Vagabond Wines is to create the UK’s largest urban winery at Canada Water, following the business’ purchase out of administration by specialist retailer Majestic.
After buying Vagabond in a £6.5m rescue deal last last year, Majestic is to invest in quadrupling Vagabond’s English wine output. The new winery will be located on the ground floor of the recently completed Dock Shed, a mixed-use building in Canada Water.
The 6,000 sq ft space will feature a working 100-tonne winery, a Vagabond bar with the brand’s signature self-pour wine machines, and multiple event and private hire spaces. The winery will have a production capacity of up to 100,000 bottles per year.
“This urban winery is unlike anything we’ve done before,” said Vagabond MD Christobell Giles. “It’s a cathedral to wine – a space that lets people get up close to the winemaking process and connects them to the stories and passion behind every bottle.
“Wine shouldn’t live on a dusty shelf. It should be alive, expressive, and social – and that’s exactly what we’re building.”
Majestic Group CEO John Colley added: “This is a project we have been working on for a number of months and we can’t wait to welcome our first guests later this year. This significant investment from Majestic Group demonstrates the huge potential we see in the Vagabond brand, and we are committed to supporting its expansion into major towns and cities outside of London in the coming years.”
Having embarked on a plan to grow the size of its bricks & mortar footprint in recent years, Majestic is now eyeing a similar expansion plan for Vagabond. It hopes to double the size of the business’ estate in the next three years.
The first tranche of openings later this year also includes new bars in St Paul’s and Liverpool Steet.
Vagabond filed notice of intent to appoint administrators in March last year. The following month, Majestic bought the brand and nine of its 12 bars out of administration.
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