Hot Weather Brings Earliest Harvest Ever at Three Choirs Vineyards

Image courtesy Three Choirs Vineyard

The UK has "almost certainly" had its hottest summer on record, according to provisional statistics from the Met Office released this week. 

This will not come as a surprise to Three Choirs Vineyards' winemaker Martin Fowke who is overseeing the start of the harvest this week – picking has started earlier this year than he has ever experienced in over 35 years of winemaking.

Work started on 26th August to bring in the first batch of grapes, Siegerrebe. 

This year the fully ripe grapes, with high sugars and low acids, will make some very interesting wine. The vineyard grows several different varieties which ripen at different times. 

A team of 16 will handpick two to three acres a day on average throughout the harvest.

According to Martin, “The weather this season is well documented, with high temperatures and levels of sunlight that we have not seen before. The earliest we have started picking prior to this year was 2018, when we started to harvest on 31st August. We have started work five days earlier this year – the earliest harvest in the vineyard’s history.

“We expect to continue to harvest approximately two weeks earlier than normal. Sugars are high across the board and acids are dropping slowly which is precisely what we want to see at this stage.

“This year we have managed to keep the grapes clean throughout the season and so we are not under pressure to pick before we have optimum analysis. This is a very different situation to last year.

“The yield also looks good. So we will have a fairly full winery by the time we reach the end of harvest”.

Three Choirs Vineyards currently produces around 200,000 bottles of award-winning wine a year. Best sellers include Classic Cuvee, Coleridge Hill, Rose and Bacchus. 

Jeremy Clarkson has recently selected Three Choirs Vineyards Rose wine for his new pub The Farmer’s Dog, and demand for Three Choirs’ wines in general continues to grow.

For more information about English winemaking at Three Choirs Vineyards visit www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk

SW16 Bar & Kitchen Puts English Wine in the Spotlight This English Wine Week

Streatham Hill's favourite neighbourhood restaurant, SW16 Bar & Kitchen, is making some waves this English Wine Week with a bold celebration of British vineyards and seasonal British produce, showcasing how a local restaurant can redefine destination dining.

Once a modest bar on Streatham Hill, SW16 has evolved into one of South London's most exciting culinary spots. 

Led by 25-year-old hospitality rising star Tom Small, the restaurant has built a well-deserved reputation for heartfelt service, sustainability, and honest, flavour driven food that speaks for itself.

Now, with a bespoke tasting menu and curated wine pairings featuring standout producers such as Hundred Hills, Whitewolfe Estate, and Davenport Vineyards, SW16 is bringing English wine to the forefront of the local dining scene.

“We've gone from barely stocking English wines to proudly serving Welsh orange wine and Cornish Pinot Noir,” Small told That's Food and Drink.

“What's exciting now is the story behind each bottle, family businesses, biodynamic pioneers, vineyards thriving thanks to climate change. This is wine worth that's well worth discovering.”

Guests can enjoy a special two or three course tasting menu created by Head Chef Teddy Karkut, paired with Tom's handpicked selection of English wines. The menu, which includes standout dishes including scallop ceviche and british rump steak, captures the essence of SW16's ethos: seasonal, Quality ingredients and always local.

SW16 has recently gained acclaim for its monthly Italian Supper Club:

“SW16 is already a beloved local spot, but this supper club made it feel like a destination.”

“The Supper Club, Offers locals another reason to fall in love with this restaurant”

“SW16 is a dining spot hidden gem”  

This same energy is being poured into English Wine Week, a showcase not just of great bottles, but of a restaurant pushing boundaries in local dining. 

With intelligent, thoughtful pairings, a focus on independent producers, and a commitment to genuine hospitality, SW16 is proving that you don't have to leave your postcode for a world class food and wine experience.

Tom Small is available share his expertise and comment on:

English Red - Is it worth it?

How English farmers are selling livestock and planting vines. Climate change and how it's already begun to change our agriculture.

English wine, is it genuinely accessible for the restaurant trade?

The English obsession with wine. Why do we have more Masters of Wine than anywhere else in the world?

Wine influencers, and why they're important for the new generation of wine rookies, geeks and fledgling sommeliers. 

https://sw16barandkitchen.com

Candover Brook marks English Wine Week with its powerful film on regenerative viticulture

Candover Brook, an award-winning vineyard in the heart of the Hampshire countryside, is proud to mark English Wine Week 2025 with the release of its new short film, "A Year in the Life of a Vineyard," a cinematic glimpse into its purposeful approach to regenerative viticulture.

Spanning just five hectares, Candover Brook harbours no ambition of being the biggest, only the best at working in harmony with nature. Founded on a commitment to soil health, biodiversity, and slow, sustainable excellence, the vineyard is redefining what it means to produce English sparkling wine with purpose.

The film follows the vineyard through the seasons, capturing the quiet rhythm of regenerative farming and the life it nurtures both above and below ground. A Year in the Life of a Vineyard was made by renowned British documentary maker Jess Bassett, who spent a year following the vineyard team.

Candover Brook co-owner Mark Sainsbury said, “Working with Jess was a complete joy and we are delighted with the outcome. It's a proud feeling to see our hard work and passion captured in such a beautiful film. We hope that our respect for the land and our community connects us and our award-winning wines to a new audience.”

Screenings are being held at select venues that share Candover Brook’s values of craft, care, and conscious living. Later this year, the film will be available on the vineyard’s newly launched YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@candoverbrook), which offers an inside look at this rare and remarkable estate.

With limited production and award-winning vintages already attracting attention, Candover Brook is one to watch, and now, one to watch on screen.

More information at www.candoverbrook.co.uk or on social media @candoverbrook.