Vineyard March 2020

VINEYARD for viticulturists in Great Britain ™

MARCH 2020

EDITOR’S VISIT Bluestone Vineyards, Wiltshire

MATTHEW JUKES WINE REVIEW Hampshire

IN CONVERSATION Jeremy Mount, Woodchester Valley

CUT ABOVE THE REST

Viticulturists battle it out at the UK pruning competition

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VINEYARD for viticulturists in Great Britain

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www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk VINEYARD Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL EDITORIAL Editor: Victoria Rose vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Simon Hyland Talk Media Sales Ltd 01732 445327 Simon.Hyland@talkmediasales.co.uk AD PRODUCTION Studio Manager: Jo Legg jo.legg@kelsey.co.uk Graphic Designer: James Pitchford james.pitchford@kelsey.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHER Martin Apps www.countrywidephotographic.co.uk MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Steve Wright CHIEF OPERATING Officer: Phil Weeden MANAGING DIRECTOR: Kevin McCormick FINANCE DIRECTOR: Joyce Parker-Sarioglu PUBLISHER: Jamie McGrorty HR & OPERATIONS MANAGER: Charlotte Whittaker RETAIL DIRECTOR: Steve Brown RENEWALS AND PROJECTS MANAGER: Andy Cotton SENIOR SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGER: Nick McIntosh SENIOR PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Nicola Pollard PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Kelly Orriss DISTRIBUTION Distribution in Great Britain: Marketforce (UK) 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU Tel: 020 3787 9001 Distribution in Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland: Newspread Tel: +353 23 886 3850

NEWS 8

Sale facilitates focused approach

10

Dentists fill retirement plans with vineyard

12

Peeking behind the wine label

13

People’s Choice Wine Awards

REGULARS 22

Hampshire in the spotlight.

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Looking beyond land quality What is the perfect vineyard site?

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The vine post

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The agronomy diary

42

Representing you

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Optimise post-bottling development

PRINTING Warners Midlands Plc Kelsey Media 2020 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published.

Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties.

Matthew Jukes’ wine review

Is your trellis ready for machinery this season?

Five steps to mitigate frost damage.

Updates from the industry’s membership organisation.

The importance of headspace oxygen.

Front cover image: Bluestone Vineyard

Photo: Countrywide Photographic

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CONTENTS Features

14 18 26 30

In conversation Jeremy Mount, winemaker at Woodchester Valley, Gloucestershire.

Editor’s Visit The brothers seeking to earn their stripes in the vineyard before pushing sales.

WineGB Business and Marketing Conference Shaping the UK wine industry for the future.

A cut above the rest The UK’s second annual vine pruning competition.

Vic t

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TRURO

Despite having visited countless English and Welsh wine producers since Vineyard magazine launched in January 2018, the individuality of each brand, site and owner never ceases to amaze me. There is rarely a set way of doing things in the UK wine sector and there is often so much depth, passion and inspiration to be discovered behind each cellar door.

This month was no different. It is clear that the McConnells at Bluestone Vineyard in Wiltshire, see page 16, are carefully carving their own path in this exciting industry, taking the time to figure out what works best for their vineyard and how to avoid becoming just another contract-made English sparkling wine brand.

As the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sector and one of the most up and coming wine regions in the world, there is no doubt that English and Welsh wine producers are enjoying a golden age. There is, however, still such a long way to go and the generic marketing strategy unveiled by Wines of Great Britain, see page 26, highlights how much work is left to be done to secure a sustainable future for home-grown wine sales.

The willingness to collaborate with, offer support to and generally help fellow producers along the way has always been one of the industry’s most admirable traits and is undoubtedly one of the reasons for its growing success. I was once again reminded of how incredibly tight-knit we all are at the UK’s second annual pruning competition, see page 30. The abysmal weather failed to dampen spirits, with competitors and supporters fuelling a warm, friendly and sociable home-from-home atmosphere post-match in Tinwood’s recently developed restaurant.

Vineyard magazine has always aimed to shine a spotlight on the people, producers, suppliers and supporters whose drive, commitment and acuity, who make the UK wine region the innovative, exuberant and zealous place it is today. While this is sadly my last edition as editor of Vineyard magazine, over the years the UK viticulture industry has become a second family and I will forever be committed to supporting everyone within this captivating sector.

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From the editor

29/01/2020 13:12

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NEWS

Sussex vineyard sale facilitates more focused approach

> Jonica Fox > Chardonnay pickers

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Over the past fifteen years, Fox and Fox in Mayfield, Sussex, has solidified its reputation as a grower-producer of highly acclaimed varietal sparkling wines. This month, having undertaken a rigorous six month business review, owners Gerard and Jonica Fox have unveiled a series of significant changes designed to further the development and growth of their boutique brand.

“After fifteen years of growing vines, owning and developing two vineyard sites, we wanted to be clear about what matters to us in the future,” said Gerard Fox. While heavily investing in high-end tourism was one of the proposed business recommendations, the husband and wife team have alternatively chosen to focus their expertise and efforts on production and exports.

“Tourism is simply not something I am passionate about,” said Jonica Fox. “The reality is that we don’t have the right infrastructure for visitors and there are many other ways to be customer facing. Direct to consumer relations remain important, but we are instead looking at reinvigorating our website and online shop for our loyal and supportive private clients.”

Having decided that a cellar door offering wasn’t the right fit for their brand, when a passer-by approached Jonica to see if they would ever consider selling one of their vineyards, the couple began to consider their options.

“It wasn’t something we have previously thought about, so we approached Savills, who came back

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

with a valuation and several interested parties,” she said. “We were really impressed with the calibre of people; they were serious buyers, including High Weald Wines, a new start-up in the area.”

The sale of one of its vineyards, known as Lakestreet, to High Weald Wines has successfully released substantial capital, allowing Fox and Fox to invest in new planting; develop relationships with local contract growers; focus on key export markets; and increase the quality of its already multi-award winning range.

“We have several partnerships in place with some Sussex growers who I know and love,” said Jonica, who will continue to use fruit exclusively grown in the county. “With one less vineyard to manage, I will have more time to share my viticultural knowledge with them, and this will also allow me to keep an eye on the quality of grapes we will then purchase for our wines.”

As well as buying in fruit, Fox and Fox will also be expanding production by increasing the density of vines in its remaining 1.5ha site, Hobdens Vineyard, which is currently planted with Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot meunier and a tiny amount of Pinot gris.

“When we planted here in 2004, I had only just started at Plumpton College,” said Jonica. “The prevailing intelligence at the time was that vines in England would be very vigorous and that we would need a lot of trellis space. As vigour was a real concern, we established the vineyard with very wide spacing. Now, of course, we have realised that we can grow at a much tighter density.”

New vines will be planted in between established ones, giving a new inter-vine spacing of 80cm.

Once new plantings mature, the vineyard, which is currently trained on a double guyot system, will be converted to single guyot significantly increasing crop yield.

Alongside increased production, which will allow the Sussex producer to better respond to market changes, the vineyard sale will also allow Fox and Fox to invest more in building a reputation overseas.

“It is important as a high-end boutique producer to adopt an agile approach to developments in the English wine industry,” said Gerard. “By making these changes and focusing our efforts on the making and marketing of our wines, we are able to build on their increasing popularity in Scandinavia, Hong Kong and other export markets.”

For the last five vintages, Fox and Fox has consistently be awarded high-calibre accolades in international competitions, such as Decanter, and production strategy will remain focused on creating a range of high-end, varietal sparkling wines benefiting from extended lees-aging, of at least five years.

“We want to make delicious wines which people want to drink,” said Jonica. “After ten very happy years’ making award-winning wine with our

neighbour Will Davenport, at Davenport Vineyards, we needed to find more winery capacity to meet our ambitions. We have loved working very closely with Will, who shares our ethos, and have made some great wines together.”

From the 2019 vintage, Fox and Fox’s wines will be made in the new state-ofthe-art winery at Bolney Wine Estate.

Jonica, who will continue to take a hands-on approach to winemaking, is looking forward to working with Sam Linter and her well-respected team.

“Bolney have a very open door policy and that cooperative relationship remains at the heart of how we make our wines,” said Jonica. “Having recently tasted all of the base wines from our first-rate 2019 vintage, I am super happy with the quality.

They are very true to the nature of what we have produced previously and we are confident that we will continue to make outstanding wines with the team at Bolney.”

In March, the boutique producer is also set to launch a limited-edition cuvée, personally blended

by Gerard to reflect the grapes grown by Fox & Fox. Chairman’s Vat Brut 2014 has already won admiration in private tastings and is now available on request as a trade sample.

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NEWS

Dentists fill retirement with vineyard expansion A husband-and-wife team has given up their dentistry practice to grow a sustainable wine-making business at their family home in Worcestershire.

Judith and Tim Davies have launched Chapel House Vineyard at their home in the hamlet of Broadwas. They are tapping into the continued popularity of English sparkling wine and demand for responsibly-made tipples, building on a hobby they started 15 years ago.

A family-run business, Chapel House puts the protection of the “precious environment” first and foremost.

Every one of the 3,000 vines planted at the 2.5-acre vineyard nestled in the Teme Valley is unsprayed with chemicals and no heavy farm machinery is used in the cultivation process. Any electricity used in the growing process is generated by solar panels on the roof of Chapel House.

Once collected, the bunches of Seyval and Phoenix are loaded up and taken to Three Choirs Vineyard, just 21 miles away over the Malvern Hills, to be turned into wine.

Instead of glossy packaging, Chapel House wine makes its final journey to UK-only consumers boxed up in recyclable cardboard cartons.

“With help from our family, including our four children, we have always worked our vines by hand, without using any herbicides or insecticides,” said Judith, a former dental hygienist who worked alongside dentist Tim for 30 years. “We encourage plants and flowers to grow among the vines and respect the insects, both in the ground and on the vines. We are very aware of our precious environment and we do everything we can to protect it.”

Judith said they decided to expand the vineyard as a fully-fledged business venture after producing small amounts of wine for friends and family over the years: “We had a small area of hillside and had attempted to keep pet sheep and goats, but it wasn’t for us. Instead, we decided to have a go at planting vines. We knew it might be arduous as the hillside was so steep and we’d have to cultivate the vines by hand, but we went for it. We planted 400 vines and many a bottle of wine made with our grapes has been enjoyed over dinner since.”

Not wanting to spend time “twiddling our thumbs”, when the couple reached retirement they decided to turn it into a full-time venture, planting thousands of new vines over the other side of the hill.

Enjoying a mild climate, sheltered by the Malvern Hills, it is not the first time vines have been grown at Chapel House. Deeds and documents dating back to 1604 show that monks from the Worcester Diocese grew vines on the site, as well as apples for cider.

“Because our hillside is so steep, our older vines are trained in the ‘goblet vine’ style, as favoured by the Swiss, and we are possibly the only UK vineyard to use this method,” said Judith. “Growing vines this way promotes a slow, even ripening of the

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grapes, with good air circulation through the canopy. The grapes in our new vineyard over the other side are gloriously draped across trellises on a southfacing escarpment in the shape of an amphitheatre.”

Chapel House English sparkling wine is elegant, dry and crisp with subtle notes of bright green apples, pears and peaches.

The couple hope their wines will appeal to couples wanting to take their eco-conscious lifestyles down the aisle and those wanting a special occasion wine without the carbon footprint or air miles. The couple are also in talks with regional restaurants looking to showcase sustainable wines on menus.

In Spring 2020, Judith, originally from Bradford, and Tim, from South Wales, plan to open a tasting room in the grounds of Chapel House, which is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. Guests will be able to try the wines, look around the vineyard, hear the fascinating story behind the growing and production process, from grape to bottle, and uncover the history of the vineyard.

NEWS The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust (NFST) is pleased to announce that applications for 2021 scholarships are now open until 31 July 2020.

Part of the 2020 class of scholars, Fred Langdale, vineyard director at Hampshire’s Exton Park, is currently compiling his report on frost protection and post-frost care in cool climate viticulture.

“Vineyards (in the UK) are popping up everywhere, some are more vulnerable to frost than others,” said Fred. “I would like to research different methods of frost protection adopted worldwide with the hope of implementing better practices in the UK. Frost is not a new problem in cool climate agriculture. My experience on my own vineyard shows me that we are seeing warmer temperatures earlier in the season which results in earlier bud burst. This should therefore allow a longer growing season. The downside is that we are increasingly vulnerable to late spring frosts. Radiation frosts are dealt with using an array of different fans, vineyard candles and gas heat blowers; all of which seem costly with no guarantee of working.

“I am experiencing increased danger from advection frost, freezing winds travelling from Siberia burning the vulnerable shoots. My project is to try and find a new, cost effective solution to protect against radiation frost but mainly advection

2021 farming scholarships open frost. I also want to find out what the best care for a vineyard is after a frost event in order to mitigate cost to a vineyard with low yields.”

