A bespoke demographic mapping tool developed by Knight Frank’s viticulture consultancy has helped one of the UK’s largest wine producers, MDCV UK, achieve a 90% year-on-year increase in visitor footfall and more than a fivefold uplift in sales of its most exclusive English sparkling wine.
The mapping platform combines data from Experian, TripAdvisor, the Department for Transport and Royal Mail to help vineyards identify and reach their most valuable audiences. For MDCV UK, which farms more than 2,000 acres across the South East of England, including the 900-acre Silverhand Estate in Kent (600 acres of which are under vine), the insight has shaped how the business targets customers, plans visitor experiences and develops new sites in line with its commitment to sustainability and local provenance.
Gary Smith, CEO at MDCV UK, said: “Before we had this tool, we had a broad-brush, blanket approach to targeting consumers and driving them to our cellar door. What this has allowed us to do is be much more focused and targeted, with far less wastage in our marketing.
MDCV UK used the data to refine its social media targeting, focusing paid campaigns on high-value postcodes identified through the report. Gary continued: “Our marketing team now use it daily. It has reduced spend wastage, allowed for meaningful A/B testing and ensured our message lands with the right audience.”
Since adopting the data-led approach, visitor numbers at MDCV UK’s Silverhand Estate have almost doubled year-on-year. The growth has prompted the business to expand its cellar door facilities, introduce new walking and 4×4 tours and recruit additional staff to fulfil the demand. The company is also progressing plans for a major extension that would triple the size of its cellar door, alongside development of a new flagship winery.
Ed Mansel-Lewis, Head of Viticulture and Partner at Knight Frank, said “This is exactly what we set out to achieve: turning data into commercial results. The progress MDCV UK has made shows how understanding the customer landscape can directly improve engagement and sales. It demonstrates how data-led decision making is becoming central to the success of the English wine sector.”
He added: “For many producers, profitability depends on maximising cellar door and direct-to-consumer sales. That is where the margin is made, and this report helps producers find that master key. As the UK’s vineyard area now exceeds 4,000 hectares, tools like this are also helping to ensure that expansion is matched by sustainable, well-planned growth in marketing, tourism and on-site development.”
Gary concluded: “The insight has fundamentally changed how we think. We now have a much clearer sense of where the greatest opportunities lie, and we’re more confident than ever in the scale of what English wine can achieve.”
