UK producers from British Wine to Scottish Whisky, Welsh Wine & Spirits, Northern Irish Spirits, No and Low Alcohol, Beer, Cider and Mead take centre stage at London Wine Fair.
THERE was a tangible sense of renewal and dynamism at the 45th London Wine Fair. The trade show celebrated its highest visitor numbers since pre-Covid times with 10,000 plus drink professionals descending on the three-day show at Olympia Exhibition Centre in May.
Chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, Miles Beale, summed up the mood: “I saw more exhibitors, more visitors and more products.
“The Host Nation [celebrating UK producers] added character. The education programme was high quality and there was more than a whiff of business in the air. It felt like our event, our home, our London Wine Fair,”
This year’s LWF saw an 8% increase in visitor numbers, 9% more exhibitors and 13% increase in floor space. This is a huge vote of confidence for Hannah Tovey and her tight nit team who have taken the show into independent ownership with Vindustrious. for the first time this year.
All eyes were on the UK; This was very much a platform to celebrate the diversity of the UK wine and drinks industry.
More than 100 UK wine producers exhibited, an almost five-fold increase on 2025, indicating both optimism and growth within this category. These included several prominent British wine producers, such as: Balfour; Bolney; Chapel Down; Everflyht; Flint Vineyards; Gusbourne; Roebuck; Sandridge Barton; Simpsons; MDCV; Harrow & Hope, Hambledon, Hattlingley, Lyme Bay, Weybourne, Williams Family Wines, 1276 (Ledbury) and House Coren, along with 30 producers from Defined Wines and Wine GB East.
Tiny Wines, the UK-based wine company, specialising in small-format samples of premium still wines, designed for tasting, education and discovery, collaborated with British wine specialist podcaster and writer, Rebecca Pitcairn. They highlighted the ‘English Pinot Noir Discovery Kit’ featuring six standout producers offering a new perspective on English Pinot Noir.
“We welcomed British producers from across the spectrum of drinks, a partnership which allowed UK and international professionals to experience the innovation and quality defining today’s domestic drinks scene,” said Tovey.
“The top five products visitors searched for reflected the burgeoning interest in the domestic wine scene; all were English producers.”
The move to invite BREW//LDN attracted a large number of passionate craft beer and cider producers bringing a new energy to the show.
The fair also highlighted a number of Northern UK players with the likes of Sheffield-based Babco International Spirits, Leeds-based Northern Monk Brewing Company and Kirkstall Brewery, Vocation Brewery based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, Cold Town Beer, Edinburgh and Thistly Cross Cider from Dunbar, Scotland.
Claxton’s Spirits from Dumfries & Galloway, Manchester-based O’Donnell Moonshine GMBH, Balmaud Distillery, in Turriff, Scotland, Halewood Artisanal Spirits which distils across the UK including Liverpool, Edinburgh and the Lake District and low alcohol section brought innovation and fresh creativity to the event.
The London Wine Fair is also proving itself on the global stage with an uplift in overseas producers and countries taking part. There were 3,884 products from over 40 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Serbia and Peru.
Visitors from 61 countries attended the show with the top four behind the UK (82%) being Italy, France, the USA and Spain.
Sustainability was also central to the show The Sustainability Hub by Impact Focus launched helped to ensure the delivery of the show was as sustainable as possible.
Education remained a focus with 101 sessions delivered across the three days, including 12 seminars on sustainability. Visitor searches for sustainability were second only to the Host Nation.
English Wine International Wine Challenge Medal Winners
English wines won the highest percentage of gold medals per entry at the International Wine Challenge. In 2025, the country won 10, but this year it was awarded 25.
Oz Clarke, co-chair of the IWC, said: “The improvement in English wine over the past decade has been remarkable. Growers now understand their vineyards far better, winemaking has become more precise, and there’s a real confidence about what England can achieve, particularly with sparkling wine. The results at this year’s International Wine Challenge show just how far things have come: English wines are being judged alongside the world’s best and are winning on quality alone. It’s very exciting to see.”
While England came ninth in the country rankings overall, with France remaining in the lead, it won more gold medals as a percentage of its entries than any other country.
Supermarket wines in England did particularly well in the competition with bargain bottles from Aldi, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s winning gold medals.
Around 16% of English wines entered achieved gold medals. Kent was the best region for wine in England, winning 12 gold medals, driven mainly by sparkling wine and Chardonnay.
The judges said the success in the competition showed England’s “rise as a world-class wine producing country”.
For the full list of medal winners go to: International Wine Challenge.
Northern English Wine winners
Queen of the North Special Reserve 2019, Dunesforde Vineyard, Yorkshire, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was awarded Silver and its Solaris 2023 commended.
Welsh Wine Week takes place 29 May- 7 June 2026. English Wine Week 2026 starts on 20-28 June.