HARVEST 2025
HARVEST 2025
The season of fruitfulness has lived up to its name at Bride Valley this year – we are delighted to share that we've picked a bumper crop of 33 tonnes (over double what we picked last year)! Excellent conditions in the vineyard throughout the spring and summer were hugely conducive to a strong yield. Two weeks of dry weather in June during flowering set us off to a good start allowing the fruit to set undisturbed (last year’s heavy rain prevented good fruit set in 2024). It has been a much drier year with just 259 mm rain fall from 1st June – 17th October, compared to last year’s 448 mm. The warm dry conditions in the vineyard this summer led to good even ripening, and a wetter spell at the end of September plumped up the bunch weights. The subsequent dry period leading up to harvest led to heavier grapes, and turned acid levels into sugars - what is needed to make fantastic wines!
We recorded the highest level of sugar in the Chardonnay grapes at our Daniel’s plot. The excellent sugar levels mean that these grapes can be made into an oaked Chardonnay, the first for Bride Valley, and will be on our shelves in 2027.
Our small vineyard team of 9 people performed heroically throughout the harvest, supported by an incredible team of 25 local pickers. This year is the first year we’ve used only local people to help us pick. The spirit and atmosphere during picking was wonderful - friends were made and the vineyard has never been so filled with chatter. The 33.2 tonnes of grapes picked consisted of 22.5 tonnes of Chardonnay, 8.2 tonnes of Pinot Noir and 2.5 tonnes of Pinot Meunier.
Although the vines can now rest after doing their bit, our vineyard staff can't. They have a long list of maintenance jobs to do whist they wait for the sap in the vines to recede back into the trunks, then its all-hands-on deck for winter pruning at the beginning of December. Pruning involves removing almost all of the 2025 canopy, leaving only one or two canes from which all of next year’s growth will come from. The growing season for a vine may be relatively short, but the vine worker it never stops!
Our vineyard tours have now come to an end for the year and will start up again in April…in the meantime you can pre-book a 2026 tour online, something to look forward to throughout the colder months. Along with tours, we are also planning some new events in the vineyard for next year…watch this space!
With the festive season fast-approaching we will be popping up at the following Fairs throughout November - come and say hello to our lovely team and make the most of our festive offers:
Athelhampton Winter Food Fair - 8 & 9 November
Groves Twilight Christmas Market - 20 November
Mapperton Christmas Market - 28 & 29 November
Abbey Farm Abbotsbury Christmas Fair - 28 & 29 November
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