Tough 2015 sees English wine production dip

A cooler growing season resulting in smaller berries meant that a total of 5.06 million bottles of English and Welsh wines were produced from the 2015 harvest, a slight drop on the record-breaking harvest of 2014.

An English vineyard

Production figures were confirmed by the Wine Standards Branch, part of DEFRA’s Food Standards Agency, today, ahead of the English Wine Producers’ trade and press tasting. As predicted, the 2015 harvest was lower than the record-breaking vintage of 2014, coming in at the bottle equivalent of 5.06m bottles (37,977 hectolitres). The previous year a total of 6.3 million bottles were produced in what was a record year, representing a 42% increase on 2013. This compared to 2013 when 4.45m bottles were produced. The breakdown of production of still and sparkling remains approximately one-third still to two-thirds sparkling.

The slight drop in production in 2015 was attributed by English Wine Producers to the “cooler conditions over the growing season in 2015, which also produced smaller grapes”.

“Warmer weather picked up towards the autumn which helped ripen the grapes up to harvest, but on average, producers harvested up to 10 days later than they would normally anticipate,” it added. “This longer ripening period helped develop some attractive qualities in the fruit. Overall, good quality grapes and flavours were produced; some were challenged with higher acidity and lower sugars but will prove ideal for sparkling wine production.”

Taking the last three year’s worth of production, the industry is producing on average 5.27m bottle per year, which the organisation said was in line with its predictions of growth and reflects increased producers from the planting of new vineyards. The total area under vine in the UK now stands at 1,956 hectares, with the number of vineyards growing to 502 in 2015, compared to 470 recorded in 2013.

“These figures illustrate the steady but strong growth of the industry, and 2015 is still the second highest volume recorded,” said Barry Lewis, CEO of The United Kingdom Vineyards Association. “The good news is that despite the lower volume, remains that the quality is looking to be very good and in line with industry predictions.”

Sales of English wine were predicted to reach £100m in 2015, as the reputation of “brand England” continues to gain strength both overseas and in the UK. Earlier year, Taittinger became the first French Champagne house to commit to purchasing land in England to produce its firs English sparkling wine. Last week Champagne Pommery followed suit confirming that it had embarked on a project with Hampshire’s Hattingley Valley to produce and English fizz.

The Wine Standards Branch (WSB) is the body currently responsible for compiling the production declarations and holding the vineyards register for the UK wine industry, reporting harvest and vineyard figures to DEFRA.