Harvest 2026: Preparing for Our Earliest Vintage Yet

Harvest is almost upon us, with our earliest start to a vintage at Hattingley Valley just days away. Following a run of increasingly early harvests, we sat down with our Head Winemaker, Rob MacCulloch MW, to explore why these new patterns are emerging and how they are shaping the future of English wine.

This year's harvest is expected to be one of the earliest on record in the UK. What factors have contributed to such an advanced growing season?

The short answer is climate change, but the story really begins much earlier with bud initiation and the cumulative impact of several favourable growing seasons.

Looking back to 2024, this was the growing season that would eventually start the shape of the 2026 vintage. The difficult 2024 summer gave a correspondingly poor vine flowering period – this was where the vines produced flowers that would pollinate and become the grapes for the 2024 harvest, and also where vines produced the buds that formed the growth for the following year in 2025. The fickle weather in summer 2024 consequently gave a small crop in 2024 and less growth for 2025.

Then came 2025, an exceptional vintage. A warm spring brought vine growth and flowering forward, creating excellent flowering conditions for fruit quality. However, due to the preceding summer of 2024, there was only a small crop for 2025. With the exceptional growth conditions and a smaller crop to ripen, the vines accelerated towards the 2025 harvest at record speed. After the very early 2025 harvest was completed, the vines continued photosynthesising for an extended period, building valuable carbohydrate reserves that supported strong growth for the following 2026 season. This meant that two consecutive years of specific weather-related conditions have continued to advance the growing cycle, bringing us to this exceptionally early harvest of 2026.

Consequently, over the past decade, heat accumulation has increased significantly, with record-breaking warm growing seasons in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2025 and now 2026. This creates exciting opportunities for English wine, while also presenting new challenges that growers and winemakers will need to adapt to.

Based on what you've seen in the vineyards so far, what are your expectations for the quality of the 2026 harvest?

Across both of our Hampshire vineyards, vine health is looking very positive. We have clean fruit, healthy canopies and veraison well underway, with development way ahead of where we would normally expect it to be at this stage.

Despite the prolonged dry weather, our vineyards are performing particularly well. The deep chalk soils beneath our vines act as a natural water reserve, allowing roots to access moisture during periods of drought and helping maintain healthy growth and fruit development.

Our Vineyard Manager, Colin Hayward, has also recently carried out a green harvest, reducing bunch density and opening the fruit zone to improve airflow and minimise disease risk ahead of harvest.

Overall, the signs are extremely encouraging, with the conditions needed to produce exceptionally high-quality fruit.

Hattingley Valley sources grapes from multiple vineyard regions. Are you seeing significant variation between regions, or has the season been relatively consistent?

The season has been remarkably consistent across our partner growers, with grape development similarly advanced to what we are seeing across our Hampshire sites.

The main difference has been the impact of drought. Our Hampshire vineyards benefit from their underlying chalk bedrock, which stores water like a sponge and allows vine roots to access moisture reserves during dry periods.

Some vineyards planted on lighter, sandier soils in the East of England have experienced slightly slower development as a result of the dry conditions. This means harvest dates that would typically differ between regions are now expected to align much more closely.

From a logistical perspective, this is likely to create a more condensed harvest period, similar to what we experienced in the 2025 vintage.

An early harvest often brings logistical challenges. How does an accelerated harvest timeline affect planning in both the vineyard and winery?

One of the biggest challenges this year will be timing. Our SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) audit took place just four weeks before the potential start of this year’s harvest, requiring significant preparation during an already busy period to get ready for what we think will be a compressed harvest where many vineyards reach full ripeness all at the same time.

We have also invested in new Dolav-brand fruit picking bins this year. These large containers allow us to collect and store more fruit on site, improving efficiency and reducing handling time as grapes move through the winery.

Another major improvement which has been in place for a few years now, has been repurposing our barrel barn into a dedicated grape reception and weighing area. Bringing fruit reception closer to the presses has created a smoother workflow and allows us to manage intake more efficiently during the busiest days of harvest.

Are there any concerns around volume this year, how do you ensure quality remains the priority?

This vintage is not expected to be as large or as challenging as 2023, when heavy rainfall caused berries to swell and significantly increased bunch size. In 2026, yields are expected to be more moderate, with frosts early in the growing season causing some losses in certain regions and dry conditions contributing to smaller, more concentrated berries.

Fortunately, our Hattingley Valley vineyards were unaffected by frost due to their elevated position and upper-slope aspect. Some of our partner growers did experience some losses in the spring, however.

With harvest dates across Southern and Eastern England expected to align more closely this year, a moderate crop size will help us manage grape intake effectively and maintain quality throughout what is likely to be a shorter harvest window.

Looking beyond this vintage, are you seeing a long-term trend towards earlier harvest dates in England, and what might that mean for the future of English wine production?

Harvest dates have been gradually moving earlier over recent years. In 2022, harvest began on 14 September, followed by 22 September in 2023 and 24 September in 2024 after a cooler, wetter season. In 2025, a long warm summer brought harvest forward to 9 September, and now 2026 looks set to be our earliest start yet, potentially starting in August.

An earlier harvest can bring benefits. The vines have more time with healthy green leaves after picking, allowing them to continue photosynthesising and building energy reserves for the following growing season.

However, warmer vintages also require adaptation. Wineries will need to consider changes to bottling schedules, manage increasing sugar levels and increased potential alcohol, and continue developing vineyard practices to cope with changing weather patterns.

We have already experienced some of these challenges, particularly with temperature management during bottling this year, highlighting the need for continued investment to protect wine quality.

That said, there are exciting opportunities ahead. Warmer conditions can help English wine achieve greater consistency, it may allow us to produce a more consistent and approachable style, reduce ageing times while maintaining quality, and create wines with greater fruit expression and more balanced acidity.

What opportunities does a season like this present for English sparkling wine, and are there any particular varieties that have especially benefited?

Last year was all about the quality of the Pinots, but it is still early to make definitive predictions. This year, Chardonnay is looking particularly impressive across our Hampshire vineyards.

The dry conditions have avoided dilution from excessive rainfall, helping to create fruit with greater concentration of flavour and aroma. If conditions continue, Chardonnay could become one of the standout varieties of the 2026 vintage.

As we approach harvest, what are the key indicators you'll be monitoring before making the final decision to pick?

I’ll be visiting our vineyards and partner growers shortly before harvest, and on picking days, to assess fruit condition and monitor ripeness.

One of the key measurements we use is Brix, which indicates sugar concentration within the grapes. For sparkling wine production, we are typically looking for around 18.5° Brix at harvest.

Ultimately, the decision to pick comes down to balance: finding the ideal point between sugar levels, acidity and flavour development to create the foundations for great English sparkling wine.

With harvest now just around the corner, all eyes are on the vineyards. After another remarkable growing season, the countdown has begun for what promises to be one of the earliest and most exciting vintages in Hattingley Valley’s history.

We can’t wait to share what the 2026 vintage has in store.