_UK vineyards: Knight Frank teams up with Wines of Great Britain

We’re delighted to announce our new partnership with Wines of Great Britain (WineGB), who will work alongside our Viticulture team to support vineyard managers and wine producers across the UK.

September 06, 2022

Knight Frank Partner and Head of Viticulture, Ed Mansel Lewis, says: “We’re thrilled to be WineGB’s new Property Partner. They’re a superb organisation that provides extensive support and advice to industry members across the UK. Our vineyard team has been involved in the burgeoning UK vineyard sector for almost a decade, advising many leading vineyard and wine businesses across the country with land identification, purchase, sale and business consultancy matters. We’re delighted that WineGB recognises this, and we look forward to supporting them.’’

WineGB CEO, Simon Thorpe MW, says: “We’re delighted to be working with Knight Frank. There are now 879 vineyards and 195 wineries in Britain, and the area under vine has more than quadrupled since 2000. With more vines being planted each year (and with some of our more established wineries celebrating key milestones in their history) Knight Frank’s expertise in land assessment and business diversification will be of great use to our industry. We look forward to working with Knight Frank in supporting one of the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sectors.”

How can Knight Frank's Viticulture team help you?

As part of our services to the GB wine sector, we identify land that’s suitable for viticulture using our in-house geospatial vineyard mapping software. This technology assesses important variables such as soil type, altitude, frost risk, slope direction, gradient and road access, to ensure land can produce quality wine grapes. Our viticulture team then help buyers negotiate with landowners to buy or rent land.

We’re also proud to support vineyards and wineries looking to diversify and upscale their businesses, using our placemaking-led diversification service – enabling wine producers to increase the quality and quantity of footfall to their site. We’re also on hand to provide sales and investment advice.

What's next for the UK wine industry?

In the South Downs National Park alone, some 39,700 hectares of land has been identified as suitable for viticulture. A recent climate change survey led by Vinescapes has predicted that growing temperatures in England and Wales will rise by a further 1.4°C by 2040, expanding the area of suitability for red grapes such as Pinot Noir and other international varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Sémillon.

Read our Q&A with Ed to find out more, or contact our Viticulture team.