Scorchio!!
July has been an incredibly busy month at the vineyard. We are now in peak tour and events season and it’s great to see so many people taking advantage of the weather to come and visit Greyfriars. In the vineyard we have been blessed with incredibly warm, dry and sunny weather for the last two months which has resulted in a fantastic first half of the growing season. We were lucky to have avoided the severe frosts in mid-May which struck a number of other vineyards across the South East, the vines have been galloping through their growing season as if there’s no tomorrow! We estimate that that we are now slightly ahead of last year which itself was already the earliest harvest we have ever seen at Greyfriars. As a result of the weather, we have had an excellent fruit set (pollination) which is important in determining how large the 2026 harvest will be. So far, all the signs are good for the 2026 vintage; starting with bud-formation in July last year, no frost, warm dry weather which lowers the disease pressure and good fruit-set. However, with two months to go we are taking nothing for granted.
While the vines have been loving the heat, the vineyard team have really had their work cut out with accelerated growth and temperatures above 30 deg. C making it really hard working in the vineyard (the temperature between the vines is 5-10 degrees ho4er than the official figures) leading to early starts and shorter days out amongst the vines. Thankfully the vineyard hand work is now finished and we will be into the tractor-based routine of spraying, mowing, weeding, cutting and leaf removing to get the fruit in tip-top shape for harvest which are expecting during the last week or so of September.
Meanwhile, in the winery we have just finished bottling the sparkling wine from 2025. As soon as one vintage is put to bed we are starting to plan for this year’s harvest. This involves deciding what wines we want to make from which plots and organising the logistics required to ensure a smooth and safe harvest.
This month also saw the release of another limited edition still wine from the amazing 2025 vintage – our Pilgrim’s Pinot Gris. This wine represents another facet of Greyfriars’ Pinot Gris and is what is known as a ‘skin contact’ white wine where the grapes were partially fermented on their skins for seven days before pressing and aged in barrel for 7 months before bottling. This produces a more complex and food friendly wine than our other Pinot Gris. Initial feedback from people tasting it has been really positive, which is always a relief when you release a wine that is a bit off the ‘beaten track’.
This month saw the return of the Guildford Town Centre Cycle Races to the High Street. This annual event, which is part of a national series of road cycle races and organised locally by the Charlotteville Cycle Club, has been going for 42 years. It is the only race in the series in the south of England and attracted almost 400 competitors of all ages ranging from Under 8 children through to Elite (semi-pro) men and women. The race itself is conducted over a 1 km loop up the High St and down North Street and always offers an incredibly high standard of fast and furious street racing (including over cobbles) and is supported by a hugely enthusiastic crowd. Greyfriars is delighted to have supported the event for the last three years and this year we were the main sponsor of the Eilte’s Women’s Race.
Once again thanks for all your support. Stay cool and please come and visit us for a cooling glass -we’d love to see you.
Mike and Hilary