Harvest 2025 update – an exceptional year in the Surrey Hills

The 2025 harvest has drawn to a close across the Surrey Hills, marking what looks to be one of the most successful seasons yet for English wine producers.

Following a year of near-ideal weather, Surrey’s vineyards from Albury to Tanhurst Estate reported exceptional fruit and the promise of a truly great vintage.

“Who would have thought that, after last year’s challenges, 2025 would close with a yield and quality to rival 2018, a vintage that set a high bar for UK viticulture?” says John MacRae-Brown, Chilworth Manor Vineyard’s vineyard manager.

The conditions were so favourable that grape picking began and finished up to three weeks earlier than usual across much of the region - breaking records in the Surrey Hills.

The season also underscored how climate change continues to reshape the global wine industry. While English wine producers enjoyed many of its short-term benefits this year, the long-term challenges remain.

“If we look at the last three growing seasons, we have seen the largest, the smallest, the hottest, the coldest, the earliest and the latest harvests,” says Mike Wagstaff, owner of Greyfriars Vineyard. “This is the reality of climate change for us, with much more volatile and unpredictable weather.”

That said, with the 2025 vintage now safely in the winery, producers are confident it will stand among the strongest ever recorded in the Surrey Hills - a testament to our region’s growing reputation at the forefront of English winemaking.

All of our Surrey Hills vineyards are unique, with each facing different challenges and showcasing varying ambitions for their wine collections - from single vintage sparkling wines to elegant rosés, crisp whites and distinctive orange wines.

Given the outstanding quality of this year’s fruit, many expect the 2025 vintage to deliver some truly exceptional and distinctive bottles alongside our region’s flagship favourites.

• Denbies Wine Estate will be producing their Noble Harvest dessert wine for the first time since 2022;

• Albury Organic Vineyard will release a still white similar in style to Silent Pool Rosé for the first time;

• Greyfriars Vineyard are keeping their cards close to their chest but promise a “few surprises”;

• Tanhurst Estate Vineyard is working on its first red wine, which will be aged in oak barrels;

• As always, High Clandon Estate Vineyard’s bottle-matured cuvée will be unique to this exceptional vintage;

• And, a special mention to Soloms Court Wine Estate, who will be producing their very first wine: a still rosé.

There are still plenty of opportunities to learn more about this year’s harvest, sample the latest vintages, and embrace the festive spirit across our vineyards in the run-up to Christmas.

Below, you’ll find harvest highlights from each of our vineyards…

For press enquiries about Vineyards of the Surrey Hills
and any of our vineyards, please get in touch.

Albury Organic Vineyard, near Guildford

Nick Wenman, vineyard owner

• All the fruit from the main Albury site was picked by October 1, nearly three weeks earlier than usual, with barely any bird damage this year (apart from a few cheeky pheasants). Sugar levels were the best they’ve ever seen, resulting in natural alcohol levels of around 11%, and the grapes were beautifully ripe and disease-free.

• Across the original vineyard, new planting and Lansdowne sites, Albury Vineyard brought in nearly 45 tonnes of fruit. From this, they expect to produce around 36,000 bottles of wine, including some exciting new releases such as a Sparkling Pinot Noir, a still white similar in style to Silent Pool Rosé, a Biodynamic Seyval, and a Prestige Blanc de Noirs. 

  Read more about the Albury Organic Vineyard 2025 harvest here

Chilworth Manor Vineyard, near Guildford

John MacRae-Brown, vineyard manager

• Harvest at Chilworth Manor Vineyard was completed by the end of September, a first for them and nearly a month earlier than they have come to expect – the result of near perfect growing conditions throughout the season that produced fruit of exceptional sweetness and flavour.

• The grapes were picked with the energetic help of Chilworth’s volunteers over five days of blue skies and warm sunshine (fuelled by timely coffee, biscuits, delicious lasagne and a friendly rivalry between British and Swedish teams!).

  Read more about the Chilworth Manor Vineyard 2025 harvest here

High Clandon Vineyard, near Guildford and Woking

Sibylla Tindale, vineyard owner

• Harvest at High Clandon Estate Vineyard is finished for another year - some three whole weeks ahead of their normal picking schedule.

• Owners Sibylla and Bruce, along with a trusty band of friends and volunteers, enjoyed a gorgeous day picking fabulous fruit in their one acre vineyard near Guildford.

• Keep an eye out for their Truffle and Cuvée Experience Days and Fizz & Firelight event later this year. Details for both will be announced shortly.

• You'll have to wait until at least 2029 to try the new 2025 wine, though.

  Book a bespoke tour at High Clandon (minimum of four people) to learn more

Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking

Oliver Whitfield, vineyard manager

• This year was Denbies Wine Estate’s earliest harvest ever (the vineyard was founded in 1986!) . It started on September 5 and was all wrapped up by October 16 - a full two to three weeks ahead of schedule, with fruit that was clean, sweet and bursting with potential. They even rolled out their new harvester, which made light work of the beautiful crop.

• It looks like a vintage that has raised the bar - and early tastings are extremely promising. They are even planning a new release of their Noble Harvest dessert wine, which was last released in 2022.

  Did you know? Denbies Wine Estate’s indoor tours take you past the winery and into their wine cellars.

Greyfriars Vineyard, between Farnham and Guildford

Mike Wagstaff, owner

• This year’s harvest t-shirt celebrated the fifteenth anniversary since Mike and Hilary Wagstaff took over Greyfriars Vineyard, which was originally founded in 1989.

• David and the vineyard team delivered an incredible harvest; not huge but incredibly good fruit - in total Greyfriars picked just under 150 tonnes.

• Oliver and the team in the winery have been flat out throughout harvest too, pressing, fermenting and nurturing each batch as it is picked. Early tastings suggest some great wines to come. Greyfriars have also had some surprises, which they will share in due course. So watch this space.

  Read more about the Greyfriars Vineyard 2025 harvest here

Tanhurst Estate Vineyard, Leith Hill

Colin Grimes, owner

• This has been an exceptionally good year in the vineyard. The consistently warm, dry weather provided excellent ripening conditions, producing high sugar levels in the grapes which has contributed to their rich, complex fruit flavours.

• As well as their established range, Tanhurst Estate’s talented winemaker, Salvatore Leone, will be making a red wine from their red grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Précoce, and Pinot Meunier. The grapes are currently fermenting on the skins before being transferred to oak barrels to age.

• They will use the remaining Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes to make Tanhurst Estate’s first Blanc de Noirs.

  Read more about the Tanhurst Estate Vineyard 2025 harvest here

Soloms Court Wine Estate, Kingswood

Peter Nichols, owner

• The youngest of the Vineyards of the Surrey Hills, Soloms Court in Kingswood celebrated its very first harvest this autumn.

• The grapes have been pressed and are with winemakers, Litmus Wines, who will be producing the first Soloms Court vintage - a still rosé made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes. Watch this space for its release in 2026.

• This means that all seven Vineyards of the Surrey Hills will be releasing wine next year. Quite the wine flight! 

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