Tim Young has converted part of his 445-acre family farm into a vineyard

Like most farmers, Tim Young was recently looking at ways to raise more cash. His family’s 445-acre farm on the Norfolk-Suffolk border has grown wheat, sugar beet and onions since the mid-1960s and Young initially pondered building a new onion store.

“Putting all your risk into one crop means things can go wrong for you in a big way,” he says. Instead, he is now growing grapes.

“Our subsoil is pure chalk, similar to the Champagne region. A French winemaker came out to see the site and said if it was in France, it would be under vine,” says the 42-year-old farmer.

Traditional farming is becoming harder than ever in Britain, with challenges presented by the weather, high costs and the transition from EU subsidies. Research by charity Sustain found that on everyday foods such as apples and bread, farmers are left with less than 1p profit from items they produce.

Some farmers are selling up completely, taking advantage of high farmland prices. Arable land has averaged £11,000 an acre this year, close to record levels, according to Sam Holt, of Strutt & Parker estate agency, while pasture land averaged £9,300 an acre in the third quarter of this year.

“These prices are high compared to historical trends due to scarcity, strong demand for land as an investment and growing interest in using land for carbon offset projects,” he says.

However, of those staying in the sector, a growing number are seeking to cash in on England’s wine boom because the returns can be far higher than for traditional farming. Vineyards are now the country’s fastest-growing edible agriculture crop sector, according to the Department for Farming and Rural Affairs.

“We are dealing a lot with farmers who are not necessarily interested in wine but they are interested in a crop that has quite a high value,” says James Dodson, of VineWorks.

According to Dodson, a hectare of land (2.5 acres) can yield an average of six to seven tonnes of grapes. “The current price under contract is £2,400 to £2,500 a tonne,” he explains – equal to up to £17,500 per hectare. “That’s a very good return, especially when compared to the prices received for other crops.”

By comparison, the current average price of feed wheat is £186 per tonne, although in early 2022 it spiked to over £300 per tonne because of the war in Ukraine.

At the same time a lot of wineries have run out of land. “And they are looking for more,” Dodson says.

Among them are some of the world’s most famous French Champagne houses and wineries, which are homing in on swathes of southern and eastern England, from Hampshire to Sussex and Kent and up to Essex and Suffolk.

These areas have sunny weather and chalky soils similar to the Champagne region of France but are cooler than their French counterparts, which are being heated up by climate change.

Land is also significantly cheaper. According to Agrifrance, the market for quality established vineyards in the UK has risen to £40,000-£50,000 an acre – but that’s a fraction of the £370,000 an acre average price for vineyards in Champagne.

There’s also the Brexit issue. James Greenwood, of Stacks Property Search, says: “Since we left the EU, there have been concerns about tariffs and trade barriers for French wine exports to the UK. Some French producers see investing in English vineyards as a way to maintain access to the UK wine market.”

Taittinger was the first to put its money into English soil in 2015 and now owns more than 250 acres in Chilham, Kent. Its £15m Domaine Evremond vineyard was officially opened last month, with the first wines due to go on sale for £50 a bottle in March.

Local fruit farmer Mark Gaskain sold his land to Taittinger in 2015 and now grows their grapes on it. “I knew it was good vineyard land so I was hoping I would find somebody who would pay me a premium for it,” he told The Times.

Pommery has begun making wine in Hampshire, and Dodson says there are rumours of another couple of Champagne houses looking in England. “I sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] so can’t say who they are,” he explains.

“Champagne houses recognise that you need a certain amount of acidity in the grapes to make a good sparkling wine and their problem is that the climate in Champagne is heating so they are struggling to maintain the acidity – as such they are moving north to England. They are harvesting earlier and earlier in Champagne but we can leave grapes on the vine until October.”

Many winemakers will enter into a contract with a farmer who will grow grapes for them, Dodson says.

“It’s much more economical for them than going out and buying the land and investing in it. It’s common across our client base, from startup producers to large internationally renowned clients – not only will they purchase land but they will also look at leasing and contracts.”

Along with the French, California-based Jackson Family Wines is investing in the English wine industry. Chris Spofforth, of Savills, says: “Most of the wine talent in this country is home-grown, but there’s an awful lot of overseas interest and investment in the sector – from South Africans to Italians and Germans and the Spanish company Freixenet.”

After careful assessment of the soil, location and topography of Young’s site, in May 2023, VineWorks helped plant 7.5 hectares (18.5 acres) with 31,500 vines growing eight different varieties – a mix of traditional grapes such as chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir as well as hybrids to boost sustainability and create disease breaks. They hope to have their first small harvest next year.

The Youngs have stumped up for the significant initial investment in planting Brecks Vineyard and have entered into a five-year contract with an established winemaker in East Sussex to sell them 50pc of the grapes.

“The vineyard is looking to expand and is reducing risk – if there is bad weather somewhere in the country, having vineyards dotted around geographically can help to manage that risk,” says Young, who hopes the vineyard will compete financially with his high-value crops such as onions, for which he aims to achieve an output in excess of £10,000 a hectare.

“I also hope the vineyard will give my small family business some financial diversity, something all farmers are looking for as agricultural subsidies are slowly being withdrawn,” he adds.

Most farmers growing grapes for winemakers will take on the cost of developing the land – according to Dodson, it costs £36,000-£38,000 to establish a hectare of vineyard (excluding running costs), and it won’t start producing fruit for three or four years.

Contracts will typically last for 10 years with a break clause — after five years, each side has the right to sit down and re-evaluate if fruit prices have gone up significantly, for instance. “This gives farmers the freedom to move on after 10 years, but it’s still a big upfront cost and you won’t start to see returns for seven or eight years,” Dodson says. “Ultimately, it’s a long-term, 25- to 30-year investment.”

It’s not without risk, either. While 2023 was a record-breaking grape harvest in the UK, with an average yield of 9.6 tonnes per hectare, translating to 21 million bottles of wine, growers have warned that this year’s harvest could be delayed due to the cold summer and intense rainfall of recent weeks, which is also increasing the risk of disease.

Some producers have said harvests are down by 75pc, depending on the region.

Yet if anyone is used to the vagaries of the British weather, it’s farmers. And, in Young’s case, his vines are planted in a chalky, flinty field in which it would be tricky to plant other crops.

“It means I’m not taking my prime agricultural land out of production,” he says. “Ultimately, in a world filled with uncertainty, nothing is more certain than the need for wine.”