Heat and sun sparks 'supercharged' wine year

Over a tonne of grapes from a Herefordshire farm are crushing under their own weight in a massive tank in Digbeth.

They are producing enough juice for wine, and enough carbon dioxide to set off a small personal alarm clipped to the belt of Richard Stenton, the winemaker.

"Asphyxiation by CO2 is the leading cause of accidental death for winemakers", he tells me. "That's why we have the alarms."

Fortunately, we're safe today, as the Midland Press Urban Winery, based under a railway line heading into Moor Street Station, has a massive industrial door to keep fresh air flowing.

Making wine in Birmingham might seem unlikely, but as the climate changes, more and more people are growing grapes in the Midlands and need somewhere to turn them into wine.

Richard takes me through his approach to winemaking.

"These are the final grapes of the 2026 season," he tells me.

"They've sat in their skins for a month, taking on the colour and flavour from the skins. Now we'll press out the juice and put that in a steel tank, and then in five or six months we'll bottle the wine."

Richard is making wine with as little intervention as possible - it is known as natural winemaking.

In a year, he produces about 10,000 bottles which people buy directly from him or at restaurants in Birmingham and London.

All the sunshine and heat this year has caused some issues for vines, he said, but overall it will be a "supercharged vintage" because of the weather.

"We're going to make some great wine this year," Richard smiles.

Now it is time to get to work.

He tells me that winemaking is not only physically demanding, but can also be dangerous if you're not prepared.

Using a bright blue plastic shovel, I help move the crushed grapes from the tank into a wine press.

A huge cylinder, about twice the size of a domestic boiler, squeezes the juice out of the wine before it pours out of the bottom.

The smell filling the air is amazing, the scent of boozy Christmas fruits.

Having helped shift a tonne or more of grapes, I'm allowed a little sip of an orange wine from last year.

It is aromatic and sweet-smelling, but surprisingly dry to drink. I know nothing about wine, but I'd happily drink a glass or two.

Richard says it is not just the taste that customers and businesses love, but also the story behind the wines they buy from him.

From small farms with a field or two of grapes in Herefordshire to being turned into wine under a railway arch in Digbeth.

As the climate continues to warm, growing grapes and making wine could, for now at least, offer farmers an additional source of income.

But anyone tempted to give it a go should heed Richard's advice.

"There's a lot of pinot noir and chardonnay planted for sparkling wines," he said.

"And there's just too much of that. So it's better to work with someone from the outset so you know who you will sell your grapes to.

"Its not really enough anymore just to have some grapes," he added.

For the Midlands, once considered on the limits of viable grape-growing, it is now firmly becoming winemaking country.

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