FOOD AND DRINK
Winemakers in Britain toast best ever year
An estimated 20 to 22 million bottles will have been produced by the end of 2023
Chapel Down in Kent. This year has brought record grape harvests
This will be remembered as a “near perfect year” for British wine with what is expected to be the nation’s largest grape harvest.
“English wine has a very good future,” Stephen Skelton, one of the country’s leading viticultural consultants, said as he called 2023 “a vintage to remember”.
WineGB, the industry body, believes that 2023 will produce an estimated 20 to 22 million bottles.
The grape harvest is thought to be 50 per cent bigger than Britain’s previous record year in 2018. WineGB said this 2023’s minimal spring frost, warm flowering weather in June and warm spells in September and October made for a “near perfect year”, despite the wet and dull weather in July and August.
To make it perfect, Britain would need “endless
