Balfour Winery, one of the UK’s leading rosé producers, have teamed up with a local rewilding charity in Kent to support returning areas of the South East to wilderness through sales of their Nannette’s Rosé.
It’s estimated that, since the 1930s, the UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows (according to the WWF). This has also caused biodiversity to plummet, which has an impact on vineyards too – reducing beneficial insects and damaging soil health.
As one of the founding members of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, Balfour has already given over swathes of their land to rewilding projects, including reestablishing over 90 acres of wildflower meadows which were lost in the Second World War.
Now, through sales of their flagship still pink, they are taking that ethos to a wider audience – with every bottle sold (across all channels) providing a donation to the Kent Wildlife Trust to support their work in the South East of England.
The campaign, which begins in May, will also see huge floral displays take over their winery, a number of Balfour’s ten pubs and selected on-trade customers’ venues. A range of supporting collateral – including Nannette branded at-home rewilding kits – have also been created to help spread wildflowers further.
Adam Williams, Chief Operations Officer at Balfour, explained how the idea came about:
“Rewilding has been part of our story since our co-founder, Leslie Balfour, first began rewilding our estate in 2002. For us, we think wine is best enjoyed outdoors. So combining the two as a “Perfect Pairing” with nature seemed a lovely idea – and helps us to do more to support our landscapes and home”.
The campaign will also seek to spread the word about English still rosé, something Williams believes is on the cusp of something special
“Our Nannette’s Rosé has been gradually building momentum over recent years. It sells out every vintage, and the customer perception is hugely positive. We think English Pink is going to be a huge story for the industry over the coming years – and so want to make sure that it’s underpinned by our ethos as a winery; sustainable, high quality, and accessible. So when you’re enjoying a glass of Nannette’s Rosé in your garden, in a pub, or at our winery – you know every sip will be helping to establish our devastated wildflower meadows in this country”.
Alongside the campaign, Balfour have also launched a range of collateral to support the message and will be hosting a rewilding festival – “Woodland in the Winery” – at their estate this summer. The event, which Balfour expects thousands of visitors to attend, will see living trees brought into their visitor centre; with a floral display created by Chelsea Flower Show-winning florist Louise Roots.
