English and Welsh Growers Anticipating ‘Exceptional’ Crop in 2025

There is little I can tell those that lived through it about the Spring and Summer we have just had. From barely a drop of rain in May to a flurry of heatwaves in June, it has been a record-breaking year by many metrics. It means, as I have mentioned elsewhere, English and Welsh wine growers are currently licking their lips at the prospect of a high-quality crop, with average to better-than-average yields. Picking is already kicking off in many parts of the country this week, two weeks ahead of usual. It is a huge relief to producers after the wash out that was 2024, the damp conditions leading a to huge loss of crop through mildew and mould, with about half the number of bottles produced compared to 2023.

Vine cultivation in England and Wales is never straight forward. We sit to the north of the ‘goldilocks’ grape-growing zone in the Northern Hemisphere. South of this it is too hot, north of this too cold, in the middle just right. Add to this our island status sat close to a large continental landmass, and the subsequent erratic weather systems that compete for dominance and you have a challenging climate to grow grapes in.

But then it is never easy to grow grapes even in some of the most famous wine regions. Burgundy often suffers from unseasonal frosts that in vintages past has devastated crops. The drought conditions of 2025 with concomitant heatwaves in June have forced revered Pomerol producer Château Lafleur to break appellation rules and so break with the appellation. In Central Otago they have telescopic propellers that pop up at ungodly hours in the morning when frost threatens both in the spring and at harvest.

And while climate change and the steady creep of average temperatures in vineyards across Europe has some regions facing an existential crisis it is a boon to English and Welsh growers. 2025 is likely to be a record harvest, but principally because the area under vine is rapidly expanding, with 1000 hectares of vines added in 2024, and over 20 new wineries. The low rainfall means yields are variable across the regions but the quality of the fruit is set to be spectacular.

It is an exciting time to be British wine producer, and not just because of the prospect of an exceptional vintage this year. While the wine industry as a whole is down, 2024 saw a 3% increase in sales of our home-grown product. The 6 million plus bottles of sparkling wine sold every year was generally static, but when measured against slower sales of Champagne this is a big positive. Still wine, with a smaller share of production, managed to increase by 10% to 2.9 million bottles. More impressively exports of our wine grew by 35% taking it to 9% of overall trade.

And that upwards trajectory is only going to get better with the anticipated quality of the 2025 vintage. English and Welsh sparkling wine has long been recognised for the quality it delivers, with the Champagne houses investing in vineyards over here already, but now our still wines are increasingly being taken seriously as we are able to get greater ripeness into better quality varieties, like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Precoce.

Look out for the 2025s when they start to become available next year, it is likely to be a landmark year for our still wines especially.

Written by A James Cole

The Pinot Noir Precoce at The Evolution Winery in Ledbury a week ago.