Dorset vineyard owner confident of record-breaking yields

The mix of early summer heat followed by heavy rain could make for an exceptional year for British winemakers

A Dorset winemaker has said the varied summer weather could mean a bumper crop this year.

Claire Parker, from Melbury Vale Winery in Dorset, said they could do with one more month of "really decent weather".

Across England vineyards could see an unusually productive harvest in 2023 after the contrasting temperatures in June and July.

Ms Parker said "breezy sunny days" and "gentle rain overnight" were the perfect conditions.

"We're looking to get all sugars and acids in balance, and then as soon as they're ripe, we pick," Ms Parker said

Melbury Vale Winery, near Shaftesbury, is one of the more than 700 individual vineyards in the UK.

It produces between 4,000 and 6,000 bottles of wine each year.

Ms Parker, who owns Melbury Vale with her brother, remembers 2018 as "the best year ever for about 10-15 years in the English wine industry".

But she said this year "our crop is looking like a 2018-crop," she said.

Wine makers need dry weather until harvest

She said she was hoping for "the right weather at the right time" in the coming weeks, as too much rain could "completely ruin" crops susceptible to mildew.

"So dry breezy sunny days, gentle rain overnight, for one month, and it could happen," Ms Parker said.

She added that in the UK, winemaking is still a small industry, so prices would not change even if this year's crop is exceptionally good.

"What will change the prices are the growing levels of competition," Ms Parker explained.

"Some vineyards have done fantastically well with their sparkling wines that won international awards. Those wines will increase in price."

Ms Parker said that grapes need a combination of sun, wind and overnight rain to ripen, dry off, and swell

For vineyards like Melbury Vale, where everything is hand-picked, a bumper crop could mean more work.

Ms Parker said that they use volunteers, who sometimes come to "glamp and give us a hand just for the experience".

"Harvest is usually always September through to October," she said.

"We'd even pick our latest variety the first week of November if the weather holds out."

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