We are growing grapes in one of the most difficult regions in the world, and this year just proves how we are at the mercy of the weather! Although we got off to a good start to the year, things soon changed as we progressed through the season….

Last winter was quite wet, so getting on the vineyard with the tractor to mow the pruning’s etc required some patience! But enough dry days were found to get us prepared for the beginning of the season. First up to navigate through frost season, we were very lucky this year, with only 3 nights threatening frost, and we escaped with little to no damage.

Once the buds had burst, the vines grew quickly and with the help of the volunteers we were able to complete the bud rubbing and shoot selection across the whole vineyard. The next important phase is to get through flowering, normally the vines can flower in a matter of days, provided there is good weather. Unfortunately this year, as I’m sure the Wimbolden Tennis Tournament will agree, was atrocious! We had endless days of rain, the temperatures were low and flowering took weeks to complete. This uneven fruit set will cause us some potential botrytis issues nearer to harvest, as well as having a significant affect on our yield. Across our Solaris and Pinot Noir Precoce, we lost approximately 30% of the potential fruit, and up to 90% lost in the Seyval Blanc.

Fast forward through the (rainy) summer, and although the bunch numbers didn’t look too bad, the bunch weights just weren’t where they should be. Meaning our harvest was very modest this year. We were lucky to be able to pick some fruit though, we know plenty of other local vineyards who have been completely wiped out this year.

We always knew that no two years would be the same, but this is also part of the charm of the industry! We are already looking forward to what the 2025 season has in store for us…