UK vineyards are getting ready for a vintage year – and a very early harvest – with the warm, sunny weather caused by the heating climate delivering strong flavours in their grapes.
Across the UK the total amount of wine produced is likely to be up on last year. English growers alone added more than 1,000 hectares of vines in 2024, taking the total to 4,841, of which 3,763 was in active production in 2024, according to the industry body Wine GB.
Winemaking in the UK has expanded rapidly in recent years owing to farmers in Europe facing increasingly erratic weather prompted by the climate crisis, including droughts and extreme heat.
The UK industry is also recovering after a dire 2024 in which production shrank to 10.7m bottles, from 21.6m the year before, after “inclement weather and recurrent rainfall” led to more disease, such as downy mildew, according to a recent WineGB report.
Harvest yields are expected to vary depending on the region: growers in the south-west of England, for example, expect an average yield but exceptional flavours; producers in the north-west and Wales are predicting strong yields.
The UK’s biggest wine region, in the south-east of England, is expected to be up on last year but lower than average.
Nyetimber, one of the UK’s biggest producers, which is based in West Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, said production was likely to be down as its vines were still recovering from last summer’s cool, damp conditions, while Gusbourne, which has 60 hectares in Kent, said its harvest would be up on last year but lower than average, partly because of the lack of rain.
Click HERE to read the full article.