New figures show British wine producers enjoyed a corking year in 2015, and production is set to increase over coming years.

The government is backing production by promising to steer a tenfold increase in exports by 2020, helping to increase the sector’s value to over £30 million. The news came as environment secretary Liz Truss called the first ever UK wine industry roundtable meeting, at which producers and industry representatives agreed to targets for future production and promised to chase export opportunities.

The roundtable also promised to grow the area of planted vineyards from 2,000 hectares to 3,000 hectares by 2020 and double wine production over the same period. Following Defra’s release of datasets into the public domain, the roundtable said it would strive to access new data on soil types, water resources, and infrastructure networks and put them to use in identifying the best areas for vineyard planting and driving up production.

Already, the area of land planted to vineyards has doubled in the past ten years, production has doubled in the last five and sales of British wines reached a record breaking £100m in 2015.

Following the meeting, Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss said, “There has never been a more exciting time for the English wine industry. By using cutting-edge technology our hard-working grape growers are now producing some of the best wine in the world.

“Our goal is to harness the ambition of our English wine producers by flying the flag for British produce internationally and exploiting the huge potential for increasing exports. I have no doubt we can take on the Australians, French and Italians at their own game, exporting more of our top quality fizz across the globe and ensuring that the UK’s wine industry continues to be a world-leader.”

Truss said producers will be helped by the government’s Great British Food Unit in helping find export markets for the wine.

On Thursday, Frazer Thompson,Chief Executive of wine producers Chapel Down Winery in Kent, added, “As English wine continues to surprise and delight more and more consumers and we plant more and more vineyards, so our ambition continues to grow. It’s clear that there is a significant opportunity for great English wine brands to develop their International sales and profile and excite the Worlds wine drinkers.

“We have a great story and exquisite products. We welcome the round table, which not only demonstrates some serious commitment from Government, but also represents another key milestone in the growth of this hugely exciting industry.”

Pierpaolo Petrassi, MW Head of Wine Buying at Waitrose added, “We are delighted to have truly led the market in terms of English and Welsh wine. We have seen sales increase dramatically as customers enjoy the excellent quality and taste of our home grown vineyards, which now rival anywhere in the world. We look forward to adding to our range this year and particularly providing opportunities for very small producers to supply a national supermarket for the first time.

“As part of our growing export business, we now offer English wine to the supermarkets we supply overseas. Being able to offer an international market for English vineyards is a fantastic development.”