English sparking wine will replace Bollinger Champagne at the 2017 Boat Race celebrations.

Tenterden-based Chapel Down, which also has vineyards at Blue Bell Hill, has announced it has signed a four-year agreement to become an official partner to The Boat Race Company Limited (BRCL) today.

Chapel Down will be supped by the winning crew at the Mortlake finish line of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

Frazer Thompson, chief executive at Chapel Down, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering The Boat Race, an iconic moment in the British sporting calendar. This great rivalry inspires mutual respect but an iron will to outperform. This is a sentiment that I relate to as we compete with sparkling wines from ‘the other place’!”

David Searle, executive director of The Boat Race Company Limited, said: “We are delighted to welcome Chapel Down as an official partner of The Boat Races.

"Chapel Down will be joining a host of other great British brands partnering The Boat Races and it will be fantastic to see the iconic celebration moment after the race being feted with English sparkling wine."

Chapel Down's award-winning wines are already served up at prestigious venues such as the Royal Opera House in London and the firm is an official wine partner to No 10 Downing Street.

The 163rd Boat Race and the 72nd Women’s Boat Race will take place on Sunday, April 2.