Previous scholars from the UK viticulture industry have included Cameron Roucher, from Sussex’s Rathfinny Wine Estate, whose report UK Viticulture: Sustainable growth in a changing climate, was published in July 2018.

Approximately 20 scholarships are awarded each year, providing successful Nuffield scholars a substantial bursary toward the travel and research of a topic of interest in farming, food, horticulture or rural industries. The findings of scholars’ studies have brought relevant and meaningful impact to UK farming that continue to resonate long after a study is completed. The money awarded to Nuffield Scholars for their studies is not just a scholarship, it’s an investment in UK agriculture and in the personal development of the scholars themselves.

“The Nuffield Farming legacy is evident with multiple generations of scholars leading across all

sectors of our industry,” said Mike Vacher, director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust. “We are also very proudly celebrating 2020 as the ‘Year of the 1000th Scholar’, an important milestone in our history. Every year, applicants impress us with their innovative ideas and passion for their proposed topics of inquiry. We welcome all driven individuals from across the food, agriculture, horticulture and rural industries to apply and encourage those interested to reach out to our main office for support.”

Applicants must be aged between 22 and 45 years and while there is no requirement for academic qualifications, applicants should already be well-established in their career and demonstrate a passion for the industry they work in.

Those interested in applying for a Nuffield Scholarship are encouraged to begin the process well ahead of the July 31 deadline. The Nuffield Farming office is able to connect applicants with existing scholars who can provide support and advice about the application process.

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NEWS

Consumer confidence on upward trajectory Despite decreasing levels of wine knowledge, wine consumers are caring more about the category, according to Wine Intelligence’s 2020 Global Trends in Wine report.

The report discloses how consumers in the world’s major consumption markets for wine have become increasingly involved with the wine category. Conversely, their wine knowledge has decreased, most likely due to the diminished need to retain facts and the increased accessibility of immediate, at-hand information via smartphones.

One of the consistent findings is that female wine drinkers have at least the same or even higher levels of wine knowledge, but they are often less involved in the category compared to men, especially in English-speaking markets. In the UK, 40% of male wine drinkers are highly involved in the category, compared with only 28% of female drinkers; yet the knowledge index scores for UK female wine drinkers are higher (42.8) than their male counterparts (40.3).

Premium wine drinkers are not substantially more knowledgeable about wine compared to non-premium wine drinkers. Nevertheless, premium wine drinkers are more confident with wine than other drinkers. Premium wine drinkers in the UK scored over seven points higher on Wine Intelligence’s wine confidence index than non-premium wine drinkers, which is based on the extent to which consumers feel competent about their wine knowledge.

“Until relatively recently wine used to be seen by many people as complex and intimidating,” said Lulie Halstead, CEO of Wine Intelligence. “Thanks in part to the information revolution, consumer confidence in wine is on an upward trajectory, which will hearten all those producers and brand owners who can offer high quality products alongside compelling brand stories.

“The corollary to this seems to be that we no longer need to carry round lots of knowledge in our heads – we can be more adventurous without as much prior research. This will bring challenges to more long-established wine producers and production areas, which will have to fight harder to retain their historic dominance of the category.”

A peek behind the wine label Family-owned boutique vineyard, Danebury Vineyards, near Stockbridge, Hampshire, is opening its site for a short series of summertime vineyard tours and talks.

One Friday a month from May through to September 2020, up to 20 visitors per date will be invited to share in Danebury’s tradition of producing award winning English sparkling and still white wines.

The series of vineyard tours and talks begins monthly from Friday 15 May on the old paddocks of the former 19th century Stockbridge Racecourse. Not generally open to the public, the exclusive tours will provide visitors with a rare glimpse behind the scenes into Danebury’s limited production of sophisticated, finely balanced wines.

After a guided stroll through the seven acre vineyards, to learn about how the vines are tended and harvested, each bookable event includes a tasting of two Danebury still white wines. Every experience incorporates a visit to the cellar where Danebury has stored their English wines for over twenty years.

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AWARDS

DRINKS RETAILING AWARDS

Historic retailer wins hybrid retailer of the year Birmingham’s oldest wine merchant, Connolly’s, has won the hybrid retailer of the year award at the Drinks Retailing Awards. The annual ceremony, which was held at The Dorchester Hotel, London, recognises excellence in drinks retailing across a number of sectors, including independent specialists, supermarkets, online retailers, wholesalers and wine merchants.

The family-owned-and-run business, which has been located beneath the arches of Snow Hill since 1976, has been shipping wine into Birmingham city since 1906. The Connolly’s wine bar, Arch 13, which is located at the front of Connolly’s retail offer, was launched in May 2018 and has grown from strength to strength, with owner and manager Abigail Connolly, the only female, certified sommelier in Birmingham, at the helm.

“To say we are thrilled to receive this award is an understatement,” said Chris Connolly. “We have put a lot of hard work and passion into both Connolly’s and Arch 13, and to making the wine bar and shop a success, so to be given that recognition, by an institution so respected, is absolutely fantastic.”

Connolly’s currently stock a range of English still and sparkling wines from Furleigh Estate, Henners, Nyetimber, the Royal Agricultural University, Sixteen Ridges and Three Choirs.

Sparkling rosé star of the show For the second year running, Lyme Bay Winery’s Sparkling Brut Rosé has won a prestigious People’s Choice Wine Award.

The Devon-based drink producer took home the top prize in the ‘Fabulous Fizz: Best Sparkling Wine UK’ category, which was sponsored by Wine Cellar Door, the independent wine tourism guide to England and Wales.

The Sparkling Brut Rosé NV wowed the judges with its bright, fruit-driven palate with a richness of honey and hints of brioche.

“We are over the moon to win at the People’s Choice Wine Awards again. It is the consumers’ opinion that matters most so we all felt it was a huge accolade to win the award for best UK sparkling wine this year,” said Paul Sullivan, head of sales and marketing at Lyme Bay Winery. “We pride ourselves on an unstinting focus on quality and with this wine and others it looks like consumers and critics alike love what we do. We’re thrilled that the judges enjoyed it as much as the 2014 vintage which won the previous year.”

The award win for the Sparkling Brut Rosé NV is the first of the decade for the

winery and its 129th since 2015. In the last year alone, the Sparkling Brut Rosé NV has been awarded five accolades in prestigious wine competitions, both in the UK and internationally.

A small, but dedicated winery in the heart of the Axe Valley near the south coast of Devon, Lyme Bay’s winemaking team work with some of best growers in the UK to secure the most premium fruit. For this wine the Pinot noir grapes, hand harvested from two select vineyards in Essex, bring pepper and soft fruit flavours to a wine that is an elegant, food-friendly expression of a sparkling rosé.

The People’s Choice Wine Awards began in 2017 and have grown exponentially, receiving hundreds of submissions from retailers, supermarkets, importers and producers.

“We are thrilled that Lyme Bay Winery’s Sparkling Brut Rosé has won the 2020 award - it was such a popular winner last year and proved to be top of the class again,” said Janet Harrison, founder of the People’s Choice Wine Awards.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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WINEMAKING

Jeremy Mount, winemaker at Woodchester Valley, Gloucestershire, talks to Vineyard about the enormous potential for home-grown still wines.

How did you get into the English wine industry?

It started from the culmination of being raised in a fruit farming family near Canterbury and working for several years in France, spurred on by living in South Africa. After completing an oenology degree at Plumpton College I worked at quite a lot of wineries globally such as Stags Leap in Napa, Rupert and Rothschild in Franschhoek, I lived in Chablis working in a winery nearby in Burgundy, as well as Franconia and Malta.

I’ve worked at several UK vineyards, but the one of note would be three harvests at Bluebell Vineyards. I worked at Matua, South Island, New Zealand for two and a half years as senior lab technician before returning to the UK and joining Woodchester Valley in 2016.

Name one interesting fact about Woodchester that retailers can quickly share with consumers to help the brand stick in their mind.

The urn on our labels is taken from the centre of the local Orpheus Roman pavement in Woodchester, which as an intact example is the second largest in Europe. Stonehouse is recorded in the Doomsday book as having vineyards.

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t

In conversation...

my Mo Jere un

What have you learnt from working in other wine regions?

Please tell us about your terroir‌

I primarily learnt the extensive variety of methods of production and various details that can be very different. The same variety, for instance, can be processed very differently from one region to another. The most relevant experience to winemaking here in England would be Pinot noir and Bacchus production in Germany and looking ahead Chardonnay from time spent in Chablis.

Also, I never thought the experience gained with Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand would of so much use over here.

We have three planted vineyard areas within 3-miles of the winery at Woodchester, with a total of 55-acres under vine. Located in the Cotswolds, just north of Bristol, the vines are all on steep slopes, in fact, we have some of the steepest vineyard plots I know of in the UK. They are all predominantly south facing and unlike the championing of chalk soils, we have limestone bedrock under a thin layer of clay loam. At the Woodchester site in places the limestone is at the surface littered with fossils, so very free draining.

The Stonehouse site has about 40cm of clay above the limestone with an area that changes to more sand/silt/clay. Having the three sites slightly staggered the ripening rate and adds variation giving us a wider spectrum of varietal characteristics.

Where do you think the UK wine market will head over the next five to ten years?

Sparkling wines have gained some excellent recognition globally, cementing the UK as one of the most important new wine producing countries. This I believe has naturally paved the way for still wines to start making an impact.

The lesser known varieties maybe not, but in the future if there is an increase of years similar to 2018 then definitely Chardonnay and Pinot noir still wines will improve in quality to the levels of well known wine regions of the world. This will increase the export market but also the awareness nationally encouraging more people to choose English and Welsh wine over others.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

How would you describe the ethos of the estate?

We are single estate with a focus on producing the best possible quality not quantity. We have a dedicated and hardworking small team with a sole focus to produce the finest quality wines which are authentic to and reflect their Cotswold origins, and our limestone. We invite people to visit and stay to experience what we do and what we produce in an atmosphere of warm hospitality and professionalism. The big picture being to make a name for top quality wines from the Cotswolds.

WINEMAKING

How can winemakers ensure they are staying ahead of trends to better connect with consumers?

What modern equipment could you not live without in the winery?

Do producers need to offer more than just wine to be sustainable?

I was involved with the installation of the winery so fortunately I selected a lot of the equipment both in the winery and lab. The inert environment function of the press enables us to press the juice in a hyper reductive environment. It definitely helps to protect the flavour and aroma pre-cursors of the varieties for the still wines, particularly in the second half of the press cycle.

I don’t use this for all the still varieties and definitely not for sparkling base wines but it’s a very useful function. In the lab, I’d like to say RX Altona spectrophotometer, Hanna edge, DMA 35 or the aspiration kit, I consider them all essential but the Clifton cold stabilisation bath would probably be at the top of the list.

In the majority of cases they definitely do. We offer quite a lot here, both from our shop on the A46 and the tasting room at the winery. Through the winter, we do six tours a week and in the summer this goes up to 11, which have been very well received. We host a variety of other tasting and food events, which bring people to the vineyard that may have already been on a tour. We also have high quality accommodation at both Woodchester and Stonehouse with a variety of sizes available from one bed vineyard barn apartments to a six bedroom house. This enables people to have more of an experience here.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the UK wine industry at the moment?

The biggest issue is probably the industry not knowing its limit. I think that quality is a major worry. I believe as the volumes of production increase we need to maintain the quality. The variable climatic conditions mean that for still wines especially, consistency of quality is difficult.

For example, last year’s harvest wasn’t the best so we decided not to make any red wines.

Do you have a market in mind when you are crafting your products?

We sell a lot of wine locally. The Cotswolds is quite a high tourist destination and residents are keen to buy local produce. As production increases and distribution expands nationally, elements of pleasing the customer are higher on the agenda. An example of this is rosé which can be tricky, balancing the colour over flavour and aroma. I try to just make wine that I think brings out the best varietal characteristics.

What are your hopes for this year’s vintage?

The 2019 vintage was a reminder that we will not consistently have good years. For us we didn’t have the best flowering on some varieties, Bacchus in particular, but fortunately this resulted in low yields that ripened very nicely and quality was very good. Every year we want a better year than the last. We hope for no late frosts, warm conditions over flowering, a bit of rain in the summer followed by clear blue skies from September to November. In reality this doesn’t always occur.

What is your approach to winemaking?

I only add what is necessary. I like to make wines that are clean, fresh and stable. Wine that people will enjoy and drink plenty of, without having to think too much about. I only add what is essential for wine stability, I filter and I don’t want any harsh tannins. They are all vegan friendly, for the simple reason that the products that I think perform best happen not to be derived from animals.

