Chapel Down has appointed Van Communications and Zest to further develop the English winemaker as the prominent voice of the industry.
Van Communications will be focusing its attention on helping build Chapel Down’s reputation as the number one English wines brand, while Kent-based Zest will be looking for ways to drive more foot-fall at the Tenterden vineyard and its wine & fine food store.
The appointments follow the recent announcement of Chapel Down’s acquisition of a further 116 acres on the North Downs between Chatham and Maidstone. With the new acreage, due to be planted in May, the company hopes to be producing one million bottles of English sparkling wine a year by 2011.
Guy Tresnan, sales & marketing director at Chapel Down, says: “It’s a tremendously exciting time to be involved with English wine. Chapel Down is already producing international award winning wines and consumers have an insatiable demand for it. It has taken a long time for English Wines to be accepted but it’s now happening and we’re exporting all across the world.”
Recent media reports suggest that French winemakers are increasingly looking to Britain because global warming is harming the yields and making the south-facing slopes of the North and South Downs perfect for production. Kent, Sussex and Hampshire share France’s geology and, with the increase in temperature, put vineyards such as Chapel Down on a par with Epernay, the centre of the Champagne region.
Van co-founder Mark Cooper, who leads a team of three on the account, says: “We will be running a three-pronged campaign that will focus on the company, the product and the brand. Our campaign will be about targeting wine lovers of all ages.”
Terry Hewett, Managing Director of Zest, adds: “There’s something incredibly special about Chapel Down, and we’re proud to be working with such a premium brand. We’ll be coming up with creative ways of getting people who appreciate great food, wine and lifestyle to interact with the brand.”
Last year Chapel Down made 500,000 bottles of wine, accounting for over 50% of all commercially available English Wines. Chapel Down is listed on OFEX as EWG as English Wines Group.
