One of the region’s leading, award winning, vineyards, Yorkshire Heart Vineyard has completed its grape harvest for 2024.

This family run vineyard, based in Nun-Monkton, west of York, was established in 2000 and is home to over 25,000 vines.

They are lovingly nurtured across 16 acres to produce its range of red, white, rosé, varietal and sparkling wines.

This year’s harvest, which was completed on Sunday October 20, saw three generations of the Spakouskas family, alongside a team of dedicated volunteers, harvest 12 different varieties of grapes across the vineyard.

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The family say growing conditions for the vines have been particularly challenging this year due to long spells of wet and cold weather earlier in the Spring.

Vineyard director Tim Spakouskas, said after completing the harvest: “The weather has definitely not been on our side this year but thankfully the location of the vineyard means that the vines are relatively sheltered from the worst of the weather and the soil is naturally very fertile.

“Although it has not been the bumper harvest we have seen in some previous years, we are pleased with the grapes that we have harvested and are confident we will have some great tasting wines to enjoy next year!”

Tim SpakouskasTim Spakouskas (Image: Pic supplied)

Immediately after harvest, the grapes are processed in the on–site in the winery, overseen by chief winemaker Gillian Spakouskas who carefully monitors the wines during a 12-month fermentation and maturation period.

They are then stabilised before filtering, bottling, labelling and packing in-house. From grape to glass, everything is done on site.

In addition to producing wine, Yorkshire Heart also has a brewery and café.

The venue also offers camping, glamping, and runs a series of events, including festivals.

Volunteers among the vinesVolunteers among the vines (Image: Pic supplied)

Wine remains one of the fastest-growing agricultural sectors in Britain today, including in North Yorkshire, which has vineyards including the Dunesforde Vineyard at Upper Dunsforth, near York, the Ryedale Vineyard at Westow, and the Malton Vineyard.

There are now over 900 vineyards in the UK with WineGB’s 2023 survey finding that a staggering 12.2 million bottles of wine were produced in the UK, with expectations that this will have doubled by the end of 2024.