Football brings record English wine sales to Majestic

By Lisa Riley

Published: 14 July, 2021

The last weekend of Euro 2020 saw record numbers of English wine bought at Majestic Wine, with the nation stocking up on homegrown bottles as the country geared up to the first major football final since 1966.

The retailer said sales were up over 65% against the same period last year, making it the biggest weekend for English wine sales to date at the forty year old retailer.

At one point, across Majestic’s 150 English stores, a bottle of wine grown on this side of the channel was being sold every minute, it added.

“After such an incredible effort from the England team, it’s amazing to see more and more customers reach out for something grown in this country to open for such a special occasion,” said Rob Cooke, chief commercial officer at Majestic.

The story however wasn’t quite the same across the UK with Prosecco also being given an enormous boost, up over 78% against the same weekend in 2020, particularly in Scottish and Welsh outlets.

“Prosecco still dominates our bestselling list, but in recent years the likes of Chapel Down, Nyetimber and Hambledon have quickly become household names. Of course, this wasn’t quite the celebration many had hoped for but it just goes to show that English wine is becoming truly mainstream and accessible for millions of people. And long may that continue,” said Cooke.

In 2020, sales of English and Welsh wines increased by around 30% over the previous year, according to industry figures released by Wine GB last month.

Sales over the past year had not only been boosted by the increasing thirst among Brits for home-grown wines, but also by a “boom” in wine tourism and an increasing number of consumers buying direct from the winery, either online or at the cellar door, said the industry body.

At the beginning of this week, Majestic announced it had put an end to almost decade-long hiatus in investment in the north of England with a new store opening in the historic market town of Knutsford.

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