This has been a difficult year for winemakers – the cool March weather continued into April and May, delaying budburst and crucially the date of flowering. Harvest will therefore be late this year, probably the third or fourth week of October, perhaps extending into early November. But the potential crop looks good, so fingers crossed for some gentle autumn weather!
On 12th September the Sunday Times Magazine posted an extended article about English Wine which has attracted a lot of attention. The authors John Arlidge and Will Lyons (ST wine correspondent) have gone to town, documenting the tentative beginnings when Breaky Bottom and the few ‘early-birds’ began in the 60-70’s right through to the massive expansion which has taken place in the 21st century.
It’s flattering to see the front page of the article is a photograph of Breaky Bottom with the heading “C’est Incroyable! Burgundy? No, East Sussex!” You can read the whole article here.