference” in

turning shoppers on to the category.

Clarke stands out as an ambassador for

English wine not just because of his promi-

nence but in virtue of the accessibility of his

work. And as English wine grows in name

and popularity, it will need advocates who

understand how the majority of shoppers,

rather than an elite few, actually appreciate

and buy wine.

“Heerema has

made no secret of

having ploughed

ungodly sums

of his own cash

into the brand”