Viticulture and Winery Show 2022

We attended the Viticulture and Winery Show at the Kent County Showground on the 23rd November and it was a very busy event, with all types of suppliers to the sector well represented.

For English wine lovers, the 2022 vintage is much anticipated due to the exceptionally hot summer and clearly climate change is going to have an impact on one of Kent’s newest business sectors over the next few years and could present opportunities for land owners previously unexplored.

A recent study published by Alex J Bish and Richard H Ellis has looked at how climate change will affect the potential for high quality still wine from Chardonnay viticulture in the UK and concluded that at the moment just 2% of land in the UK is suitable for producing premium Chardonnay, but in the next 30 years that could rise to 20-25%.

As well as Kent there could be more UK production of high-quality Chardonnay in the East of England and the Isle of Wight.

Of course, a number of other factors need to be considered before planting new vines and there is much to think about for this sector with a huge amount of growth potential. Here at Gullands we work with a number of suppliers to English vineyards as well as vineyards themselves and we also have a dedicated licensing specialist.

If you are looking for legal support in this sector, get in touch with our commercial team.