Britain’s wine industry is set to boom – and it's all thanks to warmer temperatures creating ideal grape growing conditions on UK soil.
Last year, the country already saw its second-hottest summer on record, meaning grapevines reached ideal conditions – being well-ventilated, warm and dry – for a bountiful crop of grapes. Warmer temperatures help speed up the process in which grapes ripen, leading to the fruit becoming much sweeter than normal, which in turn leads to a higher alcohol content in the wine.
But there does come a point where the weather can be too hot, with extreme heat threatening to devastate the world's top wine regions, including areas of Spain, Italy and southern California. In the UK, warmer temperatures and longer summers have seen the number of vineyards almost triple in the last 20 years.
Property agents Knight Frank calls Britain the fastest-growing wine region in the world, and, according to recent data issued by the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Vineyards produce the fastest-growing edible agricultural crop in England, with grapes representing an impressive 36% of England’s soft fruit crop.
The UK now boasts 943 vineyards, almost triple the amount 20 years ago, according to a report released in June 2023 by WineGB, the body that promotes the growth of the British wine sector. WineGB also found a 74% increase in vine plantings to 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) in the previous five years.
Shoppers slam Morrisons over 'insulting' Valentine's deal and refuse to buyPlantings in the UK are expected to grow to 7,600 hectares by 2032, producing a potential 24.7m bottles. Previous growth in the industry was recorded between 2017 and 2022, where wine production in England and Wales more than doubled from 5.3m to 12.2m bottles.
Vineyards have long existed in England and date back as far as the Roman times, while wine has been produced commercially since the 1960s. At the time, wine didn't have the best reputation as the UK was using Germanic grape varieties that thrive in cooler climates. But that changed when wine producers began planting varieties like pinot noir and chardonnay, which led to English sparkling wine wining awards.
The industry appears to have a positive outlook for the future too, with climate change seeing even warmer temperatures in the coming years. A report by Reading University in December 2022 found that 20-25% of the UK's land may display suitable weather conditions for chardonnay grapes to thrive in by 2050. This is compared to the current figure of just 2% in the model for the 2010-2019 period.