An entrepreneur is toasting success after securing investment for the North East’s first urban winery, which is already winning awards for its top tipples.
Newcastle-born Elise Lane set up Laneberg Wines in the unlikely location of Gateshead’s Team Valley, after returning to her roots two years ago to set up the venture, having already enjoyed a successful corporate finance career.
She is now aiming to change people’s perceptions of English wines with the help of a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
Laneberg Wines is the most northerly winery in the 海角视频 and released its first vintage of white and rose wines this year, using grapes grown at a vineyard in Leicestershire. Its Bacchus 2018 white wine won medals at both the Wine GB Awards and the International Wine And Spirits Competition.
Work is now set to begin on producing its next vintage, which will once again only be made from English grapes.
Laneberg Wines has worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to bring in a £35,000 investment which, as well as supporting the production of a wider range on wines for 2020, will also enable it to recruit and train a wine-making apprentice.
The wines are stocked in a growing list of upmarket North East retailers including Fenwick, Richard Granger in Jesmond and The Corbridge Larder, while they are also on the wine lists of restaurants including The French Quarter in Newcastle, Bistro 46 in Jesmond and Sorella Sorella in Gateshead.
Mrs Lane, who grew up in Newcastle before moving away 20 years ago to take a degree in chemistry at Oxford University, advanced plans for the business after developing an interest in wine-making while working in corporate finance.
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She gained a post-graduate diploma qualification from Plumpton College, the 海角视频’s acknowledged wine-making centre for excellence, and acted as assistant winemaker at the college’s own winery, as well as teaching some of its students.
After returning to the region with her family two years ago, she decided to put her knowledge to commercial use while also bringing up her two children.
Plans are now in place to expand Laneberg’s range of wines, including producing its first red and sparkling wines, and holding public events and tastings at the winery also form part of long-term aims.
Mrs Lane said: “The quality of English wine has never been better, and that is reflected in the terrific response that we’ve had to our first products from both stockists and consumers.
“We had a fantastic crop of grapes to work with in 2018 which enabled us to produce some stand-out wines, and we’re extremely proud to have won both national and international recognition for our very first vintage.
“We want Laneberg Wines to become a staple part of North East wine drinkers’ list of favourites, and we’re working towards widening the range that we produce to ensure we’re appealing to lots of different types of customers.
“We’ve learned a great deal over the last couple of years, both about the wines we’re making and the ways in which we can bring them to market, and the prospects for this year’s vintage look extremely strong on both fronts.
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“Accessing investment from a fund that is solely focused on our region was very appealing to us, and the NEL team helped make the application process smooth and straightforward.”
Part of the £120m North East Fund and aimed predominantly at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 to businesses in Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland.
It is designed to assist with the creation of over 1,200 new regional jobs in more than 320 SMEs over the life of the fund.
Mike Guellard, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “The North East might not seem like the obvious place for this sort of business, but Laneberg has already demonstrated the quality of its wines and has robust plans in place for scaling-up production in the future.”