English wineries battle ‘severe’ frost

Winemakers across England are counting the cost of serious frosts, which have struck many regions repeatedly in recent weeks at a critical period for budburst. Gabriel Stone reports.

“It’s feeling a little brutal this year,” said Zoë Driver, winemaker at Black Chalk in Hampshire.
Speaking to the drinks business in mid-May, she reported that frost issues “started before Easter and are still going.”

While too early to assess the final damage to the vines, the weather has also taken a significant financial and human toll.

“We’re about five times over our budgeted frost expenses,” said Jacob Leadley, the owner of Black Chalk, who shares winemaking responsibilities with Driver. “The next largest cost is the cost on the team,” he continued, describing the night shifts required as “a really tough job.”

Frost guards and Fog Dragons

In a bid to protect vines, Black Chalk has been using its 12 frost guards, which “work down to a certain temperature” according to Leadley, as well as a FogDragon, which pumps out a protective smoky mist from behind a tractor.

“Our vineyard manager worked out he’s driving the equivalent of from here to Glasgow every night,” said Leadley.

Then there are the associated propane and diesel expenses. “All those costs have been going in the wrong direction for the last five years,” he observed.

Over in East Sussex, Oastbrook Estate’s winemaker and owner America Brewer acknowledged the last few weeks as “probably the most significant frost event we’ve experienced since planting”.

The vineyards here, which she planted in 2018, have experienced variable levels of damage so far. Brewer identified “localised frost pockets and unprotected sections of vineyard” as the areas most severely hit, while “some rows have escaped with little to no damage, especially those closer to woodland.”

Infrared heaters and braziers

In a bid to minimise frost damage, Oastbrook has deployed infrared heaters, burning braziers and frost barriers. “These measures have helped to some degree, but none are completely effective,” said Brewer.

Henry Warde, owner of Squerryes in Kent, echoed the significant challenge already posed to English grape growers by 2026. “Frost damage has been the most severe we’ve seen since 2017,” he commented.

Although Squerryes targeted its most susceptible areas with protective sprays, Warde notes: “The most important factor in frost protection for us is vineyard siting.”

Despite the majority of his vines being located outside frost pockets, he reported that “an air frost on 24 April affected parts of the estate that had not experienced damage since the vines were planted in 2006.”

Secondary shoots

Warde’s hope now is that the emerging secondary shoots will help offset some of the inevitable yield loss from this year’s harvest.

Some producers find themselves in a more fortunate position. In 2021 Stopham Vineyard in West Sussex took the decision to invest in the installation of a Plantex spraying system. “For the past few years we’ve said ‘Why did we spend all that money?’, commented Marie Davies, the producer’s head of trade sales, “This year we’ve had to really use it.”

Even with the right technology, she highlighted the extra strain on Stopham’s owner & winemaking director Simon Woodhead. “There have been at least five or six nights when Simon has been out at all hours switching on the spraying system,” said Davies. So far, at least, she was able to report that the producer’s vines have been “absolutely fine.”

Despite milder conditions in recent nights, Davies noted: “We usually have to wait until the end of May before we can breathe a sigh of relief over potential frosts.” However, she was cautiously optimistic, saying: “I think we’re going to be ok.”

Fruit ripeness

Back at Black Chalk, the team is looking forward to the advantage their location offers once this seasonal weather threat eventually passes. “Our vineyards are at the bottom of the valley,” noted Leadley. While that increases frost susceptibility in spring, in summer “the plus side is that it’s 2-3°C warmer so it ripens well.”

Leadley identified that additional fruit ripeness, in complement to England’s trademark acidity, as a key factor underpinning the Black Chalk style. It also makes possible the producer’s higher tier wines, Paragon blanc de blancs and Inversion blanc de noirs, whose second vintage – 2022 – has just been released.

Introducing the Chardonnay-based Paragon, Leadley explained: “We use an aromatic yeast strain to make the most of that fruit. Then we use foudres to get balance and texture.”

The majority of the Pinot Noir used for Inversion derives from parcels planted with Burgundy’s 777 clone. According to Leadley, “the way it grows on chalk gives a really powerful character, but also lots of structure and elegance. It was crying out for us to do something.”

It remains too early to know whether this year’s growing season will deliver the quality and quantity required to make these two wines in 2026. Although the small crop of 2021 forced Black Chalk to divert all fruit into its core wines that year, Driver recalled the “terrible frosts” that also afflicted Paragon and Inversion’s 2020 maiden vintage.

“We knew the risks when we started,” said Leadley, stressing Black Chalk’s ongoing commitment to making only vintage expressions. “You get vintage variation but for us that has something more interesting to say than the consistency of reserve wines. You can start to lose a bit of interest and focus on how to make the most of a hard vintage. That’s what we do. It keeps us interested; it keeps us switched on.”

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