Campden BRI has announced a major boost for English and Welsh wine makers with the opening of a dedicated wine laboratory and tasting centre in Guildford.
The new Campden Wine Services Laboratory, based at the state-of-the-art Surrey Research Park, represents a significant investment in the rapidly expanding domestic wine industry and will support UK wine makers and international wineries exporting to the UK market.
To provide industry-leading expertise Campden has recruited two sector heavyweights: senior analytical chemist Robert Pride and industry development and technical manager Dr Gregory Dunn. Both men are highly regarded in the wine industry.
Prior to recently joining Campden BRI, Pride was area manager for Endeavour Drinks Group. He completed a BSc in Forensic and Analytical chemistry at Flinders University, Australia before joining the country’s wine industry, where he has held technical positions for the last 12 years. A former deputy editor for the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, Dunn previously headed the wine division at Plumpton College, East Sussex, the only UK facility that trains oenologists and viticulturists at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The launch of the Wine Services Laboratory builds on the strategic partnership which the UK’s leading food science company established with the Australian Wine Research Institute in the Spring of 2023. As well as the recent announcement that Campden BRI has become WineGB’s new scientific and technical partner.
With the new lab now open UK wine makers will be able to access an extended range of services provided by well-qualified lab staff covering the full spectrum of scientific solutions to simple and complex wine problems. A set of official opening events are scheduled for late August, when all sectors of the UK wine industry will be able to tour the facility and talk with staff.
Peter Headridge, CEO of Campden BRI commented: “We have invested heavily in the latest analytical equipment in a brand new laboratory, which will future proof our technical offering and capabilities.
The new lab is a real vote of confidence in the domestic wine industry which has been growing steadily and now demands the best quality technical support and consultancy to help it compete on the global stage.”
The move comes as British wine producers enjoy a boom. Industry body WineGB has recently released data that enough grapes were picked in 2023 to make 22 million bottles of wine. This is up 68% on Britain’s previous record harvest of 2018, when enough grapes for 13.1 million bottles were picked.
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