(Independent) - The British government is increasing the amount of English wines it buys and the number it serves at official events, new figures show.

Of the 3,052 bottles bought for the cellar over the past year, 1,500 were English, or 50 per cent. A decade ago, English wines made up just 20 per cent. 

Some 52 per cent of the wine now served at high-profile events is English.

Responding to the latest news, Miles Beale, of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, told the Times, “We have urged government departments to ‘serve British’ and it’s great to hear that the FCO is stocking, serving and therefore supporting English wine.

“Consumers worldwide have woken up to the fact that English wine is a product of supreme quality.”