Our label design and type of bottle is always something that is evolving and of course the sustainability of our production is very important to us. As far as the wines produced, an example for us would be our entry level sparkling wine ‘Cotswold Classic’. It is a blend of Seyval blanc and Pinot blanc which only has 15-18 months aging on lees. The wine is not a Champagne style, it’s more approachable and fruit forward, which has proven to be very popular. Retailing at £19.95 customers seem to buy a bottle then return for a few cases.

What is the best award you have received for the wines?

We are fortunate to have done well. I think the highest accolade, and the most surprising, would be international double gold for the Sauvignon Blanc. It got gold 96 points in IWSC and was one of only 10 golds awarded in the Drink’s Business Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters. Bacchus, Culver Hill and Pinot Rosé have also received golds. Having been involved in a lot of judging myself I know there can sometimes be an element of luck as to when your wines are tasted.

What’s on the cards for the future?

We have all our standard 2019 releases coming out this year but of the new still wines of note we have Pinot Noir 2018 which shall be released later in the year and Atcombe White 2019, which is a Sauvignon blanc Ortega blend. We are possibly going to release a small amount of Blanc de Blanc 2016 at the end of the year too.

Finish this sentence: In ten years’ time….

In ten years’ time, I’d like to try the Pinot Noir 2018 and be pleased with how it’s developed.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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EDITOR'S VISIT

Walk before you run

oria Ros Vict e Ed

r ito

The brothers seeking to earn their stripes in the vineyard before pushing sales.

Forgetting that it was the last Friday of February half term, as we turned into Cholderton Charlie’s rare breeds farm, home of Bluestone Vineyards in Wiltshire, the car park was heaving. As parents were busy unloading excited children ready for a fun family day out, it instantly struck me that the McConnell family had cleverly chosen to establish their vineyard on an already thriving tourism destination.

The Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) registered farm and visitor attraction receives 40,000 visitors per year. This would appear to be a captive audience for the estate wines, yet, walking through the farm gift shop, where a small selection of Bluestone Classic Cuvée was tucked away on a shelf, and into the café, whose tables were decorated with empty sparkling wine bottles, it felt as if this beautifully crafted English wine had unrighteously been appointed the role of a lonely wallflower.

Setting down their secateurs to meet with us, brothers Nat and Toby McConnell guided us through the yard, and as the vineyard came into view, I was once again struck by the contrast between the two businesses. While the farm was bustling with activity, the immaculate vines were seemingly encapsulated in a serene bubble.

“We have a premium product and the petting farm doesn’t quite sit with that,” explained Nat, whose parents took over the 40-acre smallholding around 20

16

years ago. “I am possibly trying to be too protective of the Bluestone brand, but as we are producing small volumes of traditional method sparkling, our wine retails at £35 per bottle and that is too expensive for the people who are here to visit the farm. We haven’t really pushed sales on-site; there are no signs in the shop and none of the staff are trained to talk about it.”

On the surface, shying away from shining a spotlight on the wine seemed to be a brave decision, particularly in an industry which is known for its cash flow woes. Digging deeper into the Bluestone project, however, it soon became clear that this is a savvy case of learning to walk before one can run.

As well as expressing his underlying feeling that Bluestone’s wine is not yet where he would like it to be, Nat also delved into some ambitious plans; the family’s undeterred commitment to creating something with real personality, representative of the individual site and unique to the industry.

Steeped in history Planted in 2016, the vines were part of a diversification scheme designed not only to add value to the McConnell’s existing business but to create jobs for Nat and Toby, who were returning to the family farm after respectively working in research science and hospitality.

“We have added various new developments to the farm over the years and

> Toby and Nat McConnell

turnover had always increased, but profitability hadn’t necessarily kept up,” said Nat, who named the vineyard after the ancient small stones located in the inner ring of Stonehenge located just a few miles away. “I didn’t really want to be involved in the farm and we were looking for other diversification ideas, but we only have 40-acres. Being RBST accredited we do a lot of conservation with British rare breeds, but we also had large flocks of sheep that didn’t really fit into this, so we started to look at what we could do with the 25-acres which was just being used for grazing.”

“We were considering truffles and artisan small-scale meat production and then, at the Farm Business Innovation Show we came across Vineyard Solutions, VSL. The vineyard is the brain-child of Toby, who suggested we look at planting vines. We discussed it as a family, researched the costs and the feasibility of our site and it ticked some boxes.”

The McConnell family had previous been advised that the site could be suitable for viticulture in the early-2000s, but with young children it wasn’t the right time for parents Jeremy and Pam. “This time around everything aligned and we decided to go for it,” said Nat. “It is still in the very early stages, and there is a lot to learn, but as long as we do our best to get better every year, that’s all we can focus on. I certainly couldn’t imagine being behind a desk, and although there is a bit of that now we are getting into sales, there is no place I would rather be than out in the vines.”

The vineyards at Bluestone are spread across three sandy clay loam over chalk sites including the south facing Three Acre block, which was the first site to be established and is actually closer to 2.5-acres. The highest plot, sitting at 136-metres above sea level is called Top Field, which extends to another 2.5-acres and despite its altitude, performs well due to extended sun exposure and its well sheltered position.

Located on a site steeped in history, the third and largest parcel of vines (another 5-acres) is called Iron Age. Planted next to a byway, believed to have been the main trading route between Salisbury and Winchester, with a natural dewpond nestled at the bottom of the south-west facing sloped hill, the area where vines now stand would once have been a place for traders to take refuge and rest livestock along a busy journey.

“Our uncle is an archaeologist and before we planted the vines he came to dig up here,” said Nat. “We knew there was a lot of history in the area because of how close we are to Stonehenge. As well as arrowheads, Roman coins, and all sorts from across the ages, we found an old >> iron age roundhouse settlement at the bottom of the field.”

"There is no place I would rather be than out in the vines"

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Showcasing the individual complexities Not wanting to wait six years for the first wines to be released, the year before the Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier went into the ground, the family took the decision to purchase fruit from Hambledon Vineyard, Hampshire, whose winemaking team produce Bluestone’s range including the 2015 Classic Cuvée, which is now already available.

“Hambledon has a great team, there is a good pedigree of winemaking, they are very open, will help with anything and have been amazing,” said Nat. “But we don’t just want to become another contract-made sparkling wine brand and that is why I am really struggling with promoting the brand. I don’t feel like we have earnt our stripes yet. I find the fact that the wine we are currently selling is not made with our own fruit a little tricky and almost a bit dishonest, but I do tell everyone how it’s made because it’s important to be transparent. It will definitely be different when the wines are made just with our own fruit, and until we get full control and are able to talk customers through the different vineyard parcels and what makes them unique, I don’t think I will be happy.”

While aligning themselves with one of the serious players on the English wine scene has seen the development of a truly classic traditional method English sparkling wine, it is hoped that there will one day be a winery located at Bluestone.

“Personally, in the long term I would like to have the wines made on site,” said Nat. “As we are a small producer, I would love to be able to keep everything a bit more separate and perhaps look to do things on a parcel, or a clone basis.

Hambledon are a big producer, so they don’t have smaller tanks to accommodate what we want to do.”

Across the three sites, three different Chardonnay clones, two Pinot noir, and one Pinot meunier were planted, but Nat points out that it is the way in which the sites were established which will allow them to pinpoint some particularly exciting parcels of fruit.

“The vineyard was planted by Ian Phillips at VSL, he is a great guy and we love him to bits. We don’t have many clones, but we do have a bit of each variety in each site. It might be a pain to manage, particularly when it comes to spraying, but it also forces us to pay more attention to the vineyard and we have noticed a huge difference between and within the fields.”

As well as wanting to see if they could produce a high quality, low yield Chardonnay, or keep a few rows of Pinot, which are “always way ahead of everything else,” separate at harvest, the McConnells would also like to use smaller tanks to showcase the individual complexities which come from their site.

“Last season we had to pick everything together, due to the way Hambledon make the wine, but this certain block of Pinot noir could easily have been harvested 10-days before anything else,” said Nat. “There are 12 rows of Chardonnay which have been performing well but because of tank space, everything is blended. Being on the small scale, we will only have a limited number of bottles per year and it seems odd to try and make them generic and samey.”

What works best for Bluestone "Personally, in the long term I would like to have the wines made on site"

Regardless of where the wine is made, brothers Nat and Toby McConnell remain focused on growing the best possible fruit, with occasional help from dad Jeremy.

“We are all learning, but what I can guarantee is that we are willing to put the time in and are really good at growing grapes,” said Nat. “Dad is a builder by trade so works on other projects as well. He is famous for coming back and pruning the last vine, or picking the last bunch of grapes. He has been fundamental really and he is a great morale boost, but he does have a knack of knowing when there is only a small amount left to do.”

Both brothers are studying at Plumpton College; Toby has recently enrolled onto the vineyard apprenticeship scheme, while Nat is waiting to finish his MSc in viticulture and oenology. >> “I enrolled in 2016 but my project has been on hold for a few years as I

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<< have been managing the day-to-day vineyard operations,” said Nat. “I also wanted to focus my project on something a bit different and I have decided to look at mycorrhizal fungi. Particularly I want to monitor populations and compare natural colonisation with vines which have been inoculated with mycorrhizal spores.”

Having taken a conventional approach to the vineyard soil preparations and on-going management so far, with a focus on foliar feeds and iron chelate injections, Toby is now keen to look at alternative methods, such as biodynamic preparations.

“We are planning to manage the Three Acre site biodynamically this year; we will see how it goes and what we can learn from it,” said Toby, who also emphasises that they are employing the gentle pruning method following the biodynamic calendar, with the day of my visit being an ascending moon. “We want to go down a rabbit hole and see where it takes us; it may or may not work. We need to start a compost and we need to look at what else goes into 501. Last year when we visited Albury, the vineyard was so pristine, the fruit on the vine looked amazing and it just made me question why we do what we do, why we spray and add to problems when we could follow different steps.”

Through Plumpton and speaking to other established producers, Nat and Toby have been able to develop their skills, but when it comes to viticultural practices, everything is carefully focused on what is right for their specific site.

“We are still very green to it all but even the people who have been doing it for years will all say different things and quite often methods only work for them,” said Nat. “We just have to find what works best for us, from both a financial and operational point of view. We need to learn the site and decide on the personality of our vineyard and our wines.”

Supply and demand balance Taking a slow and steady approach, while there

20

is another 10-acres of land on the farm which has been signed off as suitable for viticulture, planting plans have been reined in.

“From a feasibility point of view, the best field for a commercial purpose is adjacent to the sites we have planted now and it was in the pipeline to plant that in 2021, but we have decided to figure ourselves out first,” said Nat. “The WineGB marketing and business conference, scared me a little bit and why would you ignore experts who know what they are talking about? With everyone planting and producing lots of wine which is not yet being sold, looking at halting planting could rescue the supply and demand balance.”

Looking to the future, the McConnells are hoping to explore more sales avenues and will be increasing the wine tourism offering at Bluestone, which already includes tours, tastings and weddings.

“We are yet to look at markets like London, we haven’t gone knocking on wine merchants’ doors and we need to speak to more people interested in buying our wines for trade,” said Toby. “Over the last few years, it has been so hands on in the vineyard, racing against the clock to work through the time sensitive jobs and learning how to make our fruit better, but now we need to sell what we are producing.”

In the meantime, too, Nat is hoping to look at how the vineyard integrates with the farm and how the family businesses can work closer together.

“Marketing and sales isn’t my strong point and I am a bit protective with the Bluestone brand but when I have spoken to people about whether a wine brand and a petting farm go hand in hand, a lot think it is a great opportunity to have a day out with the kids, have a glass of wine at lunch, or take something home for the evening,” said Nat. “I don’t know if that will work, but we have to try it. I want to bring customers here to show them what we do and what makes us different. I want people to really connect with us so that when they go home they will speak about the amazing few hours they spent, the team and the wines. We need to focus on creating our customer base and developing those lifetime customers.”

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Mat h e

WINE REVIEWS

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Hampshire

es Juk

I was born in Hampshire and I lived there for my first seven years.  www.matthewjukes.com paper-plane, admin@vineyardmagazine.co.uk

> Danebury vineyard, Hampshire

I was born in Hampshire and I lived there for my first seven years.

Belgium, Berkshire, Kent and London are my other stops along the way but I think I feel Hampshire-ish, if I was forced to pin myself down to a single county. But why should I feel moved to do this, after all I don’t play cricket?

