Kent named wine hotspot after 'perfect' weather

Kent could soon become a major wine destination, according to producers, who say the English wine industry is growing as a result of the "perfect" weather.

In 2023 global wine production hit a historic low when the industry saw its worst yield in over 60 years. British wine however saw a bumper crop in that same year with production increasing by 77% from 2022.

Kent now has roughly 25% of Britain's vineyard planting with the county producing 5.08m bottles of wine in 2025.

Hester Fenwick, owner of Brabourne vineyard near Ashford, said: "It's a silver lining to a much, much bigger cloud but what is quite exciting in Kent is that we've now hit a critical mass of vineyards."

She said: "What we're now looking to do is work together with other vineyards and create a region which is world renowned for its wine, and, as the weather becomes a little bit warmer we've got the perfect conditions for that."

With lots of European countries struggling to get in a good harvest this year, some business owners say they hope Kent could provide a backup for European wine and start to attract tourists to the region to see the vineyards.

A new tourism initiative - the Kentish Wine Way - is being set up, connecting wine growers together so visitors can go to several vineyards in one day.

John Smith, co-owner of Woodchurch Wine Estate, said: "The UK are big consumers of wine and yet very little of our domestic consumption is from domestic production.

"At some point that imbalance will work itself out so I'm an eternal optimist," he said.

"I think we'll get to a point where the UK and Kentish wine industry in particular will be making more wine to meet that demand."

Experts say that by growing hardy grapes like Bacchus and Pinot, English wine has thrived where other crops have failed this year.

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