‘Erratic weather’ affecting Essex wine production

Vineyards have struggled to cope with a wet, mild winter

"Erratic" weather conditions and a wet winter have made it a challenging year for growing grapes, according to an Essex vineyard.

The county is the fifth largest grower of grapes in the UK - and the largest producer in the East.

Milder conditions led to buds appearing earlier than usual, and a surprise frost in April damaged some crops.

“We are hopeful we will have a good growing season ahead,” said Paul Edwards, owner of Saffron Grange Vineyard.

‘Significant losses’

Wine production is one of the UK’s fastest growing industries.

A combination of a wet summer and a hot September last year resulted in a bumper crop, with more than 20 million bottles of wine produced.

The Eastern region harvested more than 10 tonnes of grapes per hectare last year, doubling the previous highest yield in 2022.

But the weather in the first half of 2024 has already provided the region’s vineyards with problems to overcome.

Essex's vineyards, such as Clayhill near Chelmsford, are the fifth largest growers of grapes in the UK

“The wet weather conditions delayed us in getting started with winter pruning,” Mr Edwards said.

He added buds had started to burst two weeks earlier than last year, making the vines more vulnerable to frost damage.

A heavy frost at the end of April led to “significant losses” on some of the Chardonnay vines at Saffron Grange, despite the best efforts of staff.

Mr Edwards said the rest of the spring “looks frost-free” but his vineyard would continue to adapt its methods to cope with changing conditions.

“No-one ever said that growing grapes in a cool climate would be easy,” he added.

Tourism now makes up nearly a third of the income for vineyards in the Eastern region

Vineyards in the north-west of Essex benefit from the same chalk seam that runs through the Champagne region of France.

“In Essex we have the perfect climate and geology to grow vines,” said Lisa Bone, strategic tourism manager at Visit Essex.

“Vineyards are popping up all over the county, it’s transforming our rural landscape and making it even more attractive to visitors.”

Many vineyards rely on tourism to boost their income, with wine tasting events and weddings accounting for 32% of total vineyard income in the East.

“It’s great to see how entrepreneurial our winemakers and distillers have become to enhance our tourism offering,” Ms Bone added.