Why should wineries in Hampshire single themselves out and market their wines as one – www.vineyardsofhampshire.co.uk is their website. Should I only attend this tasting and forgo the forthcoming Kent event in late March or should I go along to this one, too, because I once bought a house in Kent and my parents live there? Should I boycott all wines from Sussex, because I don’t hang around in East or West much, but occasionally drink Dorset wines because I often holiday there. Should I drink Wiltshire tipples every so often because the in-laws live there and avoid Welsh wines because I want to beat them so badly at rugby it hurts, and because it annoys both James Price and Roger Jones (they are both in the wine business so they are valid name-drops in this piece)! Granted a generic French wine tasting would be a little confusing. We are used to the French focussing on individual regions, not least because their wine styles are generally quite different as

one moves around the country. Ours are not, ours are very contiguous, and there is a lot to be said for cross ‘border’ sourcing, after all Champagne is a massive region and many of the great wines are complex blends with far-flung ingredients.

I am rather confused as to why Vineyards of Hampshire feel that Hampshire is a vinous selling point which sets them apart from others, but I do appreciate that a neat little tasting, with only 29 wines on show, is attractive to some tasters who like bijou events. I prefer to spend an hour travelling in to central London and an hour travelling home in order to knock off more than just 29 wines (and I live in Battersea). I suspect that people living in Alton, Petersfield or Winchester would have to spend four or five hours of their day on public transport to do the same, and while smarty-pants readers will be quick to spot that these towns are all in Hampshire, and that they could simply pop out and visit the vineyards themselves, I think that this would take nearly two days to accomplish, especially if the roads are as clogged as usual in this picturesque part of the country. So why do they do it and why can we expect more of these silly little tastings popping up all over the place? The answer is because they can, and we will be there, because it is our job and also because the WineGB event only happens once a year. Thank goodness the wines were good!

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MATTHEW JUKES There is a lot of pressure resting on winemaker Jacob Leadley’s shoulders.

His first few Black Chalk wines have hit the spot with various commentators, although this is my first write up of one of his wines, and in only two years this brand is seemingly already a fixture on the English sparkling wine scene.

I would exercise caution though and taste carefully because while Jacob is an experienced winemaker it is a very different exercise making a handful of wines from a few decent fruit sources as opposed to making a vast array of wines from a nearly unlimited mountain of grapes, which is what he did in his previous employ, with Emma Rice, at Hattingley Valley. Encouragingly, this newly released vintage is a winner. Made from 45% Chardonnay, 32% Pinot Meunier and 23% Pinot Noir, there is a creamy rosehip theme which underpins this vehicle and the finish is tart, bracing and refreshing – just how I like it. Jacob has some work to do on his rosé, but he will crack it I have no doubt. Patience is such a valuable commodity in this industry and I hope that the Black Chalk team has it in spades.

2016 Black Chalk Classic approx. £38.00

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NV Hambledon Classic Cuvée £28.50

Relative newcomers Raimes make their wines at Hattingley Valley and Emma Rice does a sterling job for them with their estate-grown fruit.

Augusta and Robert Raimes are the fifth generation of the family to farm their fields now flourishing with vines. With a hefty 39 months ageing on its lees, this 58% Pinot Noir, 22% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier sees no oak and it bristles with energy and freshness.

With a keen dosage of only 4g/l, only 2000 bottles were made of this beauty and this is the only negative I can find because I adore the flavour of this stunningly balanced wine. The packaging is elegant and eye-catching and the story makes sense and these are vital factors when building a reputation.

Greater distribution is inevitable as this wine starts to impress keen palates and, as I always say, if you can make a great rosé everything else is a doddle, so this is a cracking release for this fascinating estate.

www.bbr.com www.waitrosecellar.com Everything about this wine is Classic with a capital ‘C’.

Before I elaborate, it is important to underline just how competitively priced this wine is. At £28.50, this is one of the finest value sparklers in the land, not just from Hampshire but from England and from every other country in the world, too. The blend is 56% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir and 17% Pinot Meunier and the wine I tasted comes mostly from the 2017 harvest and the blend is augmented with 20% of reserve wines, 6% of which were fermented in barrel.

This is Classic and the flavour is sensational.

The aroma, depth of fruit and finish are all spot on but it is the overall grandeur which is unmistakable and this comes from vision, practice and also an unwavering commitment to striving for perfection.

2015 Raimes Vintage Rosé £40.00

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23

GRAPE GROWING

A long-held dream

st

el A keh ur Nig

Nigel Akehurst visits Chartham Vineyard in Kent to learn more about their modern family focused approach to farm diversification and bringing their unique collection of heritage buildings back into use.

Chartham Vineyard is a five acre vineyard, retail and exhibition space located at Burnt House Farm in Chartham, next to the train station and just off the A28, three miles outside of Canterbury. Owned by Dr Roz Waller and her husband Richard Goodenough, they decided to realise a long-held dream by setting up a wine and art exhibition business in 2012, involving their extended family.

“Burnt House Farm, Chartham has been the family home of the Wallers since 1957” explains Rosalind, who inherited the 40-hectare holding in 2011 on the death of her parents.

Her father originally had a dairy herd, pigs, arable and an apple orchard on the farm. Over the years the dairy herd and pigs went, with more of the land being used to grow apples and pears alongside a suckler herd of Sussex cattle. Eventually the farm was tenanted out mainly for arable when her father retired in his 70s.

Keen to continue the family farming tradition with a modern eco-friendly approach – Roz, herself a retired GP in Wye and husband, Richard, an academic and writer, took the decision to take back 3.2 hectares of the land from the tenant farmer to establish a vineyard and tourism business that would encompass wine, art and utilise their beautiful collection of traditional farm buildings.

Perfect location and soil

The vineyard faces south across the valley of the River Stour which drains the Weald of Kent.

This aspect makes the most of all available sunshine providing a relatively warm and dry microclimate, whilst allowing frost drainage into the valley below.

The vines are rooted in a dark-brown flinty loam on a massive chalk bedrock, formed over 100 million years ago from shells of sea creatures in a tropical sea. The chalk provides free drainage and the flints have an additional benefit of retaining daytime heat and maintaining the warmth of the soil

Viticulture advice, preparation and planting

With no prior experience of growing grapes or winemaking, Roz and Richard sought advice from renowned viticulture consultant Stephen Skelton. An intense period of planning and preparation involving site selection and soil preparation began. Key decisions were made about the choice of grapes, rootstocks and vineyard design. It was decided to grow vines

> Selection of still wines with Dovecote in background

24

of the same variety as those approved for Champagne and to choose various clones and rootstock combinations to suit the prevailing soil and climate conditions.

After sub-soiling and harrowing, vines were planted by machine with rows orientated up and down the slope (to achieve maximum sunlight exposure), 2 metres apart and 1.2 metres spacing between each vine.

Stephen organised a specialist team from Germany to come over to machine plant 7000 vines over four acres in a day, with a mix of Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Pinot gris and Bacchus giving them the opportunity to produce still and sparkling rosé and white wines.

Then their metal trellis structures were set up ready for first growth. A further acre of Pinot noir on a Burgundian clone was planted the following year - to produce colour for rosé, or a still red in exceptionally good years.

Education and family involvement To learn more about how to grow and look after the vines – both Roz, Richard and their son, Andy, have benefited from various part DEFRA funded viticulture courses at Plumpton College. Andy, who is also a photographer

Farm Facts ◆ 40 hectares of arable, pasture, coppice and ancient woodland most of which is tenanted out to a local farmer ◆ Home of ‘Chartham Vineyard’ – currently five acres of vines planted in 2013/14 – a mix of Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Bacchus and Pinot noir grapes ◆ Work with Litmus Wines Ltd, contract wine makers based at Denbies Estate to process and bottle their range of sparkling and still wines ◆ Collection of traditional Farm Buildings no longer suitable for modern agriculture – the cowsheds have been renovated for use as wine retail and art exhibition space with a very large 18th century threshing barn used for larger events. ◆ Plans to carry out more improvement work on their buildings, including a listed Dovecote which features in their vineyard logo and to continue to develop the wine tourism and art events.

GRAPE GROWING does the majority of day to day vineyard maintenance, including pruning and spraying, in the event of downy and powdery mildew.

Overcoming challenges Over the years the team at Chartham have experienced a number of weather and pest challenges. One more recent threat has been spotted wing drosophila – which affects soft skin red fruits like cherries, raspberries and Pinot noir. It results in bitter grapes – which is why the Americans call it vinegar fly.

“They’ve had problems with raspberries and cherries in this area” says Richard with some growers turning to nets to prevent damage. In Chartham’s case they’ve had good success using biological controls.

“It’s a mixture of cheap red wine, cider vinegar and sugar which goes into a Droso trap – there’s a hole that the fly goes into and it drowns,” explains Roz. They have around 100 of these which are distributed around the Pinot noir vines. This is just one example of using a more eco-friendly approach to growing healthy vines.

Roz also adds they have started using Cloud Agro pellets which contain a mix of Lucerne and chicken manure to help maintain and improve soil health.

First harvests and involving the community Grape harvest usually takes place from mid-September through to October. The actual date is set after regular sampling and testing grapes in the field from mid-September, using a hand-held refractometer.

Chartham’s first harvest took place in 2015, yielding half a tonne – around a barrel of wine. It increased to 8 tonnes the following year, it then increased to 11.5 tonnes in 2017 and 23.5 tonnes in 2018 – which was their first full crop and a bumper year due to exceptional growing conditions.

The 2019 harvest yielded 18.5 tonnes with some more tricky conditions caused by wet weather.

Harvesting is all done by hand with the help of friends, family and local volunteers. With the vineyard being split into five plots, it takes roughly a day per plot. On average they have around 30 volunteers per day and pick for a long morning fuelled by coffee and delicious cake – made by Roz. The grapes are then loaded onto a lorry and sent off to their contract wine maker. To celebrate the end of harvest and thank all the volunteers they hold a harvest supper at the end of the season with 80 plus pickers and partners invited for a hog roast in the threshing barn.

Wine making and sales With no facilities onsite Roz and Richard work with respected wine makers John Worontschak and Mattieu Elzinga from Litmus Wines Ltd, based at Denbies Estate in Dorking, Surrey.

“It’s a real partnership,” says Roz and they don’t have any plans to create their own winery in the foreseeable future.

“Right from the first vintage, the quality of our wines has been recognised through awards including a Gold Medal for our first sparkling Blanc de Blancs (from Chardonnay grapes harvested in 2016),” adds Richard.

Their wines are available at many local hotels and restaurants including Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, Hotel Continental in Whitstable, Angela’s in Margate as well as being served at Michelin starred restaurant Fordwich Arms near Canterbury.

You can also find them stocked in well-known farm shops including Macknade’s in Faversham and Gibson’s in Wingham.

Chartham also offer free wine tastings in their wine shop every Saturday from 10.30 to 5.30.

You can also browse art in their vineyard gallery and pre-book vineyard tours and tutored tastings.

Market growth, diversity and seasonality

Wine tourism and art-related activity is increasing the footfall to the cellar door at Chartham Vineyard.

“This is reflected in the number of visitors, volume of sales, attendance at art exhibitions in the vineyard gallery and the number of people taking part in tours and tastings,” says Roz. Interestingly wine tourists spend on average 80% more than normal tourists although “at the moment, tours and tastings are more popular between April and September when the weather is better and there is more to see in the vineyard,” she adds.

However, they plan to appeal to a wider all year-round audience with additional space being made available in the cowshed and barn to host bigger groups for festivals, art/music and other cultural attractions.

"Wine tourists spend on average 80% more than normal tourists"

Diversifying traditional buildings back into use for wine and art With an exceptional collection of old farm buildings at Burnt House Farm, Roz and Richard have worked with local craftsmen to lovingly restore the old cowsheds into wine retail, tasting and exhibition spaces. The development of these buildings in tandem with the wine enterprise has been pivotal to the growth of the business.

In addition, Roz and Richard have found there is a growing demand for large affordable exhibition space for the arts in East Kent.

“The Canterbury Society of Art is just one of several organisations currently using our converted buildings for art exhibitions, with regular exhibitions being held in our converted cowshed,” adds Roz. They have begun restoration work on their large and beautiful 18th century threshing barn which is used for their annual harvest supper and has the potential to be an incredible event space/wedding venue.

Building a brand and online marketing Key to bringing all the elements together is the Chartham Vineyard logo explains Roz: “It features the ancient dovecote – illustrating the importance of our heritage buildings, rampant horses – representing the white horse symbol of the county of Kent and the historic phrase ‘Garden of England’ – describing the fertile lands of Kent, famous for its fruit and hop growing for more than 600 years.”

Their modern and user friendly website www.charthamvineyard.co.uk provides a wealth of information about the vineyard, what wines they have available in the shop and upcoming events including art exhibitions. You can also join their priority e-list via the website to stay up to date with wine tours, tastings and other events.

They already have over 700 mailing list subscribers and have found email marketing to be an effective tool to help attract regular visitors to the vineyard. In addition, they have active social media Facebook and Twitter accounts to help promote the business having benefited from attending a NFU run course on social media in the past.

