After the unprecedented heat waves that submerged the country between June and August, the grapes ripened early.

With global warming, the harvest, which traditionally began in October, is more and more often brought forward.

They started here at the end of September.

"At the moment, I think we have growing conditions similar to those of Champagne in the 70s and 80s", explains the boss of this estate founded in 2004, Charlie Holland.

“The perfect climate to make an exceptional sparkling wine!”, he assures.

According to a study published in July, global warming will multiply, over the next 20 years, the potential of British viticulture, which is still embryonic.

Harvest of pinot noir at the Gusbourne estate on September 28, 2022 in Appledore, near Ashford, in south-east England Ben Stansall AFP

The climatic conditions will become ideal for still wines of pinot noir, chardonnay, riesling...: after the wines which hope to compete with those of the Champagne region, the United Kingdom will be able to try those of Burgundy or Alsace.

"Pretty scary"

In Gusbourne, the tractors bring to the winery, in a continuous ballet, baskets full of grapes.

The fruits are destemmed, pressed, and can begin to ferment.

During this harvest period, the estate is a beehive where 200 people work, more than half of them seasonal workers.

Charlie Holland, owner of the Gusbourne wine estate, observes the juice coming out of the stainless steel tanks, on September 28, 2022 in Appledore, near Ashford, in the south-east of England Ben Stansall AFP

Charlie Holland is everywhere.

He works between the presses, tastes the juice in the stainless steel vats, checks the fermentation in the oak barrels.

He did not wait to diversify his production.

Besides the traditional sparkling, "we make a red wine with Pinot Noir and a white with Chardonnay which are very well received. We can ripen the grapes now much better than 10 or 15 years ago", he explains. he.

Climate change may be a boon for winegrowers across the Channel but it is taking place at a "quite frightening" speed, and in other wine regions is disrupting the sector, tempers Alistair Nesbitt, lead author of the study carried out by specialist firm Vinescapes, the London School of Economics and the University of East Anglia.

Higher temperatures are a challenge for many regions, from France to California to Australia, which must adapt their practices, harvest earlier or consider new grape varieties.

Alistair Nesbitt, climatologist and consultant for the specialized firm Vienescapes, in the vineyards of the Gusbourne estate, September 28, 2022 in Appledore, near Ashford, in the south-east of England Ben Stansall AFP

If nothing changes the trajectory beyond the 20-year period targeted by the study, the United Kingdom could end up seeing the arrival, according to the researcher, of grape varieties such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, today. grown further south, particularly in Bordeaux.

"Let's hope that the world will pull itself together" because the rise in temperatures, in the end, "threatens everyone" adds the researcher.

Marginal

Faced with these looming opportunities, British viticulture is planting with a vengeance: its vine area has doubled in eight years, notes the sectoral organization WineGB.

But with 3,800 hectares of vines currently, about a tenth of the Champagne region, it remains marginal.

The UK will "likely remain a niche wine producer" but has the potential to move upmarket with warmer temperatures, according to Daniel Mettyear, research director at London-based global wine and spirits market analyst firm IWSR. Drinks Market Analysis.

A worker takes wine samples from barrels for laboratory testing on September 28, 2022 at the Gusbourne estate in southeast England Ben Stansall AFP

British wines are beginning to gain notoriety, he says, despite a relatively high price, "in North America, the Nordic countries and Australia in particular".

The Gusbourne estate exports around a third of its production to 28 countries, mainly to Norway, the United States and Japan... but also to a few customers in France.

Charlie Holland cultivates the image of a top-of-the-range product with vintage sparkling wines and red and white wines aged in oak barrels which display the name of the plot on the label.

The price goes with it: count 45 pounds (more than 50 euros) for a bottle of sparkling wine.

But the winemaker has no doubts about the potential of English wine.

"It's not that often that you see a new wine region popping up."

A first, according to him, since New Zealand in the 80s.

© 2022 AFP