Viticulture

The days when the words ‘English’ and ‘wine’ were rarely seen together are history.

Find the latest publications, advice and research on Viticulture on our Rural Hub, the new home of Rural research and content.

The UK wine industry has been growing steadily over the past decade, with the amount of land planted with vines quadrupling since 2000 to around 3,500ha (8,650 acres). This equates to an estimated 17.5m vines based on a UK average of 4,400-5,500 vines planted per ha.

Production is now hitting in excess of 10m bottles a year, with 2018 production levels peaking at the equivalent of 13.1m bottles thanks to ideal weather conditions that summer.

A crop yielding 7.4t/ha (3t/acre) might be expected to produce 6,175 bottles of wine per ha (or 2,500 bottles/acre). This is based on an average juice yield of 62%, meaning each tonne of grapes produces 620 litres of grape juice, which equates to about 830 75cl bottles of wine.

An increasing proportion of production in the UK is sparkling wine – in 2018 72% of English wine produced was sparkling – due to a combination of factors including changing weather patterns, judicious planting in areas with the right soil and topography, increasing knowledge and professionalism in the production process, and a growing following among the press and public.

It is an industry with huge potential to continue to grow, and to thrive, particularly as businesses focus on increasing domestic consumption of English wines and growing direct sales to customer. Strutt & Parker can help with all aspects of buying and selling viticultural land, along with setting up, developing and growing vineyards and winery businesses.

Selling viticultural land

For reasons of confidentiality, many of the vineyards and wine businesses we sell transact off market and therefore do not appear on our website or on other property portals.

If you are interested in a vineyard or winery, or land suitable for viticulture, please email Nick Watson or send us a message via our website.

For further advice read: How to prepare for selling your vineyard.

Buying viticultural land

There are certain essential qualities that land must possess in order to be suitable for growing vines.

For clients looking to set up, or expand, a vineyard, our experienced agents are able to search to find suitable land; whether it is currently being used for arable, or already established as a vineyard.

We can search out land that displays the right qualities: south-facing, sheltered slopes, less than 80 metres above sea level, and, crucially, with the right soil type.

Business and property advice

As with any business, there are always ways to increase turnover and diversify the income streams on your vineyard.

Our experts have worked with clients to improve business performance through benchmarking, develop restaurants and visitor centres, as well as assisting with planning and rating, and providing extensive property advice.

Our specialist advisers carry out a wide range of other services including asset valuations, investment analysis and the brokering of grape contracts and long leases.

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