Winemakers sit up and take notice of the Crouch Valley

Winemakers in Essex have said the future is looking bright for the industry as the grape harvest got under way early in the county's Crouch Valley.

The New Hall Wine Estate in Purleigh has been making wine since 1969, completing its first harvest in 1972, but picking came early this year due to the hot weather.

Heatwaves could lead to even better wine in the long run and a boon for English wine.

Head winemaker Jacques Huysamer, 29, who is originally from South Africa, said: "It's definitely booming at the moment. England is the new up-and-coming market."

Last year, a report by industry association Wine GB found sales of English wine had risen 3% year-on-year, with Brits consuming 6.2 million bottles of sparkling wine and 2.3 million of still wine.

The report also found the continued growth of vineyards in Essex, with the county boasting the second highest number of new vineyards planted in the last five years.

The Crouch Valley, which runs along the length of the River Crouch between Wickford and the Blackwater Estuary has already attracted the interest of French and American winemakers who refer to its warm and dry conditions and type of soil as great grape growing conditions.

Huysamer added: "Everything is growing, it is still new and fresh and it is fun to be part of a vibrant industry."

While many businesses, particularly in the farming industry, are concerned about the shift in climate and the complications that could arise, at New Hall the early harvest provides an opportunity to increase quality.

Lucy Winward, commercial manager at New Hall, said: "For us it means we can pick grapes before the autumnal rains which is a bonus.

"The fruit is very clean out there and we haven't had any rain for spoilage so we are very lucky this year."

Essex now has 469 hectares of land under vine, the equivalent of 657 football pitches with the majority of it in the Crouch Valley.

And while the area is known for sparkling and still white wine, the weather has given winemakers the option of developing red wines in the years to come.

Winward, 43, said: "We've just planted 14,000 red vines which will come to fruition in the next couple of years.

For us we are always thinking about the market and the appetite for different wines in the next 20 to 50 years."

In recent years the Crouch Valley has attracted international interest and three years ago the Californian-based Jackson Family Wines purchased land in the area.

Paul Laurie, 41, known as the Essex Wine Man, said: "We've got the Americans, we've got the French winemakers over here as well and we are getting worldwide press attention for the Crouch Valley in Essex.

"We've been making wine for hundreds of years in the UK but only now are the rest of the world looking at us and saying wow these Brits can make some wine and so the future is looking very bright in the Crouch Valley."

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