This Year’s Vintage

Carrying on from the notes on the 2022 vintage in France, a few facts and figures from the UK's wine production industry.

Nyetimber, the Sussex-based winery, issued a press release in September stating that it would produce in excess of 1m bottles from the 2022 vintage.

With over 800 acres under vine, plus the exceptionally favourable weather conditions during this summer, Nyetimber claims to account for more than 10% of the total volume of sparkling wine produced in England.

AQSE-listed, Kent-based Chapel Down estimates that it will produce 2m bottles from the 2022 vintage, with the CEO stating that it will double in size by 2026. Josh Donaghay-Spire, chief winemaker at Chapel Down, commented: “Early indications were that this harvest would be a strong one and it has not disappointed either on yield or quality. We expect the earlier harvest to result in a riper style of wine akin to that found in the successful 2018 or 2020 vintages, and we are excited to learn what we can achieve with this year’s crop."

Similar comments from a raft of other vineyards echo the size of this year's harvest with healthy grapes creating vibrant and intensely flavoured wines. The good weather continuing into the autumn has meant that some vineyards could harvest later thereby enhancing their volume and quality.

WineGB, the trade association responsible for all UK vineyards, estimate that 9.3m bottles were sold in 2021, up from 7.1m in 2020 and 5.5m in 2019. It estimates that there are now over 9,000 acres under vine across 879 vineyards and 197 wineries. Acreage has doubled in eight years and quadrupled since the turn of the century. Their 2018 report estimated that production would reach 40m bottles by 2040 with around 45,000 acres under vine. Given the ongoing growth within this sector, those figures look very achievable.

Sparkling wine is very much the focus with the three main grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier - accounting for 71% of all plantings.

Foreign investment will be an important contribution to the industry's future. Taittinger has planted 250 acres in Kent, Pommery 140 in Hampshire, and Sussex winery, Bolney, has been bought earlier this year by the world's largest sparkling wine producer, Spain's Freixenet. Foreign investors provide expertise, finance, and very importantly, international distribution networks.

Footnote - Pinot Noir

Climate Change is having an impact on production - an increase of one degree celsius in the main wine growing regions since 1981 - with the possibility that this trend might see an increasingly good environment for growing Pinot Noir, and the opportunity to produce consistently high quality reds from this varietal. There are a small number of English vineyards currently making exceptional Pinot Noirs, and there will be a tasting of those producers early in 2023.