2025 Harvest: "They think It's all over, it is now!"

By Mike Wagstaff - Owner Greyfriars Vineyard.

We can't believe that sitting here in the middle of October, not only have we finished harvest but it already seems like it's disappearing into the rear-view mirror and we're thinking about Christmas and onto 2026! Firstly, a huge thank you is due to everybody who made Harvest 2025 a massive success and in particular thanks are due to David and the vineyard team for delivering an incredible harvest; not huge but incredibly good fruit - in total we picked just under 150 tonnes.

Also, 'Chapeau' to Oliver and the team in the winery who have turned this fruit into what early tastings should hopefully prove to be some great wines. We have also had some surprises which we can't wait to share with you. Also, thanks to Reka and the tours/events team for making the volunteer picking days work like clockwork. Last but not least, thanks to all our volunteers for giving up their valuable time and turning out in huge numbers once again.

As always, we were astonished by the numbers of people for whom harvest at Greyfriars has become a regular annual event. This year over 400 people signed up to help us pick over four days, I have to apologise to all the people who were expecting to come and pick on the second Saturday, which we had to cancel to get the harvest in as fast as possible because of the extreme risk of fruit fly and botrytis (see below). It was disappointing not to see you but with the benefit of hindsight it was the right decision for the Vintage. Please don't worry, we will make sure you get a chance next year. For those who did come - thank you again and honestly, we couldn't manage without you — we hope you like this year's tee shirt design!

As a result of the hot, dry weather during the Summer, we sped through the growing season and once 'veraison' (when the vines stop growing and start ripening the fruit) took place three and a half weeks early, we knew we were in for an early harvest. However, this was brought even further forward by grape acidity levels dropping faster than expected in the second half of September. Because this is Britain, no harvest is without jeopardy and as a result of the damp warm weather in September the risk of botrytis increased significantly and also our red grapes became very tempting to the spotted wing drosophila ("SWD") a Japanese fruit fly, which can devastate a fruit crop in a few days. All together, we were under increasing pressure to get the harvest picked as soon as possible.

Summer 2025 was an extraordinarily good season for winegrowing; hot and dry until September which set us up perfectly for a great vintage which was seen across all UK vineyards and large parts of Europe. However, if we look at the last three growing seasons, we have seen the largest, the smallest, the hottest, the coldest, the earliest and the latest harvests! This is the reality of Climate Change for us, much more volatile and unpredictable weather.

As always, as soon as harvest is over, we start thinking about Christmas and the holiday season, which is our peak sales period for sparkling wine. We will be re-starting our tours and tastings this weekend and the tasting room is open again, along with our cellar door shop.

We have a number of special events lined up between now and the end of the year. Watch this space! On behalf of myself, Hilary and the entire Greyfriars team thank you all for your support for the last 15 years and we are all extremely excited about the next 15! We can't wait to see you at vineyard soon.

Mike & Hilary x