The owner of the North East’s only urban winery has announced plans to close the company after the challenges of Covid and Brexit proved “too much for our small business”.
Laneberg Wine – the UK’s most northerly winery, based in the unlikely location of Team Valley, in Gateshead – released its first wines in 2019 to great acclaim from wine critics, customers and retailers.
The company was formed by Newcastle-born Elise Lane, who returned to the region with her family to set up the wine making venture, having already enjoyed a successful corporate finance career.
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Ms Lane, who grew up in Newcastle before moving away more than 20 years ago, developed for the business after acquiring an interest in wine-making while working in corporate finance.
She gained a postgraduate diploma qualification from Plumpton College, the UK’s acknowledged wine-making centre for excellence, and put her knowledge to commercial use while bringing up her children.
Laneberg Wine received two rounds of funding through NEL Fund Managers – a £35,000 Small Loan Fund investment, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and £10,000 from the North East Fund – to initially buy in the grapes for its first vintage, and then to help increase production.
But in an email sent to customers, Ms Lane said Laneberg Wine will be closing soon.
The email says: “When I started the business and we made our first vintage in 2018 I had ambitious plans for growth in the subsequent three to five years, including increased production and a calendar of tours, tastings and events. Unfortunately, what was to come was unpredictable and unprecedented and the challenges that both Covid and Brexit brought were too much for our small business.
“I wanted to thank you all for your support to the business, we have a few more bottles of the Maximilian, Reuben and Pinot Noir left to sell before we close for the final time.
“I was someone with a dream and I made that dream come true for a short amount of time, we had great success in making award winning wines every year for three vintages and also I trained Liam to become a winemaker and he is now off to a new job in a vineyard and winery in the midlands (at the end of this week). So much to be proud of and so much for me to take into the next chapter of my life.
“I will be taking a break for the next couple of months, spending time with the family.”
The wines, which included a rose, red wines, white wines and a sparkling wine, have been stocked in high-end North East retailers, while they were also on the wine lists of restaurants including The French Quarter and Blackfriars in Newcastle. Its 2019 Bacchus white was listed by Fortnum & Mason at its flagship Piccadilly store.
The 2018 Bacchus, meanwhile, won medals at both the Wine GB Awards and the International Wine And Spirits Competition, while the later vintage was announced as the winner of a silver medal at the 2020 Wine GB Awards. The remaining wines are now been sold at a discount through the firm’s online shop.
