
Global acclaim Since then, Nyetimber wines have gone on to achieve global acclaim, winning international awards and blind-tasting competitions, as well as being recognised by some of the world’s most celebrated wine experts. Spriggs, too, was named Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge 2018, making history not only by becoming the first woman to win it, but also the first person outside of the wine region of Champagne to take the title. Nyetimber was launched in Singapore last year, and most recently, in Japan — to enthusiastic response. “International growth has been impressive and really important for the future of Nyetimber. But I think particularly in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, Nyetimber’s found kind of a second home,” says Greatrix. “The challenge for English sparkling wine is that people don’t think of England as this viticultural superpower, right? People imagine English weather, and they don’t think of vines.” “But where there’s a natural affinity, I think, is that in these markets we didn’t face the same sort of scepticism as some other markets. So I think we’ve started on a very strong foot,” he says. Spriggs adds: “I think that partly plays into the level of wine connoisseurship that exists in these countries. And that is a very refreshing thing for a new brand or a new country in the world of wine — people who understand good wine and don’t need fancy messaging. What they need is to taste it, and then they go, “Oh, wow, this is delicious.” And bear in mind, many types of Asian cuisine can work really beautifully with sparkling wine. So it’s a fact we’ve got a nice affinity there.” Nyetimber is focused on putting its fantastic harvest to good use in 2021. Spriggs says: “We don’t know precisely yet, but we anticipate we will make around a million bottles from this 2020 harvest, and that will occupy a big part of our wine-making year. It is a real privilege for us that we don’t buy or sell fruit, we only use fruit from our own vines. But what comes with that is as demand grows, and as we as a business wish to grow, we must continue to find appropriate land.”