A vineyard update: a standout harvest year

A little update from the vineyard, because this year really deserves one.

The 2025 harvest has been a bumper one. Partly down to Dad’s farming skills, which he is very keen to take credit for, but more likely thanks to a summer full of sunshine and vines now in their fourth year and properly established.

Last year we harvested 3.5 tonnes.
This year we harvested 28 tonnes.

Meg has been frantically finding buyers across the grape exchange market, while Dad has been flying up and down the rows on the old Dexta, collecting trays of grapes for Baz on the JCB. Nat and Archie calmly kept their cool and some sense of order among the inevitable chaos.

A large proportion of the Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir was handpicked and sent to Offbeat Wines, with a smaller amount sent to J dot D at Hamstreet Wines. On Monday alone, a team of 30 of us, including Mum, Kruges, Nenes and Dex, picked six tonnes.

The following day, we brought in a machine harvester, which you can spot in the photos from the shared album. It harvested 17 tonnes in a single day, focusing on our PIWI hybrid grapes. These were sent up to Flint Vineyard in Norfolk, where they will be made into one of their Charmat wines. The harvester can do the work of around 70 people, making it far more economical, although the grapes sell at a lower price per tonne than those picked by hand.

Day three was back to hand-picking. Cabernet Noir was driven into London by Nat and Archie for Renegade Urban Winery to turn into a still wine. Some additional Pinot Noir went down to Kent with Mum and Dad for Gros Canon Wines at Hamstreet, while a portion of Pinot Gris stayed closer to home for an experimental homebrew.

The fourth day of harvest was, like many this year, unexpected. It quickly became clear that we had far more fruit than originally estimated, so we picked the remaining Pinot Noir for Veenow Wines in Shropshire with another fantastic team.

The final day of harvest brought the whole family together. Maj back from Mexico, George up from Hampshire, and a little extra patience to allow sugars to rise and acidity to soften. This final PIWI variety was returned to London for Renegade.

We are hugely grateful to the winemakers we’ve worked with, who have been generous with their time, knowledge and feedback as we continue to learn and evolve. And to our brilliant team of pickers, who we hope will be back with us for many more harvests to come.

Not our first harvest, but certainly our most significant yet. A proper step change year, shaped by good weather, growing vines and a lot of collective effort. We’re already looking ahead to next season, and to finally sitting down over a long harvest lunch with our own wines on the table.