Vineyard in Sussex.
Figures from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show that England has suffered its second-worst harvest since records began. Wheat, winter barley and oilseed rape all saw double-digit declines.
Most winemakers have only just started harvesting grapes this week, so trade body Wine GB was reluctant to provide an official estimate on the 2024 crop.
However, CEO Nicola Bates told Decanter.com: ‘Like many wine regions in Europe, we have experienced challenging conditions this year and are expecting reduced production due to high disease pressure that has required proactive management.
‘Vintage variation is common in our cool climate and despite record volumes last year [21.6 million bottles], our five-year production average stands at 12.4 million bottles. A comprehensive account of this year’s harvest will be published in December.’
Anecdotally, many English winemakers expect this year’s harvest to be down by between 20% and 70%.
Hampshire has arguably been hit the hardest, so we headed to the county to find out how growers have coped with the grim weather.
‘An incredibly challenging season’
Esteemed Champagne producer Vranken Pommery gave the nascent English sparkling wine industry a major stamp of approval when it expanded into Hampshire back in 2016.
The company now has around 50 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris vines in Old Alresford, which is near Winchester.
‘We are down to about half of what we would expect in a normal year, and around one-third of last year’s record crop,’ said Vranken Pommery’s cellar master Clément Pierlot.
‘I think Hampshire was hit more than many other counties. We had a very good year last year, so we know it’s a cycle, and we have to accept it.’
Will Perkins, head winemaker at Vranken Pommery’s Pinglestone Estate in Old Alresford, put on a brave face when discussing the challenges his team has faced this year.
‘This has been an incredibly challenging season,’ he admitted as he stood in a wet, muddy vineyard, flanked by rows of Pinot Meunier vines. ‘However, to have reached this point with the quality that we’ve got in the vineyard is testament to everybody’s application.
‘We’ve had to be really receptive this year to the conditions. The disease pressure has been super high. The quality we have is amazing, and we are delighted by what we do have to showcase for 2024, given all of the challenges of the season.
‘From January through to today, we haven’t had a window of more than six days without rain, so it has been super challenging. On 1 August, we had 40ml of rain in an hour. It was so localised, just here and in an adjacent vineyard. That was at the most sensitive period for downy mildew in the UK. We have had to be very contextually nimble and adaptive. It has been an incredibly meticulous approach.
‘We had to prioritise saving premium parcels. We are down, but the quality is high, which is reflective of the dedication and the passion of the team.’
Downy mildew gives growers nightmares
Downy mildew has been the primary concern for English winemakers during this year’s damp, humid growing season.
Fred Langdale, vineyard director at Exton Park, which is around 10 miles south of Pommery’s vineyard in Hampshire, is also facing substantial losses. ‘The quality of the fruit was actually good, but the quantity was down around 20% on what we anticipated at the beginning of the season,’ he said. ‘There were a lot of areas where the fruit hadn’t ripened, so we had to be very selective with our picking.
‘The challenging weather came in late June at Exton Park, when it was very damp during flowering. Humidity levels then remained high for the whole summer which put more pressure on the vines, with a risk of downy mildew.
‘Pinot Meunier was hit harder, as it flowered during a wetter period than our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Although this wasn’t detrimental to…
Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/wine-news/english-harvest-2024-heavy-crop-losses-due-to-wet-weather-541246/
