A Strong 2025 Vintage Marks the Start of the UK Growing Season

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25 March 2026

WineGB has launched its 2025 Harvest Report alongside the updated 2026 Green Book as vineyards enter a new growing season. The report highlights 2025 as an outstanding year for UK viticulture, driven by favourable weather conditions. An early, dry spring followed by exceptional summer heat led to the earliest and ripest grape harvest recorded in the British Isles.

Production rose significantly, with a 39% increase on 2024 according to WineGB data, while Food Standards Agency figures show an even larger 55% rise, totalling over 16.5 million bottles. The quality of the crop also improved, with higher ripeness levels, increased potential alcohol, and slightly lower acidity, indicating strong conditions for producing high-quality wines. Several grape varieties, including Bacchus, Solaris and Pinot Noir, delivered notably higher yields than recent averages.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine estimates global wine production at around 232 million hectolitres in 2025. UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. It therefore remains a very small producer by international standards, far behind the established wine powers and still behind even smaller-producing countries such as Tunisia and Uzbekistan. The stronger strategic point is that this tiny share is also an opportunity. In a declining world wine market, modest share gains can still translate into very large growth rates for Britain.

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