Climate
Southern England is at the northernmost latitude for successful wine production. This production is possible due to the influence of warm weather from the Gulf Stream, making conditions ideal for cool climate wine production (comparable to some of New Zealand’s production).
Cool climate grape growing offers risks and benefits. The cooler the weather in any given year, the lighter and more acidic the grapes and the less complete the fermentation in the winery. Vine growers in England tend, therefore, to harvest as late as possible to allow the grapes to reach optimum ripeness on the vine, and so develop more sweetness and flavour. Later harvesting does, however, present a number of risks including early frosts, hungry birds, moulds and diseases – all of which can devastate a crop. On the positive side, experts agree that the best wines are made in marginal climatic conditions where the long slow ripening helps the grape to develop subtle and complex flavours and aromas.
Climate change has had a considerable impact on English wine production both now and in the past. Historical evidence of wine production in England and Wales shows that grape growing activity was directly linked to periods of global warming.
The rise in global temperatures in the last fifty years has already had an impact on UK viticulture (vine growing). With each one degree increase in global warming, the “growing envelope” for vines moves 200km north. So southeast England now has a similar climate to that of the Champagne region of France, a fact that is being exploited by a number of very successful and rapidly expanding vineyards in the southern counties of England.