Warm weather is expected to produce a vintage year for English wine, according to a vineyard boss.

Chapel Down winery, which has vineyards at Blue Bell Hill and Tenterden, has said it is expecting this year’s crop to be 10% bigger than its record 2013 harvest.

More sugar is produced in the vine during hot weather and the lack of rain has helped with pollination, resulting in more grapes.

And with an expected warm autumn, optimum growing conditions are set to continue.

The Met Office’s three-month outlook has given rise to the possibility of an Indian summer, with temperatures rising as high as 25C in the south thanks to high pressure.

Chapel Down chief executive Frazer Thompson said this year’s harvest was “looking spectacularly good”.

He said: “It follows our record harvest last year, where we were able to make about 700,000 bottles. We expect this year to be potentially 10% larger in volume.

“More importantly, we are expecting it to be one of the great years in terms of quality.

"We share an almost identical geology and temperature to the Champagne region of France” - vineyard boss Frazer Thompson

“The sunshine and warmth that we have been experiencing of late has been sensational and it has given us what we hope is going to be a true vintage year for English wine.”

English wine has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, thanks to warm summers and demand for local produce.

Chapel Down’s Blue Bell Hill vineyard, planted in 2008, is the largest in Kent at 110 acres.

It produces a variety of grapes and is Chapel Down’s main site for chardonnay grapes.

Chapel Down, whose customers include Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, said the site produces fruit with excellent acidity and minerality for its sparkling wines and is the perfect site for champagne-style grapes.

Mr Thompson said: “We share an almost identical geology and temperature to the Champagne region of France.”

Chapel Down has unveiled plans to raise nearly £4 million by becoming the first company on the stock market to raise cash using crowdfunding, where large numbers of people invest small sums of money.

The aim is to attract investors keen to spread the word about its products. They will be able to buy as little as £10 worth of shares.

Mr Thompson said: “I want people who love this brand, drink it, want to make a saving and want to come on the journey with us.

“We discovered there are hundreds of shareholders out there who would like to do what I do every weekend, which is to buy a few bottles of my wine and then bore people to tears about how good it is over dinner.

“The best way anyone can help us is by going around telling people how good it is. If you’re a shareholder it’s in your interest to tell people how good it is.”

Shareholders who own at least 2,000 shares will receive discounts on the company’s wines, plus incentives like free tours and meal discounts at the Swan restaurant at its Tenterden base. Shares will be issued at 28p each.

The venture will fund plans to lease 400 acres of land in Kent, which the winery hopes will help treble the amount of wine it bottles in the coming years.