Kent named ‘wine hotspot’ as harvests defy European downturn

Kent could soon become a major wine destination, according to producers, who say the English wine industry is growing as a result of the “perfect” weather.

In 2023 global wine production hit a historic low when the industry saw its worst yield in over 60 years. British wine however saw a bumper crop in that same year with production increasing by 77% from 2022.

Kent now has roughly 25% of Britain’s vineyard planting with the county producing 5.08m bottles of wine in 2025.

Hester Fenwick, owner of Brabourne vineyard near Ashford, said: “It’s a silver lining to a much, much bigger cloud but what is quite exciting in Kent is that we’ve now hit a critical mass of vineyards.”

She said: “What we’re now looking to do is work together with other vineyards and create a region which is world renowned for its wine, and, as the weather becomes a little bit warmer we’ve got the perfect conditions for that.”

With lots of European countries struggling to get in a good harvest this year, some business owners say they hope Kent could provide a backup for European wine and start to attract tourists to the region to see the vineyards.

A new tourism initiative – the Kentish Wine Way – is being set up, connecting wine growers together so visitors can go to several vineyards in one day.