Dermot Murnaghan: Once it used to be a bit of a joke, but in recent years English wine (we’ve tasted it here) has really come of age. Home produced vintages have been winning prizes and we’ve been promised that things will only get better as the weather in the U.K. gets warmer …. if it does!

Sian Williams: This summer’s storms have put all that at risk. Breakfast’s Alison Harper joins us from a vineyard in West Sussex. Good morning to you Alison. Cheers! What’s it like there?

Alison Harper: It’s very nice. I must admit I haven’t tried any of this here. It’s a bit too early for a tipple for me! Sales of English wine have been booming in the last few years. It’s been great for the English wine industry with sales up by 40% or so and with climate change that’s actually been helping the English wine industry. Some parts of the south of England are comparable with the Champagne region of France and even Bordeaux, but this recent weather has been having an impact. With me is Sam Linter from Bookers Vineyard here in West Sussex. Sam, what kind of impact has this rain had on you?

Sam: Gosh, it’s been quite difficult. We’ve had early flowering because we had a wonderful spring but with this rain it has actually hit flowering so, unfortunately, it’s affected fruit set for us.