Somerset wine producers hoping for a warm spell

Ingrid Bates supplies restaurants in Bristol from her Somerset vineyard

Wine producers in the West say the wet weather in July has set them up for what could be a great harvest.

While the showers have ruined holiday plans, they have boosted vineyards after a dry, warm June.

Guy Smith, who grows grapes for Smith & Evans near Langport in Somerset, says it has been an "amazing year" so far.

"We've got the quantity, now we need the quality," he said, adding that an "Indian summer" would make it a great year.

Mr Smith told BBC Radio Somerset that although the July rains had helped, it had been the "amazing June" that had set producers up for an impressive harvest.

"As I sit here I can look out at the vineyard and it's got a lot of grapes that are completely healthy. So we've got the quantity - and the next thing we need now is the quality.

"We need an Indian summer. If we can ripen this we could have a bumper crop."

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Mr Smith said that while June is important in viticulture, September is crucial for the "final ripening".

"We've been working very hard to keep the air flow to the vines. It's all done by hand, so it's a huge amount of work and we're all pretty tired at the moment.

"But the next six weeks is what counts. I think the biggest crop in the UK so far has been 13 million bottles. If this one ripens, through, I reckon it could be 18-19 million."

'Perfect conditions'

Ingrid Bates runs the Dunleavy Vineyard at Wrington in North Somerset, producing more than 6,000 bottles a year - mostly for restaurants in Bristol, where she lives.

The UK summer so far has also generated a very healthy crop for her.

"The general public might think "oh gosh, we've had a terrible summer", it's been windy and recently it's rained quite a lot. But for any kind of fruit there's a key period where, if the weather is good, you get a really good harvest," she said.

"During the flowering period we had perfect conditions and every little tiny flower became a tiny grape."

"The recent rain we've had is getting a bit tedious because you're at that point where you are at risk of getting mildew."

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The dry weather does not just ripen the grapes but is also good for people and machinery when harvesting, said Ingrid.

"We've got loads of grapes and they're looking good. A bit of warm weather now would just be perfection."