The extraordinary talent in today’s UK wine industry and the stars of its future were celebrated at Vintners’ Hall – as the winners of WineGB’s Rising Star Awards were announced, along with the 2024 Vintners’ UK Wine Apprentice.

At last year’s Groundswell Festival, expert viticulturist Joel Jorgensen from vineyard and winery consultancy Vinescapes discussed what it means to grow vines using regenerative principles and the benefits he has seen to soil health, biodiversity, yields and wine quality.

Topics to be covered include the new apple rootstock M200, improvements in disease control and pest management, and improving energy use in apple stores.

WineGB has announced its inaugural WineGB Rising Stars Awards, an initiative that acknowledges and celebrates the next generation of UK wine industry professionals.

Forty-nine faceless scarecrows were placed outside parliament, representing the anonymity of farmers, and the 49% of fruit and veg farmers who believe they will be out of business in 12 months.

Aldi topped the first quarter of the new British apple season from October to December 2023, leaving Tesco behind, according to British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL).

The national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, WineGB, has prepared a range of events for 2024, following a busy and record-breaking harvest in 2023. The programmes that will be delivered across the country and overseas aim to support the growth of the UK’s wine industry and represent their interests to politicians this year.

The UK’s fruit and vine machinery specialist, NP Seymour, is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the appointment of a new member to its sales team.

A project that aims to develop a commercially viable system for precisely targeting orchard inputs to specific trees, or even parts of a tree, has been given the go-ahead. The £4.5 million project has been led by Hutchinsons agronomist, Rob Saunders, and partly funded by the commercial partners, Innovate UK and Defra.

The viticulture sector is set to become the latest industry to benefit from the introduction of cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) robotics technology, thanks to a new innovation programme funded by Defra.

Oxbo has expanded its presence and product portfolio through acquiring Westside Equipment Company in Madera, California.

As part of the wind down of all AHDB Horticulture activities, the levy board is transferring the royalties from the commercialisation of two levy-funded research projects.