Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) has unveiled new branding to support the UK wine industry body’s new name and identity, along with an announcement of its 2018 events and activities.

The much-anticipated logo has been the result of extensive design work, from agency Irving & Nichols, to try and create a branding and style to reflects the leadership of the industry body that represents Great Britain’s growers and wine producers.

While critics took to Twitter to question the use of the word ‘British’, which could infer poor quality wine produced from imported grape must, and to voice their opinions of the ‘unfinished’, ‘jingoistic’ branding, WineGB said that the ‘roundel’ logo has been styled to be easily recognisable and incorporates key elements of the industry (grapes and wines) together with the prominent use of the union flag to highlight the growing international reputation of English and Welsh wines.

A rebranding of the UK Wine Awards competition, now named the WineGB Awards, and the organisation’s English and Welsh Wine Week initiatives will follow shortly.

“We are proud and delighted to launch our new branding,” said Julia Trustram Eve, WineGB’s marketing director. “It was important to us to have a device that is memorable and recognisable, authoritative and adaptable. We wanted the branding to be contemporary and stylish, to reflect the quality and heritage as well as the exciting future of our industry and its wines, and with this design we have it.”

WineGB’s events this year will highlight the new initiatives and projects now underway since the United Kingdom Vineyards Association and English Wine producers merged to form a unified industry body.

The annual general meeting of the membership of WineGB on 25 April 2018 will be followed by an afternoon of seminars covering topics of wide-reaching interest. Talks from experts in their field and industry leaders will include wine tourism, training and education. Tickets to the afternoon sessions are open to trade as well as industry members and will be on sale in the near future.

The Wines of Great Britain trade and press tasting, on 26 April, is moving to a new and larger venue in RHS Lindley Hall, London to accommodate the growing number of producers now taking part.

This year a series of seminars and panel discussions will be taking place during the tasting and will include an announcement of figures outlining the current position of the UK wine industry and its forecast for future growth. Another session will include a debate on the opportunities that Brexit will bring to the GB wine industry.

While last year’s English Wine Week campaign saw the highest ever uptake of trade participants, as well as record-breaking social media coverage,  plans are already underway for this popular campaign in 2018. Taking place from Sunday 26 May till Sunday 3 June, this year there will also be a focus on the vineyards themselves, encouraging consumers to get to know them better.

“The trade plays a key part in introducing English and Welsh wines to their customers, inviting them to discover just what is being produced on the doorstep,” said Julia.  “We love working with an ever-enthusiastic trade and supporting all that they do, helping to provide opportunities to highlight the wonderful wines and vineyards in the UK.”