See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:55 BST, 11 September 2026 | Updated: 18:55 BST, 11 September 2026
The scorching summer is set to produce some of the strongest champagnes in history - and a ‘vintage year’ for English sparkling wine makers.In France, the alcohol content of champagne - prized for its fine bubbles - was previously capped at 13 per cent.But this year’s grapes have ripened at an unprecedented speed and are unusually rich in sugar, which, during fermentation, converts into alcohol.To compensate, rules have been relaxed for the first time to allow champagnes of up to 15 per cent.The decision, made by France’s National Origin and Quality Institute, has been controversial because the drink is famous for its lightness.Picking began earlier than ever this year on August 6, but the 2026 vintage is unlikely to hit shelves until 2028, because champagne must age for at least 15 months.Didier Gimonnet, a third-generation producer in Cuis, welcomed the relaxed rules, but told The Times: ‘It undermines the image. The idea of champagne at 14 or 15 per cent will put a lot of people off.’In Britain, the warmer weather appears to have favoured sparkling wine producers. Picking began earlier than ever in Champagne this year, but the 2026 vintage is unlikely to hit shelves until 2028, because it must age for at least 15 monthsNyetimber, which was the first in England to grow pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier for sparkling wine has 11 vineyards in West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire.It has announced that it will begin picking grapes on September 14 - the earliest since the company planted its first vines in 1988.This harvest, for which it has recruited 500 pickers, should yield almost 2,500tons of grapes, and produce more than 1.5million bottles of sparkling wine.The company’s head winemaker, Cherie Spriggs, said: ‘This year brings another unprecedented vintage as we begin harvesting earlier than ever.‘Late spring frosts and summer drought 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.’This summer was the UK’s hottest on record, according to provisional Met Office data, with temperatures peaking at 38.1C at Kew Gardens, west London, on August 13.At least two French champagne houses - Taittinger and Vranken-Pommery - now produce sparkling wine in England, where conditions are increasingly compared to those of the Champagne region decades ago.But the heat has caused havoc for beer sellers. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board said this year’s barley harvest could be the worst on record, with yields running 19 per cent below the five-year average last month.And Lisa Hogan, who runs the Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire and produces Hawkstone Lager with her partner, the TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, warned there may be ‘less beer all around’.She said: ‘A lot of barley farmers suffered… Last year our yields were terrible, but the quality was better. This year, after a second year of dry weather, both the harvest and its quality have suffered.’
