English winemakers expect ‘vintage year’ after record-breaking summer heat — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Nyetimber will begin picking grapes on 14 September — its earliest harvest since the company planted its first vines in 1988 — recruiting 500 pickers for a yield of almost 2,500 tonnes of grapes that could produce more than 1.5 million bottles of sparkling wine from the 2026 vintage.
- Nyetimber head winemaker Cherie Spriggs said late spring frosts affected almost 30% of crops and the summer drought decreased the size of certain berries, but hot, sunny weather balanced those factors, giving 'strong potential for fantastic wine quality.'
- The UK's hottest summer on record saw England peak at 38.1°C (100.1°F) at Kew Gardens on 13 August, with June confirmed as the country's hottest since records began in 1884; scientists linked the heatwaves to the climate crisis and said August was the joint hottest month globally at 1.65°C above preindustrial levels.
- Lisa Hogan, who runs Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire with TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson and produces Hawkstone Lager, warned of 'less beer all around' after extreme weather led to a poor barley harvest, with farmers struggling to irrigate crops.
- The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board said the barley harvest could be the worst on record, with yields running 19% below the five-year average last month; Hogan added that another bad harvest would prevent supplementing with grain from countries like Poland, forcing higher costs.
Why it matters: The same record heat is delivering a 'vintage year' for English sparkling wine, with concentrated sugars boosting quality, while beer producers face the worst barley harvest on record at 19% below the five-year average. That split — sunshine supercharging grapes but starving barley — threatens beer supply and could push up costs for producers like Clarkson's Hawkstone Lager.
Ask SkimNews
