Vineyard enjoys its earliest harvest in over 35 years with grape yield up by over a third

Winemakers have praised "near perfect" conditions for the 2018 harvest - as vineyards enjoy bumper harvests of up to 30 TONNES of grapes, weeks earlier than usual.

Growing conditions through the year have been "ideal", according to winemakers, and 2018 looks set to be a "benchmark" year for the industry. Vineyards have been able to begin their harvest a good week and a half earlier than their usual start harvest start date at the end of September, thanks to weather conditions.