English sparkling winemakers are expecting their earliest grape harvest and a "vintage year" after a scorching summer led to grapes ripening quickly. Nyetimber, a producer with vineyards in West Sussex, Kent, and Hampshire, announced it will start picking grapes on 14 September. This marks their earliest harvest since the company planted its first vines in 1988, surpassing their previous earliest date of 19 September in 2018.
Nyetimber has recruited 500 pickers for this harvest, which is expected to yield almost 2,500 tonnes of grapes. This could result in over 1.5 million bottles of sparkling wine from the 2026 vintage. Despite late spring frosts potentially leading to a slightly smaller harvest than usual, the numerous sunny days this year are expected to have concentrated sugar in the grapes, suggesting 2026 could be a vintage year.
In contrast, the outlook for beer is less positive. Beer sellers have warned of a potential shortage after record-breaking temperatures and a drought across much of England caused poor yields of barley. Lisa Hogan, who runs Diddly Squat Farm, stated there may be "less beer all around" due to the extreme weather affecting barley harvests. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board indicated that the barley harvest could be the worst on record, with yields running 19% below the five-year average last month.
Provisional Met Office data indicates this summer was the UK's hottest on record. Temperatures in England peaked at 38.1C (100.1F) at Kew Gardens on 13 August, and June was confirmed as the country's hottest since records began in 1884.