Spring in the vineyard: New growth, new promise

People often assume a vineyard is dormant in winter, but here at Three Choirs Vineyard it’s actually the beginning of the year and a very important time.

Three Choirs Vineyard enjoyed an outstanding 2025, with ideal weather, warm summers and a long growing season delivering an excellent harvest.

With the festive season just around the corner, thoughts turn to Christmas dinner, parties and celebrations. And whether you’re getting the party started or relaxing in front of the TV on Christmas Day evening, you may want to enjoy the festivities with a glass or two of wine. But how do you choose your wine for Christmas? Well the good news is, while you might want to splash out and choose something a bit more special than your usual tipple, there are no rights and wrongs when choosing wine for Christmas. Thomas Shaw, managing director of Three Choirs Vineyard, said: “Don’t feel as though there are any rules to follow. The most important thing is to drink what you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy red wine, don’t drink red wine, drink white instead!” Some people like to enjoy sparkling wine on Christmas Day. When it comes to sparkling wine, people tend to fall into two camps – those who love it and will drink it on every occasion and those who really don’t like it! If you’re someone who isn’t keen on sparkling wine, but you’ve got guests coming round who might enjoy a glass of something fizzy before Christmas dinner, there are a range of options. Thomas continued: “There’s no need to go crazy and buy something expensive. There is a big range of prices from Cava and Prosecco up to top of the range Champagne, so you can spend as much or little as you want. “If you’re going to mix it with orange juice for buck’s fizz, definitely buy something cheaper!” While it’s not usual to have sparkling wine with your Christmas dinner, if you or your guess fancy some fizz with your turkey, just go for it! Alternatively, you might want to enjoy a refreshing white wine at lunchtime, then move to drinking red wine in the evening. Red wine is served warmer and feels like something to be enjoyed when you’re wrapped up warm in front of the fire. But there are no rules that say you have to move from white to red if you don’t want to and there are no rules which tell you exactly when you should make that change. Just do what feels right for you and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks! Whether you’re looking for red, white or sparkling for Christmas, if you want some advice and good value for money, go to a local independent wine retailer. They know all the wines on their shelves and should be able to help you choose something which is just right for you, your family and friends. Don’t be scared to ask for help! Most people will know the names of some popular wines, but won’t know, for example, whether a particular year was a good year. Asking someone who knows wines can be a real help when you are faced with so much choice. In the run-up to Christmas, local wine merchants and vineyards will sometimes hold evenings where you can go along and taste some wines to help you choose. It’s true that the price of a bottle of wine does generally reflect its quality, so when you go to a wine merchant, have a realistic budget in mind and try to stick to it! Unfortunately, wine has got more expensive in recent years, due to poor harvests in Europe, as well as inflation and the rising costs of energy and labour. Because the Christmas period is more than just one day, if you’re interested in trying new wines and finding out more about them, it is a great opportunity to learn more about what you like. Thomas said: “If you buy several different wines and taste them over a few days over Christmas, hopefully you will really like one or two of them. Having a variety over a short period of time means you’re less likely to forget what you like and what you were less keen on. And it’s good fun!” Could there be a better way to choose your wine for Christmas? 

After the earliest harvest on record, brought about by the warm summer, the last grapes of 2025 were picked here at Three Choirs Vineyard on 9th October. The harvest is the biggest and most important event every year on the vineyard calendar. And the key thing for us is the quality of fruit, rather than the quantity. Thomas Shaw, managing director of Three Choirs Vineyard, said: “If we have a lot of fruit, we generally don’t get such good quality. This year we’ve got very good quality grapes! “It’s not such a good year for making sparkling wines because the acidity in the grapes was low due to the high temperatures, but 2025 is an excellent year for making still wines.” Now the grapes have all been picked and pressed, they are in tanks in the winery and fermentation is taking place. By the end of November or early December, fermentation should be complete, and the winemakers will start to taste the individual tanks and decide how that wine is going to be used – whether it is going to be a blend or a single variety. Those decisions will be made before Christmas this year, rather than afterwards, as is often the case.

Last month, we told you all about our plans and hopes for harvest at Three Choirs Vineyard. Now, a few weeks on, we can tell you all about how successful it was. Harvest 2025 was the earliest harvest on record for us, after a very dry and consistently warm summer. We started picking two weeks earlier than usual and will finish picking three weeks earlier, at the start of October. Some years, when we’ve had a very late harvest, it has lasted almost until December. But this year has been a fast and furious harvest! We’ve had a bit of rain during September. This can prove problematic during harvest, but we’re pleased to say it was nothing disruptive this year. In fact, the weather has stayed perfect through to the end of September, to keep the grapes in good condition. The positive news is that it wasn’t just an early harvest – it was a good one, with very high quality grapes. The 2025 wines which will start to come out in the middle of next year should reflect that.