Mail Online: Dianna Apen-Sadler

• Coates & Seely English sparkling wine has secured a deal with The Jockey Club
• Will see the bubbly served across 14 of their UK racecourses, including Aintree
• Racegoers are expected to pop around 8,000 bottles of fizz over three days

This year’s Grand National winner will celebrate with English bubbly instead of French Champagne for the first time in the horse race’s 172-year history.

The winning jockey will enjoy a glass of Coates & Seely English sparkling wine after the brand secured a three-year deal with The Jockey Club who own the famous Aintree racecourse.

As well as being served in the owners and trainers enclosure, the sparkling wine will also be available to racegoers as they cheer on horses. 

Racegoers are expected to down an estimated 300,000 pints and pop 8,000 bottles of fizz, all cooled down by a whopping 1,813,600 ice cubes.

This year’s Grand National winner will celebrate with English sparkling wine instead of French Champagne for the first time in the horse race’s 172-year history (pictured: Davy Russell, last year’s winner)

Paul Fisher, Chief Executive of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: ‘It’s great to be working with Coates & Seely and we’re really looking forward to a prosperous partnership over the next three years.

Coates & Seely (pictured: their English sparkling wine) secured a three-year deal with The Jockey Club who own the famous Aintree racecourse

‘We look to support British producers on our menus and wine lists wherever we can and I’m sure our racegoers will be impressed with this sparkling wine.’ 

Demand for home-grown wines has soared in recent years, with last summer’s heatwave leading to a record grape harvest and a vintage year for English and Welsh wine.

Last year the Denbies Chalk Valley Sparkling Brut NV, from Surrey, beat out French an Italian rivals in a taste test by the consumer group Which?

Ridgeview, which makes sparkling wine in East Sussex, was also named Winemaker of the Year in the International Wine & Spirit Competition for 2018.

It is expected that more than 150,000 people will visit the Aintree racetrack over the three days of the popular jump festival. 

It’s claimed the National’s recent switch to ITV1 from Channel 4 will also see one in four Brits place a bet along with 600 million viewers worldwide, with a staggering £650million wagered.

Coates & Seeley wines will be served across 14 of the 15 racecourses The Jockey Club own.

Nicholas Coates and Christian Seely, co-founders of Coates & Seely, added: ‘We are delighted to have been appointed an Official Partner by the Jockey Club, which is a major accolade for our young brand. 

‘There are many qualities that connect fine wine with racing – not least the endless pursuit of form and quality and a love of celebration – and we greatly look forward to developing our activities across this wonderful portfolio of racecourses.’