Dom Perignon winemaker moves to Kent

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 08 December, 2020

Nick Lane, who was part of the winemaking team at Dom Perignon, has moved to the UK to join contract-only winery, Defined Wine.

Before spending five years in Champagne with Moet and Chandon, where he also worked for Veuve Clicquot, Lane spent 13 years as a winemaker at Cloudy Bay Vineyards in his homeland of New Zealand.

He now joins Defined Wine, a contract-only set-up that was founded in 2018. Lane follows in the footsteps of other Champagne winemakers to the south east of England over the past few years. In May 2017, Champagne Taittinger became the first Grande Marque Champagne house to own and plant an English vineyard, Domaine Evremond, in Chilham, Kent.

This was followed in 2018 by Vranken-Pommery Monopole, which released its first English sparkling wine, Louis Pommery England Brut, in collaboration with Hampshire’s Hattingley Valley.

“It is extremely motivating to be part of this vibrant English wine scene, where true potential for both still and sparkling wines is only just being unearthed,” Lane said.

“Being part of the modern and well-equipped facility here will allow us to not only embrace the short and long term ambitions of our clients, but also to harness the confluence of the technical and the creative.”

Defined Wine’s founder, Henry Sugden, added: “We are really excited that Nick has moved to the UK. His knowledge and experience will be a fantastic asset for all of our clients, and it speaks volumes for how the reputation of English and Welsh wine is improving that someone of his stature has made the decision to make wine here.”

Based in Kent and making both sparkling and still wines, Defined is believed to be the only operation of its kind the UK. It owns no vineyards or brands, focusing solely on making wine for other businesses.

It offers ‘crate to case’ full winemaking services, including bottling, labelling, laboratory services, to temperature-controlled storage, and riddling and disgorging. The company’s philosophy is to bring together the best technology and top-flight expertise for vineyards and brands.

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