Harvest time in an English vineyard

There’s something incredibly romantic about the idea of the grape harvest. It’s one of those ritual moments in the winegrowing year that takes its rhythm from the countless harvests which have come before.

It’s easy to get lost in the rural idyl. But there’s nothing like a touch of England’s autumnal chill to make you realise that grape-picking at 51-degrees north is a pretty practical affair.

For fine-wine estates such as Gusbourne, harvest tends to be ushered in by misty mornings, a chill in the air and darkening evenings.

September’s arrival means Gusbourne’s Vineyard Manager Jon Pollard is a familiar figure amongst the vines. You’ll find him walking the rows, tasting the grapes and chewing the pips – testing, watching and waiting for perfect ripeness. Each parcel is scrutinised: which fruit should come in first? Where should the team let it hang a few more days?

At last, when the first grapes are ready, Jon gives the harvest team the nod. Most workers are locals, well-seasoned regulars who return to the vineyard year after year. Working in pairs, with one partner on each side of the row, the pickers move in a high-vis wave through the vines. Their gentle chatter is interrupted only by the runners, who whisk away full containers of picked fruit so that it can reach the winery within minutes.

It’s a mesmerising process to watch – efficient but also painstaking as every bunch is scrutinised. The grapes are notably different from those you’d find in the shops: the berries are small, jewel-bright and dense, pressed together in a tightly formed cluster. Any stubborn “shoulder” berries, which have refused to fully ripen, are teased away from the top of the bunch with the needle-nose secateurs and discarded.

The pickers engage all their senses, sniffing each bunch to make sure fruit is fresh and clean; at any hint of imperfection, it’s dropped at the base of the vine so its nutrients can return into the soil.

Meanwhile, in the winery, a different team works with pace and precision – pressing the grapes, transferring the juice to barrel or tank and preparing it for the first fermentation.

By the end of the harvest, more than 200 individual wines from tiny parcels of fruit will have been made, giving the winemaking team an incredible spectrum of possibility when it comes to blending in the New Year.

These are the most frenetic weeks of the calendar. Once the thrum of harvest is passed, calm settles over the vineyard. The leaves turn into all the shades of red and gold; the mists sit over the vines later into the morning, and autumn begins to pull away into winter.

The vines have done their job for another season, and they’ve earned a rest. Meanwhile, in the winery, the quiet alchemy of winemaking is taking place. Mary Bridges, Gusbourne’s Head Winemaker, and her team have a winter’s wait ahead of them before they’ll be able to taste new vintage in all its glory.

Discover more about Gusbourne’s English vintage sparkling wines, or plan your trip to their Kentish vineyards, here.