UK climate change, English vineyard
Hambledon Vineyard in Hampshire.
(Image credit: Hambledon Vineyard in Hampshire)

Hopes are rising for another strong vintage for English wine, thanks to a warm September and October adding legs to the growing season.

There are few sections of the UK wine trade with as much confidence as the fledgling English wine industry in this current state of Brexit limbo.

Things were looking tricky until warm, sunny weather arrived in August and continued throughout much of September and early October.

In the Brexit context, there’s a wry humour in this being almost the perfect description of a ‘continental vintage’, as set out by Louis Roederer’s chef de cave, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, in Champagne.

But, English producers won’t mind that.

‘2016 is shaping up very nicely,’ said Cameron Roucher, vineyard manager at Rathfinny Estate. ‘We were very lucky to avoid any late frosts which affected large parts of Europe.’

Mardi Roberts, of Ridgeview, said the estate fruit was coming in ‘beautifully clean’, thanks in part to September sun.

‘The yields this year are generally down due to the cold snap in April and mixed weather at flowering, which affected some of our partnership vineyards,’ he told Decanter.com.

‘What 2016 will lack in quantity though it will make up for in extremely intensified quality.’

Stephen Skelton MW, an English wine expert and consultant, said that he expected sugars and acids on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and Meunier to be excellent for sparkling.

He added that 2016 might also be particularly good for English still wines, if estates hold their nerve.

‘If people wait, then some very good still wines from these varieties will be produced as well,’ he told trade body English Wine Producers.

Andrew Jefford wrote in a recent column for Decanter.com that England’s long growing season has been under-played in the past.

‘It is not so much the precise soil type as the very long, drawn-out season itself which counts most in England’s favour,’ he said.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.