Small but good quality crop in 2024, WineGB report reveals
19th December 2024
Despite testing conditions in the UK, also seen across Europe, English and Welsh vineyards held their own, data shows.
Many vineyards harvested a small but good quality crop in 2024 despite difficult conditions, according to WineGB’s Harvest Yield Survey.
This was attributed to an increasingly mature and skilled workforce.
While volumes were reduced this year, assiduous vineyard management and selective picking resulted in grapes with a high level of phenolic ripeness, due to increased hang-time over a longer than average harvest period.
The 2024 vintage is projected to produce between 6–7 million bottles, corresponding with a 30–40% reduction on the 10-year production average (10 million bottles).
It is important to note, however, that this follows on from 2023, the largest harvest achieved in the UK.
Volumes of both existing bottled stock and reserve wines were bolstered by this bumper year as well as by previous high-yielding vintages, mitigating the shortfall in production this year.
A trying year all round
In keeping with wine-producing regions across northern Europe, 2024 proved to be a trying year, with inclement weather and recurrent rainfall resulting in higher disease pressure.
Government data revealed that wine production in France fell by 23% compared to 2023, and dropped by 46%, 38%, 29%, and 12% in Champagne, Burgundy-Beaujolais, Loire, and Bordeaux respectively.
There were reports of lower sunshine levels, excess rainfall, mildew, and botrytis.
Volumes were also reduced in Austria (-9% on 2023), Germany (-6% on 2023), and Switzerland (-20% on 2023) according to the OIV, with global wine production decreasing by 2% compared with 2023.
Huge variability in weather
In the UK, there were mixed experiences across the board, meaning that even vineyards spaced a few miles apart experienced very different weather patterns, particularly with regards to rainfall.
While for the majority this meant a smaller harvest, there were some producers that picked little or no crop this year.
In terms of yield, the east of the country fared better due to prevailing weather patterns.
The South-East (East Sussex, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex) achieved the highest average yield, followed by the Thames and Chilterns (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire), and the East (Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire).
Overall, lower yields were achieved compared to 2023, however the top yielding quartile of vineyards were able to achieve a relatively high return of 5.9 tonnes per hectare.
Potential alcohol levels are close to the 2016-2024 average and greater than the high-yielding 2023 vintage.
The top four most planted varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Bacchus – achieved good yields, with Bacchus and Chardonnay performing particularly well.
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Higher disease pressure
Due to the conditions, disease pressure was elevated this year, however with careful selection in the vineyard, a clean crop capable of making high quality wines was picked.
Data from the WineGB Harvest Yield Survey 2024 showed that over 70% of respondents reported losses to disease, mostly to mildew and botrytis, and 48% experienced late-season bird damage.
Several vineyards also reported a rare autumn frost which prompted an immediate harvest.
The majority of producers waited until October to begin their main harvest and picking continued well into November.
Resilience and expertise
Commenting on the initial harvest data, WineGB CEO Nicola Bates said:
“In a tough year, producers have shown huge resilience and expertise in harvesting a small, but high-quality crop.
“While overall yields are down this year, stock levels are high and there remains consistency in the supply of wine for sale.
“This year is both a reminder of the unpredictability of British weather and the skill of our workforce, which is well-versed in dealing with our variable climate.”
Harvest report author Stephen Skelton MW added:
“2024 wine production had a challenging year, but the figures show that when faced with climatic adversity, skilled growers are able to rise to the challenge and employ the resources available to them to produce reasonable yields.
“It also shows that our four major varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Bacchus – can produce good yields, even in testing years.”
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