Bumper crop for winemaker

The grapes have flourished in the warm weather

A Welsh winemaker is expecting a bumper crop of grapes this year thanks to the soaring temperatures.

Llanerch Vineyard in the Vale of Glamorgan has been making wine since 1986 from grapes grown on the 20-acre site.

But owner Peter Andrews said that this year has been the best ever for growing since he began.

"This is the best continuous warm weather we have had," he said.

"The quality of the grapes and the volume of production is going to be the main benefit of the warm weather."

Winery

Mr Andrews is hoping that the temperatures will encourage the six varieties of grapes grown on the estate to be ready for picking in September - avoiding the damage of early autumn mildew.

"It usually takes about seven days to pick and then we transport them to the winery where it is then bottled," said Mr Andrews.

"We are only just bottling last year's harvest, so it will be at least 12 months before people can taste the benefit of this year's weather."

There could be enough grapes for 20,000 to 25,000 bottles of white, sparkling and rose wine to be produced from the vineyard.

Llanerch is the largest commercial vineyard in Wales producing estate-grown wines, and has won several awards since they started production.

Sold under the name Cariad, the wine is mainly distributed across Wales, and has been named as the best British wine.