Grape picking in an English vineyard with Dedham Vale

October 4th and it’s the season of grape picking here in England and as we have done before, we like to pop along to our most local English Sparkling Wine vineyard to lend a helping hand to harvest the grapes. Located on the Essex / Suffolk borders, Dedham Vale Vineyard produces it’s own brut sparkling and demi-sec sparkling rosé. Alongside the bubbly, they also have their own red, white  and rosé stills plus some cider too.

What glorious sunshine does for those at the beach, it does much similar for those outside picking grapes as the English Autumn did not let us down today for supplying us with warm sunshine throughout the day as we all picked a variety of grapes to include Bacchus and Chardonnay.

How English Sparkling wines have grown in respect and popularity throughout the world in the last few years and no doubt Dedham Vale Vineyard is seeing the return in their investment as they plan plant a further 12 acres of vines very soon so that more people nationally and no doubt internationally, will be enjoying their wines (currently their rosé sparkling is stocked in Marks & Spencer).

Picking grapes is no easy task, firstly it does require a a bit of energy and also you will have to be ready to suffer the next day or two with varied cuts and scratches on your hands and lower arms as well as the dreaded back pain as you lower yourself down in to the vines searching for those ripe bunches to pick.

It is fun, certainly when done as we all did, voluntarily to support a local business. You can get to watch the whole picking, weighing and squeezing process as the wine makers go about their business of the getting the grape juice in to the vats.

We have now done grape picking in a few wine regions internationally and despite the back pain and a few nicks here and there on our hands, we always come back for more…