Plans for the future Roz and Richard plan to build on what they have achieved to date at Chartham Vineyard, continuing to restore and better utilise their collection of heritage buildings whilst growing their wine and arts event space business with the aim of supporting more members of the family in the future. An interesting and inspiring model of a modern-day family farm.

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WINEGB CONFERENCE

WineGB business and marketing conference Shaping the industry identity over the next 10 years.

Speaking to over 150 delegates at the WineGB business and marketing conference, held on 30 January at Denbies Wine Estate, chairman Simon Robinson took to the podium to effectively set the scene for the unveiling of the membership organisations’ generic marketing strategy.

Looking back on how far WineGB has come since the merger of English Wine Producers and the United Kingdom Vineyards Association in 2017, Simon considered the rapid growth of what is now considered to be the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sector, the positive initiatives which have already been put into action by the organisation and the challenges still ahead.

“WineGB has come an awfully long way since it was formed and I would like to think we have delivered a lot since the merger,” said Simon, who runs his own vineyard, Hattingley Valley, in Hampshire. “We are probably the fastest growing wine region in the world, with the planting of over 5 million vines in the last 3 years. The average vineyard size is increasing and the market share is improving rapidly, both in the UK and with exports which are shooting ahead. There is a greater concentration on tourism, which is a key part of the UK’s marketing strategy and WineGB have submitted a cellar door relief scheme paper to government, and we will be launching a proper

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programme to promote this very shortly.”

“In terms of employment, we have moved forward with Plumpton to develop the apprenticeship scheme and the WineSkills courses are moving on well too. We have been working hard to build WineGB into the membership organisation it needs to be. I am proud of what we have managed to achieve and although some aren’t quite sure what we do, believe me, there is a lot of paddling going on under water to keep the swan swimming gently through. Not everything I confess has gone as far, or as quickly, as hoped, but perhaps that is inevitable as we do rely heavily on volunteers who devote a considerable amount of unpaid time to the industry.”

Moving on to consider what the industry will face over the next few years, Simon covered the growth in volume and sales. In 2018, it is estimated that between 12-15 million bottles of wine were produced, a huge increase on 2017.

There are no official 2019 figures yet, but it is thought that these will not be far behind, if not ahead of 2018 as vineyards mature.

“We are no longer looking at production levels of 5-6 million bottles per year, but for the foreseeable future, weather permitting, it is likely to be around 12 million,” said Simon. “Our vision document released last year suggested that the industry would be producing 40 million bottles by 2040, but at the current rate of

expansion, this is a conservative figure.”

With unprecedented growth, innovation and ambition, WineGB want to ensure that it strikes the right balance in its marketing strategy to promote and sustain what has already been achieved, without stifling the English and Welsh wine industry.

“One of the strengths of our industry is that we are not tied down by regulation which is seen in Europe,” said Simon. “But we do need to make sure that this doesn’t have an adverse impact on the industry as a whole. In future when we look at the new PDO scheme, while the Great British consumer may not understand what it means, it is the legal underpinning of the brand we are promoting and I don’t think you can divorce the PDO scheme from the brand strategy. We must be prepared and clearly focused on what the industry is trying to do.”

With all this in mind, it was concluded that WineGB needed to develop a generic marketing strategy, to clearly define, protect and promote a core brand. The result of almost a year of planning, researching and consultation, the strategy was officially distributed to members after the conference and has now been put into action. Its overriding aim is “to help nurture and protect the status of our products as quality wines” with four clear strategic objectives designed to guide the vision, direction and activities.

WINEGB CONFERENCE Traditional method sparkling wine Having identified traditional method sparkling wine as the “jewel in the crown” WineGB will be heavily focused on its key objective “to differentiate and communicate, traditional method English and Welsh sparkling from other sparkling wine products and ensure quality is protected”.

“Traditional method is what the entire industry has built its reputation on,” said Julia. “The producers’ response to the consultation survey agreed that we needed to confidently and proactively champion traditional method sparkling wine as the hero style. We need to sustain and grow market perception, here and internationally, by nurturing the trade who are the key to driving this category forward.”

To achieve this, there will be a mixture of regulation and communication implemented.

WineGB will be trying to ensure that all labels clearly state the method of production, with 75% of consultation respondents advocating that this should be a compulsory feature on the front label. There was also support for reformed PDO and PGI schemes to protect the credibility of traditional method and a targeted campaign will also be launched to explain why traditional method commands a premium price.

“The idea of a name for English sparkling was rejected by producers in the consultation survey, by the strategy group and the WineGB board,” said Julia. “Having looked at this long and hard, we will therefore not be taking this route. We completely accept that the majority of consumers don’t understand, or care, about how sparkling wine is made but the trade do and we need to ensure that anyone can make an informed choice and that the different styles of sparkling are clearly differentiated.”

If successful in this, then WineGB hope to have reinforced the ‘halo effect’ of traditional method

sparkling which will in turn benefit all UK wine styles and methods of production.

Tourism

Seeking to “actively support the growth of wine tourism in the UK, domestically and internationally”, WineGB will be helping to increase visitor numbers to the cellar door, supporting individual cellar door development/offering, and encouraging the growth of regional groupings/ clusters/trails.

“Research around the world highlights the economic importance of wine tourism and it is ideal for all sized vineyards to optimise their direct to consumer sales, show-off their brand and maximise profits,” said WineGB’s marketing manager, Julia Trustram Eve. “We want regions to develop their own self-funded tourism initiatives and will support them by promoting regional wine trails. The next phase of the website will be more consumerfocused and we will also be able to better direct tourism related media enquiries and will be looking to reach out to more travel press.”

As learning from others is an important aspect of building a successful cellar door facility, the WineGB Tourism Working Group will be launching a best practice paper, WineGB will be creating a marketing toolkit for members, and a series of conferences, workshops and talks are also in the pipeline.

British wine

Having spent decades trying to educate the public and press on the difference between English and Welsh and British wine, WineGB is now striving to “own the term “British” alongside other terms such as English and Welsh by encouraging its use especially for exports, and to develop brand guidelines.”

“It was time to take the word British back, to better protect it” said Julia. “We want to support its use by producers, particularly within export markets where it is a beneficial descriptor for our

wines. The long-term objective is to ban the use of the term British wine in relation to wine made from imported concentrate.”

It will be left up to a producer whether they use the term British wine, or not, and WineGB will continue to focus on the terms English and Welsh.

WineGB will be producing brand guidelines and a glossary for producers and there will be clear definitions to communicate effectively with the press, trade and consumers.

Still wines

To continue to “support the growing importance of still wines”, WineGB will be looking at the exciting prospects and potential of the still wine sector, the category’s role in the UK wine industry and how it can capitalise on the success of traditional method sparkling wines.

“There was a lot of interest in still wines following the 2018 vintage and there are more press articles talking about still red wines too,” said Julia. “There is diversity in the range and still wines provide many of the things that consumers are looking for such as small production, fresh in style, with moderate alcohol levels.”

While there has already been more focus on specific varieties, such as Bacchus, and regions such as East Anglia, WineGB has decided that still wine in the UK is in too early a stage to focus on these as routes for consumers.

“We are planning a consultation process around this in the next year,” said Julia. “In the meantime, we will continue to promote initiatives which include and target still wines, such as Richard Banfield’s Bacchus tasting, and we will ensure that there is a presence for still wines in our own activities and communications.”

The generic marketing strategy objectives will be put into place alongside the membership organisation’s overall role and responsibility to improve visibility and knowledge about English and Welsh wines to create demand.

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GRAPE GROWING

Uncorking the opportunities Innovation in UK viticulture discussed at Agri-TechE event.

Growers and technologists gathered to discuss the opportunities for innovation and technology in UK viticulture at an event organised by Agri-TechE on 11 February 2020 at the Cambridge Science Park.

The networking meeting was titled ‘Nothing to W(h)ine About – Uncorking the Opportunities for Innovation in Viticulture’. According to speakers climate change; technology designed to help change the way vineyards are managed and inform decision-making; and a focus by breeders on creating new varieties adapted for local conditions, promise rapid growth for the industry.

Identifying the best sites and varieties On the subject of red wine production in the UK, NIAB EMR is focusing on the potential of Divico, deemed by the research vineyard as one of the region’s most promising new red varieties. It is disease resistant and early ripening and 50-ha of plantings are planned for the next couple of years.

As global warming across Europe is placing pressure on traditional red wine regions, the cooler English climate may soon be more conducive to these varieties. At NIAB EMR, in East Malling, Kent, senior research scientist, Julien Lecourt, and his team are currently using the facility’s research vineyard to work on a project named ‘Britadapt’ in

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collaboration with the University of Bordeaux.

Forecasting which varieties of grape will be best for future viticulture in the UK, the project is looking at 13 varieties. Five of these varieties are already largely planted in the UK, with the other eight considered as not yet suitable for our climate, but are indicative of which varieties could be grown in the future. With the first harvest obtained in 2019, the data collated will be used to model the varieties which are going to be suitable for our climate.

Julien Lecourt, senior research scientist at NIAB EMR, explained that temperature rises are not going to make the UK the new Spanish Riviera: “Our climate is going to remain categorised as ‘cold/cool’ for viticulture and climate change predictions forecast more extreme events such as late frost. However, warmer temperatures can also mean higher diseases pressure.”

Speaking at the event, Dr Alistair Nesbitt, CEO of Vinescapes, said: “Projections are for warmer, drier summers. All else being equal this will aid viticulture in the UK and potentially open up the possibility of different wine styles and other varieties. The last 30 years have seen significant warming during the UK growing season, which is why we can now grow the marketable varieties, such as Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier.”

Looking at how technology and data can better inform growers on suitability of a vineyard site,

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Alastair led a report which assessed the areas of the UK that would be suitable for viticulture.

It identified that nearly 35,000 hectares across Kent, Sussex and East Anglia are not currently used for grape cultivation, but may offer advantages. In particular, East Anglia was highlighted for its low frost risk and significantly lower rainfall than the South East.

For East Anglian farmers looking at this data as an opportunity to diversify Alastair warned that: “Viticulture can be more profitable than some more commonly grown arable crops but much depends on quality, route to market and overall business structure.”

A viticulture suitability model for England and Wales has now been developed by Vinescapes. It uses a process called Fuzzy Logic to overlay high resolution datasets of topographic, soil, land use and climatic variables to identify and grade land suitability. To help decision-making the company also offers a Climate Vine service, which looks at the growing conditions in the vineyard.

Pest threat is growing

The withdrawal of chemicals and less acceptance of chemical treatments by consumers, heightens the need to breed varieties of grape that can tolerate disease pressures. This need also extends to improving pest resistance.

Speaking at the event, Claire Donkin, technical associate at Global Plant Genetics, commented that it is not only conditions for the plants themselves that are changing but also the background pests and diseases. With this, a multi-level approach is needed to give plants a healthy start and a robust resistance to environmental change.

“Nematodes are a major pest in vineyards – they feed on vine roots and compete with the roots for nutrition as well as causing damage and transmission of disease,” said Claire. “In short cycle crops they can be controlled through rotation, but in a long-term crop like grapes the populations can build rapidly, especially where ground is replanted.”

Claire warned that when the environment is good for the host, it is also good for the pest and the risks are increasing. There are six main groups of nematodes which feed on the root systems and transmit viruses that can reduce the plant’s ability to respond to stress. A recent

GRAPE GROWING

research study which carried out four random checks in the UK, found the Dagger nematode, that reduces the yield of Pinot noir by 80%, present at two of the sites.

While soil treatments are widely used in continental Europe to control pests, the chemicals are being withdrawn from use. There are a number of alternative approaches: ◆ Increasing diversity in cultivation ◆ Use of cover crops such as mustard ◆ Improving the resilience of the plant through irrigation and nutrition ◆ Using a rootstock that offers resistance to the nematodes.

“At Global Plant Genetics we are looking at improving the rootstock to enable resistance to phylloxera and nematodes,” said Claire. “This is a new development for the UK and we are working with growers to support future expansion.”

It was discussed that identifying actual disease risk and enabling a window for spraying will greatly improve profitability. Guy Thallon at FERA Science commented that a pilot of its virus spore monitoring system was able to give a warning 11 days before pathogen damage was visible on the leaf, providing evidence of a threat before spraying.

Other projects include the ‘Big Soil Community’, which is looking at the microbiology of the soil, taking a systems approach. Rather than attempting to identify all the microorganisms in a soil it is able to take a ‘fingerprint’ to give an index of soil health.

sugars are progressing and therefore support better decision-making at harvest.

“Using the tools to look at historical data we can clearly see that ripening dates have gradually shifted earlier and earlier over the last 20 years.

