Harvest 2024: From the Vineyard
Fiona Shiner, Founder
If you have been listening to the agricultural news, you may have heard that 2024 has been a challenging year for all farmers and vineyards are no exception. No harvest is the same and the 2024 harvest has certainly kept us on our toes. After the wettest September on record, the weather in September and October has been some of the most unpredictable we have encountered during a harvest and there were very few days without rain. As a result, harvest started the latest since we established our winery in 2016 and it was a challenge to find two consecutive dry days to allow for the grapes to ‘dry out’ before picking. However, if we rewind back to our early days of growing grapes, it was not uncommon to start harvesting in October and pick through the first week of November, so we took a step back to the ‘old’ days this year.
Yields are lower than average across the UK. It is our smallest harvest since 2016. Although some varieties performed better than others the lower yields are mainly due to poor flowering conditions at the end of June and early July. The summer was wet and overcast with the exception of some sunshine in August which helped the vines catch up a little, but with no heat or sunshine in September, the ripening process was slow and a great deal of patience was needed to wait for the right time to pick the grapes.
Our vineyard team has worked tirelessly during the season from pruning to harvest and as a result our fruit came in clean and disease free despite the mildew pressure.
On the plus side, the wasps and fruit flies which plagued the harvest of 2023 did not make an appearance and our major threat to the fruit this year was birds. In particular the pheasants from the neighbouring shoot, the migrating starlings on the wire and, more unusually, a very large flock of wood pigeons who had clearly messaged all their friends and family, which attacked the fruit at Stonehouse… in Hitchcock style fashion. More nets were deployed than usual.
A smaller yield may mean less grapes but the fruit we have picked has been good quality and the ferments and tanks are tasting good.
