Warden Abbey Vineyard

4 days ago

Change of date for the 2024 grape harvest - now TOMORROW Tuesday 15 October - please book your new place!

We were hit heavily by frost on Thursday night as were a number of vineyards around the country. We went over to check the impact on Friday morning and there is a lot of damage to the canopy (leaf area). After applying nutrients and a protection product to help protect the fruit on Friday, we went over to check them this morning and the grapes have minimal damage at the moment, but there is a chance they could deteriorate over the course of the week. We have also been taking a lot of damage from birds eating the fruit over the last few weeks and this has worsened over the course of the weekend. Unfortunately, the site has no way of protecting against bird damage currently. So now with the canopy damaged from frost we won’t get the benefit of further sugar accumulation in the berries from letting the grapes hang longer, but the risk of loss of the crop is even greater, so we have made the decision to bring harvest forward to TOMORROW Tuesday 15 October.

Please sign up to the new sign up form here: bit.ly/3U5Tolq for the 15th (even if you have already signed up for Saturday as we appreciate with it not being a weekend some people will no longer be able to make it). We do appreciate the support and understand the disappointment for those that had planned to join us on Saturday but cannot join us on Tuesday. We hope you understand when we’re dealing with nature these things are largely out of our control and that we need to put the vineyard and the harvest first.

The plan for the day is detail below will remain largely unchanged from before:

We start from 8:30am with a briefing and should finish mid-afternoon, but depending on progress may be until around 3:30 to 4pm.

We will have a short break in-between varieties, so that people can have a quick snack, water or hot drink if they would like to.

We will provide you with secateurs and gloves. Please don’t bring your own into the vineyard.

We will provide snacks and a glass of wine. You may want to bring sandwiches and please bring hot drinks if you would like them at breaks and lunchtime as we don't have electricity on site.

Harvest is usually a busy but fun day, so we hope you will join us and share in the enjoyment!

Thanks in advance for your flexibility with this. ... See MoreSee Less

Harvest Registration Form - 15 October 2024

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Please register your attendance here

Warden Abbey Vineyard

2 weeks ago

We’re delighted to have been mentioned in a recent Telegraph article about volunteer harvests at UK vineyards.

As the piece states, “Grape picking is a great way to meet like-minded people, while doing something outdoors which is good for physical and mental health. There’s a fun, purposeful atmosphere, and whether you’re actively picking or on a break from snipping, it’s sociable. You’ll discover a lot about how grapes are grown and how wine is made. And when, months or years later, you come across the wine from that vintage, it’s incredibly satisfying to know you played a part in creating it.”

All equipment is provided and experienced coordinators will be there on the day. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, register interest by email: info@wardenvineyard.org.uk.

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Volunteer harvests at UK vineyards are growing in popularity – these are the ones to try

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With the 2024 grape harvest about to begin, here’s how you can get involved