Friday read: The good, the bad and the bubbly from Hampshire

By Justin Keay

Published: 12 December, 2025

At Vineyards of Hampshire’s recent annual Fizz Fest in Winchester, Justin Keay dug a little deeper to find both cheer and concern among the producers present.

Winchester town centre is usually packed at this time of year thanks its bustling Christmas market, but on 29 November it seemed a little busier than normal. The reason? Almost certainly the Vineyards of Hampshire (VOH) Festive Fizz event being held in the Guildhall, completely sold out days before the event, with walk-in hopefuls turned away. This was a much busier affair than in previous years, with representatives of the eight producers working flat out to pour their latest sparkling and still wines to thirsty customers.

“We’re pretty pleased with the turnout and delighted so many people are interested,” said Robin McMillan, CEO of Exton Park, formerly head of the Wine Society and BBR, who is continuing late founder Malcolm Isaac’s focus on premium single vineyard wines.

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Producers have an even bigger reason for cheer however. This year saw the earliest ever harvest – over three weeks early in some cases, with picking starting early to mid-September – and in many cases also the biggest ever, with grapes generally healthy across the board. This was “a long, warm summer, high sunshine hours, and the region's water-retentive chalk soils brought forward ripening, with conditions more akin to continental Europe than traditional UK timings”, according to VOH.

“This year everything from bud burst to final harvest was perfect – quantity and quality were the best I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t have dreamed it better,” said Zoe Driver, winemaker at Black Chalk, who poured me a glass of the winery’s iconic and vibrant Wild Rosé 2022, an award-winning Pinot Meunier dominant sparkler. She added that 2025 will result in an eventual output of 100,000 bottles, against the more usual 80,000, after harvesting began in early September, a full month earlier than usual.

Driver’s enthusiasm was echoed by Will Perkins, chief winemaker at Louis Pommery England, who produces a Brut and sparkling Rosé at the Pinglestone Estate near Alresford, Hampshire.

“I would rank 2025 as the best vintage in eight years, better even than 2023,” he said.

The consumer event gave this writer an opportunity to ponder Hampshire’s current position in the English wine industry.

The county is the fourth largest producer after Kent, West Sussex and East Sussex, boasting chalk soils that winegrowers famously compare to those of Champagne, with volumes estimated at just over 10% of England and Wales’s total.

But amongst the producers there is growing diversity. Some, including Black Chalk, The Grange and Hattingley Valley are increasingly focusing on still wines which is where many believe the demand may lie in the future – Black Chalk’s Dancer in Pink 2024 still rose sells for £22 whilst The Grange sells a surprisingly full on 13% Chardonnay 2023 for £26.

Others are sticking with sparkling wines to consolidate their market position, some following Exton Park’s lead of making increasingly high-end wines. This includes Hambledon, established back in 1952 as the county’s first wine producer and bought in 2023 by Symington Family Estates and BBR. On top of its usual estate wines, it has launched a Premiere Cuvée Brut and a Premiere Cuvée rosé, both deliciously complex but hardly cheap at £69 a bottle.

Meanwhile Danebury Vineyards is an outlier, sticking with the traditional varieties it started out with when it was established back in 1988 – including Madeleine Angevine and Schonburger, which appear as still wines and Pinot Gris and Auxerois Blanc, which go into its best-selling sparkling Cossack. Because of this, the 2025 harvest was “challenging because these are cold weather varieties” admitted sales manager Caroline Stevens.

Another challenge facing VOH is whether and when to admit the growing number of Hampshire producers which are not members, including Beaulieu Vineyards, which produces what may be the UK’s first Gewürztraminer, amongst other still wines, and had a presence at the Winchester Christmas market.

However aside from Hambledon and Louis Pommery – which have corporate owners – there is a more serious long term concern overhanging producers here, and indeed elsewhere in the UK: Rachel Reeves’ controversial decision to impose a 20% inheritance tax on farmland sales worth above £1m from April 2026.

“A lot of us are very, very concerned and not just here in Hampshire. Frankly it could spell the end of many vineyards just as the sector is getting off its feet,” said Simon Robinson, founder and owner of Hattingley Valley, Hampshire’s largest producer. “We’re just hoping the government will see sense and reverse this ruinous decision.”

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