Blind tasting reveals that 60% of French drinkers prefer English sparkling wine to their native Champagne!
Brits drink nearly three times as much Champagne than English sparkling wine[1] due to outdated perceptions of being higher quality and making a better impression on others[2]. With a mission to change the way the world thinks about English wine, England’s leading wine producer Chapel Down took its best-selling sparkling wine to the Champagne region of France, to conduct the ultimate sparkling wine taste test.
Under the playful guise of “Chapelle en Bas”, a literal brand translation of Chapel Down, the English wine producer invited French consumers to try its Brut alongside a best-selling branded Champagne. Le verdict? 60% of consumers preferred Chapel Down to Champagne. Ooh la la!
Chapelle en Bas was praised by locals and tourists alike – describing the wine as “fresher” and “crisper” – but there were several shocked faces and raised eyebrows after revealing this mysterious cuvée hailed from England. In fact, some couldn’t believe the vines are grown and the grapes hand-picked and harvested in the Garden of England.
Chapel Down has released a campaign video bringing to life the blind tasting to celebrate English Wine Week (17th – 24th June 2023) and position its sparkling wines as a fresher way to celebrate the moments that really matter.
Chapel Down Chief Marketing Officer, Liam Newton, said: “The French know a thing or two about sparkling wine, with their centuries of winemaking heritage, so what better place than Champagne to sample our Chapel Down Brut? We are incredibly proud of the exceptional quality of our English sparkling wine, and it was great to have this affirmed by the French themselves. A 60% result like this propels us even further in changing the way the world views English wine.”
Based in Tenterden in the heart of the Kent countryside, Chapel Down is England’s leading wine producer with an award-winning range of sparkling and still wines. In 2022, Chapel Down grew its sales of English sparkling wine by 53% to a record 790,000 bottles last year, giving it 33% of the English sparkling wine market[3].
About the “Chapelle en Bas” blind taste campaign
To reinforce the quality of English sparkling wine ahead of English Wine Week (17th – 24th June 2023), Chapel Down hosted a blind tasting in Reims, France, in May 2023. Consumers sampled Chapel Down Brut alongside a leading branded Champagne, with 60% of consumers preferring Chapel Down to Champagne.
About Chapel Down and its new brand identity
Chapel Down is England’s leading wine producer, best known for its award-winning range of sparkling and still wines. Chapel Down has a world-class winemaking team with extensive experience in sparkling wine and cool climate regions. Its wines are produced from grapes grown in the south-east of England. Chapel Down locally sources high quality fruit from long-term partner vineyards across Kent, Sussex and Essex.
In May 2023, Chapel Down unveiled a new brand identity to better present its sparkling and still wines in a premium, modern and distinctive way. Most prominently, the existing red line has been given a chapel doorway device, English Sparkling Wine is now proudly called out on the label, and some Chapel Down wines have been renamed to create more consistency across the range. This new brand identity is being showcased at Pub in the Park, where Chapel Down is the Official English sparkling wine partner’.
Chapel Down Brut is available for RRP £29 at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Majestic, Booths, Ocado, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Fenwick, Amazon and www.chapeldown.com.
Follow @chapeldown
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