BA first class set to introduce Sugrue South Downs

By Hamish Graham

Published: 10 December, 2025

Sussex winery Sugrue South Downs has unveiled that its Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan sparkler is due to be served in British Airways’ (BA) first class from January through March over the next three years.

The introduction of the indie producer sees its wine join a rotation with fellow English wines from Gusbourne and Nyetimber.

BA are onboarding the 2018 vintage – a blend of Chardonnay (60%) and Pinot Noir (40%) which is fermented in oak barrels and aged on lees for six years. Only 4,500 bottles of the unique bottling were produced.

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The extended-aged wine is named in honour of the late Dr Brendan O’Regan – a leading figure in Irish hospitality who founded the world’s first duty-free shop at Shannon Airport in 1947 and is a relative of Dermot Sugrue.

Sugrue – who heads up the Wivelsfield Green-winery alongside Ana Sugrue – is buoyed by the opportunity to showcase the wine on an international platform: “We are thrilled that British Airways has chosen Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan for its first class passengers.

“It is a tremendous honour to see our rarest and most prized cuvée recognised on a global stage – and enjoyed at 35,000 feet. My great-uncle Brendan O’Regan was a peacemaker and a visionary with a truly internationalist outlook, so it seems entirely fitting that a wine bearing his name should be served in such a setting. He would be so proud.”

In September it was announced that Sugrue South Downs was to receive fresh investment from chef Angela Hartnett as well as other leading hospitality figures, as reported by Harpers.

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