EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
GROWING NORFOLK VINEYARD MAKES WORLD’S BEST WINE WINBIRRI VINEYARD IN NORFOLK PRODUCES DECANTER’S WINE OF THE YEAR 2017 (FOR WINE PRODUCED FROM A SINGLE GRAPE VARIETY). THE 2015 BACCHUS HAS BEEN LAUDED FOR ITS QUALITY, AND ITS PURITY AND INTENSE FRUIT FLAVOUR KEEPS PEOPLE COMING BACK FOR MORE. THE NAME COMES FROM THE ANGLO-SAXON, ‘WIN’ MEANING WINE AND ‘BIRRI’ MEANING GRAPE. WE MEET WINBIRRI’S HEAD WINEMAKER AND OWNER, LEE DYER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW A SMALL NORFOLK VINEYARD HAS GROWN TO BECOME ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S (AND WORLD’S?) BEST. PRODUCTION: KRISTIAN JORDAN & HAL HUTCHISON
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On a damp, cold and grey winter morning, we arrived at the Winbirri Vineyard in the quaint Norfolk village of Surlingham, just seven miles outside of Norwich. We’d heard good things about this place; an award-winning winery with a focus on quality, and a head wine maker who is meticulous about the small details. As we passed through the 10-foot black and gold gates, adorned with the vineyards ‘W’ signature, we could see work going on amongst the rows of vines. A quadbike moved along the nearest row and, as the vines sat in their winter dormancy, some of the wooden support posts were being pulled out and replaced with metal. The small planting surrounding the driveway is the starting point for this initiative, explains a welltogged vineyard employee. There’s two large steel structures in one corner of the site and we could see large crates, wrapped in black plastic, being moved in and out on forklift trucks. The vineyard is surrounded by green countryside; as far as the eye can see. It was quiet and the only noise was the occasional gun shot from a far-off farm. It was a particularly wet weekend and some parts of the approaching roads had been covered with large puddles and small streams where the rain drained from the fields. Surlingham is a small rural village, home to around 600 people and as you drive through, you’re more likely to see a pheasant than a person. As we stood admiring the idyllic surroundings, a truck approached on the driveway. It was the man we’d been waiting for; Lee Dyer, owner and head winemaker.