There is no doubt things are changing and the summers do appear to be getting hotter,” said Annie Landless of Vidacycle. “Certainly, the reality of climate change is that everything becomes less predictable and more extreme, so building resilience becomes more important. A healthy soil is the ultimate buffer and we encourage people to build soil health with regenerative agricultural practices to improve water retention and bioavailability of nutrients.”

Research informs winemaking Co-owner of Flint Vineyards, based in Norfolk, Ben Witchell told delegates that many of the early varieties of grapes grown in England are providing wines with subtleties superior to those of their German origins.

Flint, which focuses mainly on Bacchus and produces around 30,000 bottles a year, became the first winery to undertake sponsored research using gas chromatography and multispectrum analysis to understand the aromatic profile of wine.

The findings have already been used to inform cultivation and winemaking, for example the importance of skin contact during pressing in releasing aromas was revealed. Ben now uses inert gas to protect the volatile aromas from oxidation and other technologies are also employed in the vineyard, including electrostatic spraying, which uses charged droplets to reduce loss through dripping and reduce the water requirement and spray rate.

Multidisciplinary approach The networking meeting was organised by Agri-TechE, a business-focused membership organisation that is supporting the growth of a vibrant agri-tech cluster of farmers, food producers, food processors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs with the aim of accelerating innovation in agriculture.

“The improved quality of the product and the benefits it offers for carbon storage and regenerative agriculture are making viticulture an interesting option for growers,” said Dr Belinda Clarke, director of Agri-TechE. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think there is a reluctance from farmers to invest in new technology. The concern is more of the risk of it going wrong and the impact on the bottom line. The challenge is how to create a viable business model to support its adoption.”

Improving productivity Turning to data driven vineyard management and looking at how technology which improves productivity can help profitability Annie Landless spoke about Vidacycle’s Sectormentor software.

The collection of tools is already enabling more informed decision-making in the vineyard, with the Ripeness Indicator highlighted for its ability to enable the winemaker and vineyard manager to compare the ripeness curve between different sites, in real-time, to see how the acids and

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GRAPE GROWING

A cut above the rest The wet weather failed to dampen spirits at the UK’s second annual vine pruning competition, which was held on 28 February 2020 at Tinwood Estate in Halnaker, West Sussex.

Viticulturists from across the South East gathered to battle it out for the prestigious awards of individual and team pruning champions of the year. Alongside the friendly rivalry, the annual event provided a wonderful opportunity to catch up with fellow growers and suppliers, while enjoying a well-earned day away from the estate.

In an industry where much of the of emphasis is placed on winemakers, who usually get all the glory as the ‘rock stars’ of the wine world, the pruning

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competition shines a light on the viticulturists, the ‘roadies’, who supply the quality grapes which are vital for great wine production. The brainchild of Stephen Skelton, MW, industry consultant and chair of Wines of Great Britain’s (WineGB) Viticultural Advisory Group, the pruning competition follows a tradition found in many other major wine growing regions around the world.

The WineGB event was once again organised with substantial support from James Dodson at VineWorks and Tony Purdie, vineyard manager at Yotes

Court. Both the individual, a new category for 2020, and the team events were oversubscribed with only one last minute drop out due to the appalling weather forecast.

In the individual class, 10 pruners including Adam Foden, Ben Conner, Blago Dishkov, Debbie Buckley, Dragos Nitu, Ian Spiers, Matt Strover, Philip Harris, Stephen Skelton and Tom English, went head-tohead. In the team event, 10 groups of three from Chapel Down, Davenport, Gusbourne, Plumpton Warriors, Ridgeview, Tinwood and Vine-Works

battled it out for the coveted Champion Team Trophy, which was hand crafted last year by Billy Turner, Hush Heath’s assistant estate manager, from one of the first vines planted there in 2002.

Each competitor and team of three was given a single bay of five vines to prune, pull out and tie down, being judged for proficiency, accuracy and speed in the process. Led by Tony Purdie, the judging panel included Duncan McNeill, McNeill Vineyard Management, Paul Tuteirihia, NIAB EMR, Darryl Kemp, Simpsons, Luke Wolfe, Whitewolf Estates, Ben Fleer, MDCVUK and Sam Barnes, SJ Barnes and NP Seymour.

Following last year’s format, each bay was judged blind, with pruners being graded on different criteria such as cane and spur selection, cutting technique and cane tying and trimming. Competitors were timed, but it was definitely not a simple race against the clock, with speed only equating to one fifth of the overall score.

“The standards this year were great and

considering they were pruning well-established vines everyone did incredibly well,” said organiser and judges’ steward Tony Purdie. “There are always some bays which are exceptional and that is where they get the marks. The judging was a bit harder this year and I am grateful to all the judges. It was a bit of organised chaos because paper and rain don’t really mix, but we have done everything accurately.

I was really impressed with the enthusiasm shown by all the contestants and it might look easy, but even for those with years of experience, pruning in a competition is quite intimidating especially with onlookers and judges ready to critique your work.”

Alongside a nominal entrance fee, the event was generously sponsored by Vineyard magazine, NFU’s Haywards Heath branch, secateurs manufacturer Felco, who were supported at the event by UK agent NP Seymour, vine post suppliers, Hadley Group, vineyard equipment manufacturer, Gripple, and nursery, Pépinières Tourette.

“Felco are renowned for its secateurs and it was

> Team winners: Davenport - Philip Harris, Tom English and Ben Connor

> Individual pruner: Dragos Nitu from Gusbourne, Kent

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GRAPE GROWING great to see so many competitors using their Felco tools,” said Claire Seymour, partner of NP Seymour, Felco’s UK agent. “They are a premium brand and it is great for them to be involved in the UK pruning competition and to see so much support from them for our viticulture industry. Today has been fantastic, it has been great to watch the competitors and to catch up with so many familiar faces.”

As well as facilitating some impressive prizes, sponsors’ support meant that post-match competitors and team supporters were able to catch up and relax over a pint, supplied by Bedlam Brewery, and a hog roast.

“The weather has been atrocious but everyone is in such high spirits,” said organiser James Dodson, Vine-Works. “The social aspect of the competition is just as important as the pruning. The vineyard team is often forgotten, with winemakers being in the main spotlight, so the event has been designed to allow viticulturists to get together to have a bit of fun and socialise. It is testament to what we do in the UK to have such high attendance in such poor weather.”

The 2020 champions The first event of the day was the individual competition, sponsored by Vineyard magazine.

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Second and third place were awarded to Philip Harris and Ben Connor, respectively, from Davenport Vineyard, last year’s winning team. Both were presented with a Felco goody bag and £125 for second and £75 for third.

The inaugural winner of the UK pruning competition’s individual category was Dragos Nitu from Gusbourne, Kent. Judges commented that Dragos scored very highly in the technical sections, showing his good understanding of fundamental aspects of grapevine pruning.

After being presented with £250 and a Felco goody bag, which included a set of Felco 8 secateurs, a holster, a saw and a diamond coated sharpener, Dragos commented on his victory: “I am very proud; I didn’t expect to come first. I think the timing was important but so was the quality. It wasn’t that difficult but it is very different when you are put in another vineyard.”

Publisher of Vineyard magazine, sponsor of the individual pruning event, Jamie McGrorty said: “Congratulations to Dragos on being crowned the UK’s first individual pruning champion, and well done to everyone who competed in what were quite challenging weather conditions. Vineyard magazine’s sister publication South East Farmer has always supported ploughing matches, which started

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life as a chance for local farmers to showcase their workers’ ploughing skills. It is incredibly exciting to see an event based on the same principles being held for viticulturists and we hope the pruning competition continues to be a key social date in the vineyard diary.”

In the team competition, sponsored by the NFU’s Haywards Heath branch, third place was awarded to Vine-Works, who took home £75 and a Felco goody bag each which included a set of Felco 8 secateurs.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Matt Strover said: “We chose our fastest and best pruners to be in the team event. The pruning certainly looked well and we have all been practicing, being out pruning everyday since the beginning of January.

We are used to seeing lots of different vineyards and generally our teams are used to pruning in the way which the customer wants, so in theory they are well adapted to having a specification to follow. The whole day has been good fun and everyone is in good humour despite the weather.”

Second place in the team event was awarded to Gusbourne’s first team, who were presented with £125 and a Felco goody bag each. Vineyard manager of Gusbourne, Jon Pollard, said he was proud of all three of Gusbourne’s teams.

“Our teams have been doing a fair bit of practice

GRAPE GROWING over the last few days and are pretty happy with what they have done today,” said Jon. “When you are standing out there in the driving wind and rain, it is hard to get a feel for how everyone else is getting on but I certainly think it was an evenly pitched competition. Despite the weather there was such a good atmosphere. It is a brilliant event for the industry because some of the vineyard workers can be quite isolated from the industry and it is important that they get to meet people from other estates, see how other people prune, and generally have a chat with other viticulturists.”

Finally, Davenport’s team, Philip Harris, Ben Connor and Tom English, were, for the second year running, crowned the overall winners. As well as proudly retaining their title, taking home the Champion Team Trophy for another 12 months, Davenport were also awarded £250 and a Felco goody bag for each member of the team.

The second quickest team this year, just 27 seconds behind Vine-Works who finished their bay in just 6 minutes and 21 seconds, Davenport were awarded the high scores across the board for cane selection, spur selection and cutting technique, with judges commenting that Davenport’s bay of vines really “stood out” from the rest.

Commenting on the team’s success, Philip Harris,

"Many growers in the UK are now focused on gentle pruning methods"

vineyard manager at Davenport said: “It is a really nice feeling and such a surprise; it has been a surprise to win both years. There are only a few of us, we are a tight bunch and we had a good time. We have had to change our pruning style for this competition, because the judges want slightly different things, so, normally we wouldn’t leave a spur unless it was on the sap flow. It is a great day out and we have really enjoyed it. We have been practising a little bit at work, but once we were here it was so different and once you start pruning everything goes out of the window. We are just a small team and winning is such a lovely feeling.”

Teammate Tom English added: “We are just a bunch of mates who enjoy working together. We have fun every day at work and the fact that we can come and meet people and have a bit of friendly competition with other people in the industry is brilliant. It is all we could ask for really.”

The third member of the team Ben Connor commented: “I really enjoyed the event. It is about coming out to do what we do for a large chunk of the year, but in a competition. It is great to come away with some prizes.”

Sponsor of the team pruning event was NFU Mutual, Haywards Heath branch. Annie Streeter, viticulture and specialist insurance agent for the NFU Mutual commented: “Well done to everyone who took part in the 2020 UK pruning competition and congratulations to Davenport; what an impressive achievement to have retained the title as team champions for the second year running. I was thrilled to be asked to sponsor the UK pruning competition. In support of the industry, the NFU Mutual is an official partner of WineGB and the Haywards Heath branch has a long-standing relationship with Vine-Works. As viticultural insurance specialists, we are committed to supporting growers and are proud to work closely with some of the English wine producers, who competed in the event, as their insurance providers.”

It was also announced at the event that Philip Harris has been invited to represent the UK at the inaugural international vine pruning contest, organised by Felco for its 75th anniversary.

“Being invited to compete on a world stage and to represent our UK wine industry is an incredible honour,” said Philip. “I can’t wait to be up against the world’s best and I expect the competition to be fierce. It will be a great experience.”

Philip will be competing against top pruning experts from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the USA. “The fact that Philip Harris has been invited to compete at the international pruning competition is amazing and it is once again helping to put UK viticulture on the map,” said Julia Trustram Eve, marketing manager at Wines of Great Britain. “It is great that we are hosting the sort of events which have been happening on the international scene for

many years and that is enabling us to show what our viticulturists are capable of.”

The international pruning event, which was due to be held on 10 March 2020 in Switzerland, has sadly been postponed due to the coronavirus. In a statement Felco said: “In light of the current European and global epidemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the uncertainty linked to the global spread of the virus, as well as cases detected in Switzerland, Felco has the responsibility to anticipate risks to our employees, subsidiaries, partners and visitors. In this type of situation, it is best to side with safety, and caution must be applied, especially as over 70 international guests and 150 Swiss based guests planned to travel to the Neuchâtel region. For these reasons Felco has taken the decision to postpone the international pruning competition.”

The future While the UK pruning competition was organised to celebrate the industry’s talented and hardworking vineyard technicians, it is also hoped that the results of the competition will help to promote industry wide improvement.

The most important task of the year, pruning needs to carried out correctly and efficiently to help secure a long-term, sustainable and good yielding vineyard.

With many growers in the UK now focused on gentle pruning methods, chief judges’ steward Tony Purdie said that future competitions may be adapted.

