Albury Vineyard Harvests its Best Fruit Yet!

An army of nearly 100 local wine enthusiasts spent three days recently grape picking at Albury Vineyard and their verdict – the fruit are the best they have seen since the vines were planted in 2009.

Vineyard owner Nick Wenman believes firmly in involving the local community with the annual harvest. The pickers include members of Albury Wine Club and the harvesting is a great social event in the Albury calendar. The harvest is almost complete now after a tricky season of exciting highs and worrying lows, all down to the unpredictable English weather!

“We had a difficult start to the year with extreme spring frosts, followed by a cold early summer and a terrible onset of downy mildew in the vineyard,” said Nick. “However, we are delighted to now be harvesting some of the best fruit we’ve ever had since planting the vines seven years ago!

“Temperatures on the vineyard in August and September were much higher than average and as a result, the fruit is very ripe. Yields are lower than the last couple of years and rumour has it this is the case for a number of vineyards in the area, but quality is much more important to us than quantity.”

The sparkling wine made from this year’s grapes won’t be ready until 2019!