England’s wine industry has been gaining attention for its quality sparkling wines and rapid expansion, but there’s much more happening beneath the surface. In Episode 076 of Vineyard Underground, Fritz Westover sits down with Dr. Belinda Kemp of NIAB to talk about what’s driving vineyard development in England, from shifting varieties to applied research that connects the field to the bottle.
Grapes Grown Above — and Studied Below
Dr. Kemp shares that England’s wine industry has grown in both scale and diversity over the last decade. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir continue to dominate plantings for traditional method sparkling wines, but new disease-resistant varieties are making their way into commercial and research vineyards. This includes PiWi varieties — hybrids bred in Europe to resist downy and powdery mildew — that are now being evaluated in England’s cooler, wetter growing regions.
Her team is testing these varieties for agronomic performance and suitability for wine styles that are already well established in the UK. As she explains, it’s not enough for a grape to resist disease; it must also ripen appropriately for the target wine, particularly if that wine is still rather than sparkling.
Climate Brings Both Opportunity and Risk
Warmer growing seasons are often credited with helping English wine production expand, but Dr. Kemp cautions against assuming consistent gains. Spring conditions are increasingly unpredictable, swinging between drought and soaking rain. These changes complicate cover cropping, fieldwork, and vineyard access. Growers also face new disease pressures when standard spray programs are reduced, prompting renewed interest in black rot resistance.
Still, regions like Essex and Kent continue to lead in planting and production, with Essex gaining traction for still wine grapes like Pinot Noir due to its dry climate and clay-heavy soils.
From the Lab to the Winery
Dr. Kemp’s current projects cover topics from pruning techniques and yield to lactic acid bacteria and flavor profile differences. She’s also investigating calcium in sparkling wine — a topic that’s become more important as winemakers try to prevent the formation of calcium tartrate crystals after bottling. Her winery trials test how winemaking steps affect calcium levels and explore ways to maintain clarity and stability over time.
One of the most creative projects involves acoustic soil sensors that track underground activity in response to vineyard flower mixes. This work supports biodiversity goals while helping growers better understand soil life and root behavior.
Looking Ahead
NIAB is positioning itself as a hub for collaborative, applied research that links vineyard practices to measurable outcomes in wine quality. Dr. Kemp’s group uses field trials, commercial vineyard partnerships, and controlled winery work to explore what works in England and what might also apply in regions like the eastern United States and Canada.
Their rhizolab, which offers underground views of vine roots through a glass tunnel, stands as a tool to help researchers and growers alike observe differences in rootstocks, clones, and soil interaction over time.
It’s this full-circle approach, from soil health to sensory evaluation, that gives growers a better sense of what to expect when experimenting in cool climate conditions. And with England’s wine production expected to reach up to 29 million bottles by 2032, keeping an ear to the ground, literally, could be a smart strategy. If you want to learn more about growing grapes in England or cooler climates, check out https://www.vineyardundergroundpodcast.com/vu076.