“Next year we will be looking for another good venue to make sure all the regions are covered,” said Tony. “The WineGB Viticultural Advisory Group will once again put our heads together to look at the pruning styles and whether this can be updated. A lot of competitors follow gentle pruning methods, which follows the sap flow and organic growth of the vine, but they have to revert to old pruning methods to compete in this event. I think we need to develop a contest around those new principles because the gentle approach really makes the best sense in the UK where wood disease is one of the biggest viticulture issues. In a year like this, for instance, everyone is suffering. If you are painting your wounds it is difficult to cover them with paint and if you normally spray you can’t get into the fields with any equipment.”

Going forward, the organisers of the UK pruning competition and the WineGB Viticultural Advisory Group are hoping to host a pruning seminar to look at the different systems as well as the best techniques for UK conditions.

“We are also hoping to further expand the competition, possibly developing more of a national event, where machinery suppliers could showcase the latest vineyard equipment,” said James. “We also want to get more people involved but to progress the competition we really do need more support with the administration and organisation.

We know we can build on it, and will just see how it grows each year.”

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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The 2020 UK pruning competition was held at Tinwood Estate in West Sussex by kind permission of Art Tukker and family.

Vineyard magazine caught up with Art, secondgeneration farmer and viticulturist, to find out more about the estate.

“The competitors have been pruning our oldest block of vines,” said Art Tukker. “These Chardonnay were planted in 2007 on fields which my father, also called Art, used to grow Iceberg lettuce for Sainsbury’s and Asda. The vineyard is rather flat, in comparison to other vineyards, we are about 30-metres above sea-level. It is a good location for the pruning competition because the vine vigour is pretty consistent throughout, so there is even pegging for competitors.”

With one-metre of flint and gravel sitting on top of pure chalk, Art pointed out that despite the wet weather over the last few months, the vineyard has remained rather dry, with very few people sporting muddy wellies.

The farm, which used to extend to over a few thousand acres with rented ground dotted around the Chichester plains, now comprises 65-acres of Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier, with another 25-acres due to be established in two months’ time. The remaining 160-acres is planted with potatoes, and for the first time this year, coriander, which is farmed in partnership with other growers.

“We diversified because growing fresh produce and supplying the supermarkets was hectic and demanding,” said Art. “Now we just have 250-acres and the vineyard is our main focus. A farm of this size wouldn’t be able to survive in today’s agricultural climate, so the vines have given an important lifeline for the farm. Viticulture is an incredibly expensive thing to start up and because it takes a long time to establish you need to be passionate about it. For us, it was really important that we had a customer for the fruit before any of the vines went into the ground.”

In 2006, before they planted, the Tukkers approached Ridgeview and Mike Roberts advised on which vines the estate wanted. Over the last 15 years, Tinwood and Ridgeview have developed a close working relationship and Art believes that this has helped drive the quality of the fruit.

“Matt Strugnell walks the vines with me and Simon Roberts will visit just before harvest too,” said Art. “If we didn’t have Ridgeview, we wouldn’t be

The host Tinwood Estate, West Sussex looking as we are today. They know exactly what’s going on and it was that long-term relationship which we were looking for. We have approached the vineyard from a farming point of view and we didn’t want to be in a position where we didn’t know where the fruit was going approaching harvest. The business has to wipe its own face and so we focus on producing high quality fruit. For that you need quality equipment, a quality team to operate that and a good winemaker at the end of the process.”

In his approach to viticulture, Art realises that it is important to constantly adapt because there is no set recipe for growing grapes in the UK. “When we first started, we didn’t have much experience and there weren’t as many people in the industry, I did the intensive viticulture course at Plumpton College,” said Art, who had previously studied agriculture at Wye College. “I have found the vineyard managers’ meetings very useful and we read textbooks, but they don’t give you much information about your specific vineyard. That only comes with experience and now we have 13 years’ practise we are trying new things.”

Three years ago, after seeing a Californian field trial on Pinot noir, Art imported a Clemens agro thermal machine which is used to blast hot air onto the vines during flowering to improve fruit set and to decrease disease.

“It is difficult to look at results because every year since has been so different,” said Art. “In 2017, 18 and 19 we had three really good years for flowering and we are expecting the machine to make more difference when we have wet, cold weather. It is driven up and down the rows every two weeks and then during flowering it is driven up and down every four days. So far, we have found that it is bringing our harvest forwards and last year we were able to start picking around 25 September and had finished by 3 October, which was a huge benefit.”

Tinwood is also moving away from the use of herbicide and while there used to be completely bare soil under the vines, Art is now running some cover crop trials with a grass and chicory blend and legumes in alternate rows.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

“The cover crops include buckwheat, forage rape, stubble turnips, phacelia, and oxeye daisy which we will swap with the grass and chicory every two to three years,” said Art. “The soil has certainly become looser and as soon as you put a spade in the ground (which is a lot easier now) you do see the earthworms and the soil is more alive.

We are seeing that, over time, our fruit is getting better and we are certainly becoming better at growing.”

As well as sending fruit to Ridgeview to be used in its range of award-winning wines, Tinwood has 20% of its own wine returned for its tours and tastings. This new cellar door facility, in which the pruning competition was held, was opened on 1 June 2019 allowing the estate to host a wide range of events and wine tourism experiences.

“Tourism, which is looked after by my wife Jodie, is very much a big part of our business,” said Art. “We are in a good location and are open seven days a week. Three years ago we put up three accommodation pods which point directly over the vineyard. The idea is that people can sit on their own private deck and watch the sunset with a glass of wine.”

Having recently welcomed his son Jake into the world, just three weeks ago, Art is now hopeful that there will be a third generation interested in taking up viticulture.

“I really hope Jake will want to be involved in the vineyard, because that is every farmers’ dream,” said Art. “It is a way of life, and you have to love and enjoy it. To be able to grow something and have something to show at the end of the season is very rewarding.”

Competing in the team event, Tinwood’s crew was made up of Art’s best pruners, Helder Santos, Marcio Silva, and Miguel Almeida who have all been pruning on the estate for six years.

“This is the first year we have entered,” said Art. “The team have never approached pruning like this before. They did very well, and were focused on speed, but there is a lot more pressure than normal.”

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Ma

Ber r y ma ew n tth

Look beyond land quality What is the perfect vineyard site?

We all know the prerequisites for vines to thrive – south-facing, less than 300 feet above sea level, high average temperatures, low frost risk and free draining soils.

Often less appreciated is the fact that a successful vineyard has other requirements nearly as important as the quality of the land. Key among these are the buildings.

At its simplest, a vineyard established solely for grape production will require at least one building to house machinery and other ancillary items necessary for vine management.

If a winery is to be established, possibly with tourism facilities such as a restaurant, tasting centre and shop, the requirements can increase significantly – and this is where it starts to potentially get complicated.

There are all sorts of factors to consider. Is the land in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a Green Belt or a Conservation Area?

What’s the local planning authority’s track record on supporting rural development? Has there been adverse planning history on the site previously?

The list goes on.

Simply erecting a new building for machinery storage could well be possible under permitted development rights, where the development is less than 1,000 m2, as long as the ‘agricultural need’ can be justified.

However if the site is in, for example, Green Belt, then the planning procedure can become complicated. Permitted development rights may still apply, but if for example the objective is to build a new winery then this may not be possible where planning policy may well be opposed to any type of new build.

So if the objective of the business is multi-stranded to include a winery and tourism facilities, the perfect site to acquire might include a range of existing buildings, already either fit for purpose or which can be adapted. In Green Belt, converting an existing building (which may allow for extending it) is more straightforward than attempting to put up a brand-new structure.

The range and types of buildings required for a modern, first-class viticulture enterprise could be extensive. Accommodation might be required for staff. Wine might need to be stored – and in large volumes. Sparkling wine produced with a traditional method will, of course, require storage for a minimum of three years and, if the vineyard is large, this space requirement can be considerable.

Access is another key issue. Is the local road network and the access on to the site suitable, especially if the business will generate a high volume of traffic?

If not, can a new access point be established which meets the authorities’ requirements?

Even access around the site is important. It’s good if the land already includes a network of tracks suitable for year-round movement, but in the absence of internal roadways, planning consent for these may be required. Again, this may be possible under permitted development, but with a limit of 1,000 m2 every two years, then this may not be sufficient to meet the need.

Planning can even be an issue for the establishment of the vines, which can come as a surprise to many. If the land is classified as unimproved grass and has been in for 15 years or more, then there could be a need for an Environmental Impact Assessment before cultivations can even begin. If the land is located within a conservation area the local authority may take an unwelcome interest.

While all of these factors can be overcome – and land availability will probably not by itself hold back further rapid expansion in the sector – finding the right site is often far more complicated than newcomers to the sector sometimes imagine.

The industry was buoyed by the 2018 University of East Anglia research, estimating there was potentially more than 30,000 hectares in England and Wales suitable for viticulture. After all, with about 4,000 hectares currently under vine, that suggests there is a huge number of potential sites still available.

But factor in the considerations about buildings and access and the area quickly shrinks. Remember, too, that viticulture-suitable land is often part of a larger holding or in the middle of a farm meaning the owner may be reluctant to sell it.

Some landowners may be prepared to lease sites but this is not always straightforward. Those establishing vineyards want long (25-year or longer) leases, with potentially complicated arrangements covering such areas as early surrender, first refusal for purchase, valuations of tenant’s improvements and building requirements.

So identifying and acquiring sites that tick all the boxes will become ever more challenging and ever more essential. The truly perfect site – especially if you want to avoid potentially long and expensive dealings with the planning authorities – involves looking far beyond simply finding a piece of land that slopes in the right direction.

VINEYARD CONSULTANTS • • • • •

Planning Applications Site Finding Site aquisition Leases Grants

Call Matthew Berryman on 07710 765323 or email matthew@c-l-m.co.uk www.c-l-m.co.uk M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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C h r is B

GRAPE GROWING

y k le

The vine post

uc

Is your trellis ready for machinery this season?

Over the course of a vineyard’s life, it is inevitable that labour costs will increase as the vineyard requires ongoing attention and more management.

Finding ways to mechanise tasks can help stabilise these costs over an extended period of time and potentially even reduce expenses where activities can be assisted or complemented by machine. Mechanisation cannot replace hand labour in all tasks, but it can allow the replacement of seasonal labour in some areas. However, it is important to ensure your trellising system is suitable and durable enough to withstand mechanisation.

The most common activities that can be either fully mechanised or assisted with mechanisation are: pre-pruning of vines, removal of prunings, leaf removal, vine trimming and to a very minor extent in this country harvesting.

A strong, high-quality trellis system is paramount for coping with large levels of crop load and for withstanding minor scrapes by tractors or other equipment. A strongly supported grapevine can facilitate growth of a canopy that provides uniform growth and sunlight penetration. Metal hot-dipped galvanised posts of a gauge of 1.5mm for intermediates and 2.5mm for end posts are ideal for this purpose. They afford a rigid structure, are durable and narrow enough that they don’t intrude into the alley and impede operations.

Trellis system checklist: Metal or fibreglass

Use robust stable rods to provide resistance to sensor bars when using inter-vine cultivators and weeding implements. This is particularly crucial in a vineyard’s younger years until the trunk is fully formed.

Broken/damaged posts

Replacement or repair of broken and damaged posts will mean that damaged posts are unlikely to hinder mechanical operations. After pruning and before tying down is the best time to

36

conduct most major repairs as they are easily visible once the canopy has dropped.

Height of posts The majority of vineyard intermediate posts are 2.5m in length and it is recommended that these are installed 0.7m into the ground for maximum stability. Making sure that these posts are uniform in height throughout the vineyard will reduce impact and damage with machinery that operates over the row.

End post assemblies Installation of sturdy end assemblies, (appropriate anchors and secure tie backs to support the end posts) are requisite for providing sufficient support for a strong structural trellis system.

Tension of wires One key aspect of the trellising system that will require regular attention is the wire. The fruiting and foliage wires must be kept tight. Reducing the amount of slack fruiting and foliage wires is imperative to support the vine and canopy, but also to improve the effectiveness of using mechanical implements, reducing breakages. This is typically achieved through the use of chains and hangers to tension on metal and wood posts and with Gripple attachments for the fruiting wire; the Gripple Tensioning Tool is ideal for this purpose.

By regularly checking your trellising system and maintaining it to the highest standards, you are giving your vines the best opportunity to grow to their full potential, reducing maintenance and potentially saving on hand labour costs throughout the season.

"Finding ways to mechanise tasks can help stabilise costs"

 www.vine-works.com paper-plane, sales@vine-works.com  01273 891777 M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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James Martin

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13:52:39 M A R C H 2 0 2 0 | V I N05/03/2020 E YA R D

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AGRONOMY

Rose by

Soil biology revolution: The future vineyard

Ab

The Vidacycle team uncover the secrets behind building good soil health.

