Nyetimber, the pioneer of English sparkling wine began picking some grapes for its 2026 harvest on Monday 14 September. Although the original start date was anticipated to be the following week, certain vines have already matured and reached optimal ripeness, giving the vineyard team the opportunity to harvest a small amount of grapes earlier than anticipated.
The harvest will officially commence in earnest from 21 September. Nyetimber anticipates harvesting around 425 of its 430 hectares of vines across West Sussex, Hampshire and Kent. This will yield almost 2,500 tonnes of grapes which could potentially result in over 1.5 million bottles of sparkling wine being produced from the 2026 vintage.
This year’s start date is five days earlier than the previous earliest start date of 19 September in 2018. This is primarily due to the record-breaking heat in the UK this summer, which has accelerated ripening. The hot weather has also allowed vines which were affected by late spring frosts to catch up, meaning that although overall quantity will still be slightly diminished, the quality is likely to be outstanding.
Given these recent conditions, Nyetimber’s winemaking team believes that 2026 could be a vintage year, whereby they can produce some, or potentially all of their vintage-dated wines: Blanc de Blancs, Tillington Single Vineyard, 1086 by Nyetimber and 1086 by Nyetimber Rosé.
Almost 500 pickers are travelling to Nyetimber’s vineyards to support with harvest. Around 400kg of grapes will be picked each day, and as per Nyetimber’s top quality approach, this will be done meticulously by hand, parcel by parcel. Every step of the picking journey involves meticulous attention to detail to ensure the fruit remains in optimal condition before being pressed and fermented separately into over one hundred blending components.
This will be the 20th harvest for Nyetimber’s winemakers, Cherie Spriggs and Brad Greatrix. Head Winemaker Cherie Spriggs – Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge 2025 – commented: “This year brings another unprecedented vintage as we begin harvesting earlier than ever. We are excited to taste the fruits of our labour, which as always has come with certain challenges: late spring frosts that affected almost 30% and the summer drought which has decreased the size of certain berries. However, the hot and sunny weather has helped to balance out these factors, giving us strong potential for fantastic wine quality.”
Nyetimber CEO and Owner, Eric Heerema said: “This is my 20th year of owning Nyetimber, and as ever the growing season has offered many ups and downs. At Nyetimber we own 100% of our vineyards, meaning that we have complete control when faced with viticultural obstacles such as frosts and drought. Our vineyard team has done a fantastic job of protecting our vines throughout the seasons, and now that we enter our earliest ever harvest, our winemakers will begin to get a picture of what this year’s fruit could bring. We are expecting great quality from the 2026 vintage, which could lead to more award-winning wines in the years to come.”
Nyetimber’s vintage-dated wines have won a plethora of awards in recent years: its Blanc de Blancs 2016 Magnum won Champion Sparkling Wine at the International Wine Challenge 2025, while its prestige cuvée – 1086 by Nyetimber 2010 – won highest-scoring sparkling wine and top overall wine at last year’s ‘Battle of the Bubbles’ at the London Wine Fair; championing over the world’s most iconic prestige cuvees. This year, Nyetimber was awarded Winery of the Year Great Britain by the Real Review and 1086 by Nyetimber 2014 was awarded Sparkling Wine of the Year.
A true pioneer, Nyetimber was the first producer of English Sparkling Wine to exclusively grow the three celebrated grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. With 11 vineyards spanning 425 hectares in West Sussex, Hampshire, and Kent, all Nyetimber wines are made from one hundred percent estate-grown grapes – allowing for complete control over every step of the winemaking process from vine to bottle.
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