The Kent-based winery, which is known for its Champagne-style sparkling wines and Bacchus single varietal wine, said the summer weather in 2014 increased yields by 40% and generated “a more rich and full-flavour fruit development than has been seen in recent years”.
The English wine industry is said to produce 4.45 million bottles annually from 1,884 hectares of vines.
Frazer Thompson, CEO of Chapel Down, said: “I am certain that 2014 will go down in the history of English wines as something of a historic turning point.
“We are delighted to announce the conclusion of our harvest which has surpassed expectations in both quality and quantity. Total tonnage of fruit received at the winery was up more than 40% on last year's record harvest and the excellent class of the grapes picked will allow us to continue making still and sparkling wine of the very highest standard."
Earlier this month Chapel Down completed an equity crowd-funding initiative in just 24 days, raising £3.95million and acquiring 1,470 shareholders.
“Not only have we experienced a perfectly constructed harvest this year, giving us the tools to make wines which stand up to competitors, we’ve also seen enormous success with our recent crowdfunding initiative, which shows there is real appetite from consumers to invest in English wines.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for the industry and I’m thrilled that English wines are now being taken seriously on an international stage.”
