Chapel Down
Chapel Down Group PLC (known as Chapel Down) are an English Wine and premium drinks producer based in Ashford, Kent. The business's main areas of production are English Still and Sparkling Wine, Spirits and Beers/Ciders which are marketed under their Curious Brewing brand. In 2011, one of their wines was served at the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge..[1].
History
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Founded 📆 | |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Ashford, Kent, |
Area served 🗺️ | |
Key people |
|
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| Subsidiaries | Curious Brewing |
| 🌐 Website | www |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
The first vineyard to be planted at Chapel Down's Tenterden site was in 1977 by Stephen Skelton[2]. He continued to develop the vineyards and winery at Tenterden, eventually selling the business, although continuing to manage and make wine for the new owners until his last vintage as a full-time winemaker in 2000. After a series of different owners, the vineyard was bought by Chapel Down in 1995, a company which had begun life on the Isle of Wight before moving to Burgess Hill.[3]
Fast forward to 2000, the Tenterden site had continued to increase its acreage and reputation. And in April 2000, English Wines was incorporated as a result of the merger of two of England’s largest vineyards: Tenterden Vineyard in Tenterden, Kent and Lamberhurst Vineyard near Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The company later incorporated as a public limited company in January 2002 as English Wines PLC and in 2003 the lease on the Lamberhurst Vineyard was relinquished and the group focused their efforts on growing the Chapel Down brand[4]. In 2011, the group registered a change of its name to Chapel Down Group PLC with companies house[5].
In 2011, the company moved into the Beer and Cider market with its brand Curious Brewing (formerly Curious Brewery) and in late 2017 launched its first line of spirits, gin & vodka[6].
In late 2018, it opened its first micro distillery in the Kings Cross, London area which includes a bar and restaurant[7].
Vineyards
The company operate a tourism business at their original Tenterden location where they produce their wine. The site includes a shop, tasting rooms and restaurant (operated by I'll Be Mother) and hosts various tours of the site.
In 2018, the company became the largest vineyard in England[8] when they outbid a French wine house to lease almost 400 acres of land near Boxley on the North Downs for the next 25 years[9]. The new vineyard will have the potential to produce up to a million bottles of sparkling wine every year[8]. It plans to plant vineyards on the site between 2019 and 2021, taking the producer’s total vineyard area under long-term lease to nearly 319 hectares (788 acres). When added to the company’s owned vineyards and grape supply contracts, the total area under vine for Chapel Down will exceed 950 acres[10]
Curious Brewing
Chapel Down had started producing lagers in 2011, importing beer and ales from the Leicester-based brewery Everards, but wanted to open a local production unit.[11] The brewery was given permission to develop from the town council in late 2016. The site was purchased for development in November 2017 following a £1.7 million investment, mostly from crowdfunding.[12]
The company chose to invest in Ashford because of its prominent location on the High Speed 1 railway. The brewery owns a bar inside St Pancras railway station, London, at the other end of the line.[13] The premises opened on 10 May 2019 with a production capacity of two million litres (440,000 imp gal), with an accompanying restaurant and visitors centre.[14][15][16] The people who donated to the crowdfunding scheme, which raised £1.16 million of the funds, receive a discount on products, with those contributing over £25,000 had their names engraved on to the fermentation tanks surrounding the site.[11] A waterfall was also constructed on one side of the premises.[17]
Gin Works
In late 2018, it opened its first micro distillery in the Kings Cross, London area which includes a bar and restaurant[7]. The micro distillery, bar and restaurant sit on the bank of Regent's Canal on a site that was once home to the Filling Station restaurant[18]. The opening came after Chapel Down’s sales rose by 15% to £5.72 million in the first six months of 2018, compared to £4.98 million for the same period the previous year. Though the focus is on gin, Chapel Down will also be stocking their own wine and beer, so you can get a taste of everything it has to offer.[19]
References
- ↑ "English wine on the table for Kate and William's big day... and it only costs £8.50 a bottle". Mail Online. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ "Toasting success but not riches". Kent Online. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ "Toasting success but not riches". Kent Online. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ English Wines PLC Company Annual Report 2003 - Chairman's Statement
- ↑ "CHAPEL DOWN GROUP PLC - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ "Winemaker turns to gin". Kent Online. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Chapel Down Gin Works has arrived in King's Cross". Hot Dinners. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Winemaker to create 'largest vineyard'". 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ "England's largest vineyard planted in Kent". Kent Online. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ Woodard, Richard (2018-09-06). "Chapel Down to create 'largest vineyard' in England". Decanter. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Chapel Down raises £1.7m to build Curious Drinks brewery". The Guardian. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ↑ "Chapel Down completes payment for 1.6 acre Curious Brewery site". The Drinks Business. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ↑ "All stations to regeneration? Work on HS2 begins in earnest". The Guardian. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ↑ "Ashford: £1.3 million Curious Brewery sets Ashford town centre open date". Kent Online. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ↑ "Curious Brewery in Ashford set to open later this year". Kent Online. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ↑ Harman, Charlie (3 March 2019). "Opening of Curious Brewery in Ashford delayed until April". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ↑ "Something's brewing: the English wine producers moving into beer, cider, vodka, and gin". Daily Telegraph. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ↑ "The King's Cross Filling Station by Carmody Groarke". Dezeen. 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ↑ "Chapel Down gin bar and distillery is now open in London". Retrieved 2019-06-21.
Submission of Chapel Down Group page
This article "Chapel Down Group" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Chapel Down Group. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
