Fires 'real concern' to vineyard, owner says

A vineyard in Warwickshire that is producing a bumper harvest of grapes this summer is having to take extra precautions due to the risk of fires in the hot weather.

The owner of Blabers Hall wine estate, Adele Adams, said they had been putting bowsers around the farm to make sure there was access to water if the threat of a fire arises.

She said fires were a "real concern" to the estate in Fillongley as the "surrounding area is dry".

Fires erupted in multiple areas of the West Midlands on Thursday including one in Salford Priors, Warwickshire, that temporarily closed part of the A46.

Adams told BBC CWR that the hot weather had already affected work even without the risk of fire.

"When it is as hot as this, we don't want [the vines] to scorch so we have to make sure we are covering the leaves just a little bit", she said.

Amid the precautions, however, the vineyard could see one of its best harvests this year thanks to the same conditions.

Adams explained that vines love the heat and the roots of grapes go so far down that they tap into natural water not affected by the prolonged dry spells.

"We have 9,500 vines which are all very green and laden with grapes," she said. "It is exceptional the amount of grapes we have got at the moment."

The vineyard is looking at producing tonnes of grapes running into the high teens - which could see about 25,000 bottles of wine produced.

The seven-and-a-half-acre site, on a south-facing slope overlooking Birmingham to one side and Coventry to the other, produces white, rose, sparkling and red wine, and hosts tasting events every weekend.

It relies on volunteers who help pick the grapes from the beginning of the season all the way through to the harvest.

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