Finding balance after years of extremes.

After two turbulent seasons, the 2025 vintage has offered the UK wine industry a welcome sense of relief – and real excitement. 

Conditions across much of the country were close to ideal: a warm, dry summer followed by timely late-season rainfall allowed for healthy canopy development, balanced ripening, and fruit of excellent flavour and structure.

Yields were comfortably above 2024’s depressed figures without tipping into the excesses seen in 2023. More importantly, the fruit was clean, consistent, and ripe, making for smooth harvest logistics and strong quality in the winery. Sugar and acid levels were well-balanced, and winemakers are already talking about the potential for elegant, expressive wines across both still and sparkling categories.

This was a year that reminded everyone of what UK viticulture can achieve when conditions align – a true “reset” vintage. Picking was efficient, winery intakes were steady, and the industry enjoyed a sense of momentum not felt in recent years. Of course, it will be many months before we can taste the finished results, but early signs suggest 2025 could stand alongside 2018 as a benchmark harvest.

Learning from the past

Taken together, the 2023-2025 run has provided a crash course in business resilience. Each season told a different story – and together, they underline just how volatile agricultural production can be.

In 2023, the industry faced a bumper crop. Many vineyards enjoyed record yields, but that abundance quickly created logistical and economic headaches. Wineries struggled to find tank space, fruit prices fell, and some grapes went unpicked. While quality was good, the market was left with an overstock of wine, limited consumer growth, and financial pressure.

Then came 2024, a year defined by poor weather, disease pressure, and widespread crop losses. Some producers lost more than half their fruit; others saw none reach full ripeness. With far lower volumes, cash flow tightened dramatically. Fruit sales collapsed, contracts faltered, and many businesses were left exposed. For smaller growers especially, the lack of income after 2023’s oversupply created real instability.

Now, in 2025, we’ve finally had balance: manageable yields, excellent quality, and renewed optimism. Yet if these three seasons have taught us anything, it’s that agriculture is predictably unpredictable. We can safely assume that within every decade there will be at least one terrible harvest and one bumper one – and business planning must reflect that reality.

Building stability and sustainability

Our biggest takeaway is the need for better alignment between production, processing, and demand. Yield contracts are no longer optional – they’re essential. Controlling both the quantity and quality of fruit ensures that supply matches market needs, protecting pricing, reputation, and long-term financial health.

The 2023 glut proved the risk of oversupply; the 2024 crash proved the danger of under-capacity and over-reliance on a single good year. A sustainable future for UK wine depends on levelling out these swings. That means forward planning for winery space, stronger agreements between growers and producers, and an honest assessment of market appetite.

We also need to think long-term about cash resilience. Harvests like 2024 show that a single bad year can expose weaknesses in finance and operations. Building reserves, diversifying sales channels, and investing in adaptable infrastructure will help businesses withstand the next downturn – because there will always be one.

As a CEO, I believe the role of companies like VineWorks is to help our clients balance optimism with realism. We work hard to keep up-to-date on the latest innovations and research to make sure that grape growing is the most economically viable it can be. We use our extensive contacts to help our clients understand the market to help them avoid the boom-and-bust pattern that has defined recent years.

If 2023 was a warning and 2024 a reckoning, then 2025 is a reminder of what’s possible when balance returns. The fruit this year is outstanding, but the true measure of success will be how we use it to build a stable, sustainable, and confident future for UK viticulture. At VineWorks, that future starts where it always has: by supporting our growers, strengthening our industry, and building sustainability – one vine at a time.


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