Chapel Down is one of England’s leading winemakers, based in Kent at the heart of the country’s wine-growing region. Best known for its award-winning sparkling wines made in the traditional method, it also produces still wines and runs a visitor centre with tours and tastings. Over the past two decades, Chapel Down has helped put English wine on the map, supplying top restaurants and retailers, exporting overseas and becoming the largest producer by volume and market share.
Chapel Down had a steady first half of 2025. Sales went up, especially in supermarkets, and its core sparkling wines kept growing. The company did post a small loss on paper, but that was mostly down to accounting movements rather than a sudden slump in the business. Day to day, the brand says it’s selling more where it matters. However, The Financial Times reported ‘Chapel Down scraps £32mn winery after demand for English wine slows‘. Is this true?
Chapel Down says this wasn’t because people suddenly stopped buying its wine. It ran into repeated delays getting final planning permission, which pushed the board to take another look at the whole project. In that review they found a cheaper, lower-risk route: upgrade the current winery in Tenterden to focus on traditional-method sparkling and use spare capacity with trusted partners nearby for some still wines. Put together, that gives them plenty of room to grow without splashing out on a single big new build.
So, is the FT right to say the winery was scrapped “after demand… slows”? It captures the mood that English wine isn’t racing ahead quite as fast as it was a couple of years ago and every producer is keeping an eye on costs. But tying Chapel Down’s decision mainly to weak demand misses the detail. In its own words, the company is still gaining ground in supermarkets and within English sparkling. The switch looks more about practicalities and spending wisely than about a collapse in customer interest.
There are a couple of other points worth noting. Michael Spencer, the company’s largest shareholder, has stepped in as chair, which underlines the push for tighter focus and faster decisions. And the vineyards planted in recent years are coming into full production from 2026 and 2027, which should give Chapel Down more home-grown grapes for its best wines. The team also expects a strong, good-quality 2025 harvest after a warm summer, with more detail due in October.
In short, the FT gets the “what” right, the Canterbury winery is off, but the “why” is simpler and less dramatic: planning snags prompting a better, cheaper plan. Chapel Down’s sales are still heading in the right direction, the brand says it’s winning share in sparkling and it’s keeping its full-year aims in place.
