We're talking about the rain. There's been no shortage of it this year. It's splashing the pavement gloriously outside even as we write this.
The horrible summer has meant that wine production has dropped by more than a third in some parts of the country.
 |
| Nyetimber: the award-winning vineyard has made "a hard decision" |
And one of England's most successful sparkling wine vineyards scrapped its harvest completely in order to sustain the "quality" of its brand.
So has the fizz been taken out of the English wine industry?
Wine has been produced in England since the Roman occupation, but for much of the 20th Century winemaking was seen as a hobby industry.
However, following a series of international competition wins, where English sparkling wines beat others from around the world - including some from the Champagne region in France - interest has surged.
One of these award winners, Nyetimber, based in West Chiltington, Sussex (above) took the decision not to harvest its grapes this year.
"It was a hard decision - a wine maker gets about 30 chances in their lifetime to make a vintage," said Christian Holthausen, from Nyetimber.
"I'm only aware of a couple other vineyards in the world that have ever done this."