As we established in our soil biology article last month - microorganisms in the soil are extremely helpful as they can dissolve insoluble nutrients in the soil below and bring them to the plant in a soluble form. Microorganisms also secrete glues and slimes which hold the soil structure together, forming aggregates – the structural basis of healthy soil. We also highlighted that traditional soil lab tests do not effectively test how good the soil biology is and what nutrients your plants really have access to. So together with farmers and leading soil scientists we’ve curated a series of simple tests that enable farmers to investigate the biology in their soils. The tests include measuring earthworm populations, the diversity of the plants above ground, % bare soil, and a Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). You can find a protocol for how to do these tests on our website vines.vidacycle.com. These soil health tests are similar to the Visual Soil Assessment Guidelines for Vineyards released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

This month we wanted to give you an example of how these soil health tests are being used in the UK. Our software, Sectormentor for Vines, makes it easy to setup sampling sites to do

38

these tests and then record and benchmark your results. The beauty of gps-located soil sample sites is that you only need a few sites across a large acreage to learn about how your soils are responding to management practices. As long as you return to the same location year after year you can understand from trends how your soil is responding – what works and doesn’t work to build soil health at your site – and then your soil observations can quickly be translated into management decisions.

Vineyard management company, Vine-Works, have been trialling different mixes of cover crops with diverse root systems between their vines on their home vineyard - Bee Tree - in an attempt to improve soil biology. They wanted to understand the effect different mixes and sewing times have on soil structure and biology. They started using Sectormentor to monitor the soils at their vineyard choosing sample sites to assess soil health based on the different cover crops.

By comparing between different rows that were next to each other but had been managed slightly differently they were immediately able to see some stark differences in how the soil was structured and stored water. One row where the cover crop (sewed last Spring) had never taken, performed significantly worse than

 vines.vidacycle.com paper-plane info@vidacycle.com  07952 005864

the neighbouring row with a cover crop that was well established from the year before - the infiltration time was longer and soil structure more compacted and blocky. They could see the impact the living roots were having in building soil biology. These simple observations have already caused Vine-Works to change their management strategy. It’s clear that actually a healthy cover crop is vital between rows, so they decided to prioritise planting their cover in Autumn to give it plenty of chance to establish and reduce the risk of compacting and eroding the soil. It will be interesting to see how the soil differs when they look again later this year after replanting the cover crop in Autumn.

After experimenting on their own vineyard, Vine-Works have just started to include soil health testing with Sectormentor as part of their Technical Scouting Service. The next agricultural revolution is the biological and regenerative revolution. If you want to be part of the future of viticulture and farming then building soil health through regular observation, experimentation and learning from visual soil assessments must be one of your top priorities.

Rob S

ders un

Agronomy diary

Ch

Keeping air moving prevents cold air pockets forming around vines, minimising the risk of frost developing.

Frost fans, frost busters, heated fruiting wires and bougies (frost candles or “smudge pots”) all reduce frost damage, but are capital and timeintensive.

per Coo

Manage cold air

r

is

Five steps to mitigate frost damage.

Spring frosts can be very damaging to vineyards, but it is possible to reduce the risks with careful planning, as Hutchinsons’ Chris Cooper and Rob Saunders explain.

Recent winters may have become milder and less severe, but late frosts still pose a significant risk to vineyards.

Yield can be lost through damage to primary bunch inflorescences, giving uneven grape maturity where a proportion of the crop arises from primary buds and the rest from secondary or tertiary buds. Tertiary and secondary bunches add cost as they generally need hard thinning later in the year to enhance ripening potential for a timely harvest.

Three years ago, some areas experienced early bud break following a mild winter and severe frosts during late April into May saw some vineyards report 30-40% yield loss.

Vines are at greatest risk of frost damage from mid-April to mid-May as inflorescences emerge, before setting fruit in June/July.

Careful site selection reduces frost risk, but doesn’t eliminate it, especially when unpredictable advection frosts occur. Focus on combining small actions that together reduce the impact.

a

Of the fan systems, SIS-type vertical displacement fans offer varying success. They are positioned where cold air pools and expel air from the top of the unit, to keep air moving and are generally quieter than horizontal-axis, diesel-powered, tower fans and don’t require the constant driving of frost busters.

On sloping sites, the most economical method is to leave a decent sized headland, create openings in hedges/undergrowth at the bottom of slopes, particularly if there is a water flow, and let cold air drain away naturally.

Bougies can be sited and lit during risk periods, though practicalities limit the areas that can be managed. It may be worth notifying the local fire brigade and neighbours of their use to avoid unnecessary call-outs.

common in vineyards being Pseudomonas syringae.

It is thought that a small copper application, such as Headland Copper (copper oxychloride), to vulnerable shoots before the main frost risk period can reduce the presence of ice-nucleating bacteria, thereby reducing the likelihood of frost forming.

Control vegetation

Boost plant health

Long grass impedes cold air drainage, so cutting alleyway grass short improves airflow through sites. Keeping herbicide strips weed-free underneath the vines maximises heat radiation from the bare soil surface.

Controlling vegetation could also help reduce ice-nucleating bacteria that migrate from herbage onto emerging vine tissue in spring.

Reduce icenucleating bacteria Ice crystals initially form around impurities, and one of the most common in nature is the ice-nucleating bacteria found on green vegetation and woody material. Six bacteria are known to catalyse frost formation; the most

Improving the concentration of sugars and salts (solutes) in and around buds reduces frost risk by lowering the freezing point of the solution within those cells.

Biostimulant feeds, such as Maxicrop, Kelpak or Megafol, are all useful in achieving this aim especially with the addition of Wetcit. Equally, if frost damage has occurred, they can help plants repair damaged tissue and/or stimulate replacement bud growth.

An example programme may be to apply Headland Copper at 200 ml/100 litres as frost risk approaches, then Megafol at 250 ml/100 litres immediately prior to frost, followed by Kelpak 250 ml/100 litres after seven days with Wetcit in the second and third sprays.

Cane management

Late pruning delays bud break slightly, so leave the most frost-prone areas until last.

Leaving sacrificial canes, or laying down extra cane length during pruning, are other options, as is delaying tying down canes so bud contact with wires is reduced.

Retaining more buds than vines can support gives some flexibility in case buds are lost to frost. If little or no damage occurs, go back to prune or rub-out excess buds and/or complete tying down once frost risk has passed to manage canopy density, airflow and crop load.

The cost of any intervention must be weighed against the probability and likely extent of crop loss, labour availability and vine growth stage.

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39

Jul ian

AGRONOMY

ar

A challenging start

Se

le

It’s been a wet and warm winter and unusually so.

Unless temperatures fall we can expect bud burst in vines before the end of the month.

Statistics from the Met office about the weather, if we should need them, are illuminating: In southerly grape growing regions rainfall was circa 170% of ‘normal’. February took the prize; rainfall totals were well above average everywhere, with many places recording more than three times the average. It was the wettest February (and fifth wettest of any month) in a series from 1862; the UK figure was 237% of average.

In agricultural terms excess winter rainfall (EWR) is of interest. EWR is the amount of rainfall the land receives after the soil profile becomes fully wetted in the autumn (field capacity) and before the end of drainage in the spring (around the end of March). In most southerly regions this has been given as high – over 250mm EWR. The impact on our vineyards and our operations is significant. Early interventions to remove prunings, control weeds under the vine and prepare new ground for planting on many sites isn’t an option and in other Top and Soft fruit crops necessary early crop protection is delayed.

A feature of wet winters is the loss of soil nutrients from leaching. Nitrogen is poorly held and on lighter soils other nutrients too. Yield in some vineyards has been good for two seasons; couple that with winter losses and you should expect some nutrient depletion. Review your nutritional requirements in readiness to apply when ground conditions improve. Analyse the soil every three years and apply P, K, Mg accordingly or a maintenance dressing with something like Agrii Fruit50. Nitrogen is as important as any

40

UK statistical summary Mean temperature

Rainfall

Sunshine

The provisional mean value is 5.3°C, which is 1.6°C above the 19812010 average

The provisional total is 470mm, which is 143% of the 1981-2010 average

The provisional total is 164 hours, which is 104% of the 1981-2010 average

> Met Office: UK mean winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) values record that overall this was the fifth mildest winter in a series from 1884 and the fifth wettest since 1862 other element and is needed for every cycle of production – healthy wood, leaf, canopy and yield.

As with all nutrients it is best applied to the soil and pre-flowering to moist soils that can absorb it.

Long term, raising soil organic content by planting cover crops and/or applying compost or organic fertilisers has cost saving benefits for both the grower and the environment – helping to reduce nutrient leaching and maintaining a healthy soil structure. The release of nitrogen from organic matter (mineralisation) is slow and takes place over a period of months to years. For every percent soil organic matter content over a low to average level (<4%), 10kg nitrogen per hectare may be held over the winter and released for cropping so that at circa 8% content this represents the annual requirement for vines.

Plant roots in soils that have been at field capacity for prolonged periods will be damaged and in this situation some root death can be

expected. Where vines are unable to adequately absorb nutrients from the soil, foliar nutrient applications become more important and may be prudent this spring.

Controlling over wintering weed cover wasn’t possible in the autumn and effective cultivation conditions may be delayed. In this situation early use of glyphosate comes into its own to reduce crop competition. The current EU licence for glyphosate expires on 15 December 2022, so we have it for three more seasons.

Be prepared for early bud break, frost protection where possible and first spray treatments.

Eriophyid mite damage leading to bud blindness, unfruitfulness and weak canopies was a significant problem on some sites last season and a common incidence in many. The spray timing to control it is early and very specific.

Please get in touch with your Agrii contact for more information.

 www.agrii.co.uk  08456 073322 paper-plane julian.searle@agrii.co.uk M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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OvinAlp in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, close to Sisteron: a high-tech factory in the heart of the mountains, close to flocks of sheep

Ov is the main active principle in OvinAlp, obtained through solid biofermentation of the organic matter under the action of microbial flora naturally present in the sheep manure for 12 months. This allows enrichment of the product into stable humus while guaranteeing complete sanitation and unbeatable sanitary quality.

0.04

TrCBM indicates the rate of stable organic matter (humus) remaining in the soil in the long term

Please get in touch with your usual Agrii agronomist for more information, or contact our Customer Services Team on 0845 607 3322 You can also email us direct at fruit.solutions@agrii.co.uk

@AgriiUK www.agrii.co.uk M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

41

ns t io ra Ma nager

Representing you

Cowderoy Op o e J

Working in partnership with Vineyard Magazine for a developing UK wine industry.

WineGB is the national trade body representing the vine growers and winemakers of Great Britain from the largest producers to small hobbyists.

Our members work together with the organisation to develop strategy, expertise and marketing opportunities for long-term, sustainable success.

What WineGB is up to: WineGB Sustainability Scheme launched WineGB’s Sustainable Wines of Great Britain scheme was launched to members in late February at Denbies Wine Estate. Over 30 vineyards have signed up, including some of the largest producers to smaller and newly established vineyards and wineries, which between them account for nearly one third of the total acreage under vine in the UK. The accreditation scheme, to which the vineyards and producers have signed up, will proceed in the next few weeks with the first accredited vineyards being announced later in August. The first wines eligible to bear the SWGB logo will start to be available from next year. The founder members will be entitled to use the specially designed logo bearing ‘Founder Member’ in recognition of the part they have played in ensuring its successful launch.

The working group behind the scheme is headed up by Chris Foss, former Head of Plumpton College Wine Division. The group consists of wine professionals from within and outside the industry including vineyards, winemakers, viticulture and winemaking suppliers and from leading retailers.

The scheme’s mission is to encourage and enable the English and Welsh wine industry to become more sustainable.

The activity currently covers environmental conservation and biodiversity and more sustainable practices in the winery. Regular bulletins and updates are published to members along with the process of joining the scheme. We will be releasing more news about the scheme shortly.

If you are interested in wine production in the UK find out more about WineGB and join us. Visit our website www.winegb.co.uk

London Wine Fair – putting WineGB in the spotlight There has been an enthusiastic response to WineGB taking part in this year’s London Wine Fair (18-20 May). Importantly, there will be strong focus on the wine producers of England and Wales for the many visitors expected.

This is an important and popular show for the UK wine trade, and we suspect, many others from overseas. There will be a dedicated WineGB area for information, meetings and acting as a signpost to the producers that are exhibiting. For more information, contact the London Wine Fair direct or visit www.londonwinefair.com

WineGB social media WineGB has been growing its social media presence in the last months, and the results are showing. Since engaging our own in-house social media officer, Joana Albogas, we have seen a growth in followers and importantly engagement on a month-by-month basis across the three channels we use: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. What has been most impressive is the organic reach on each; we do not advertise, so rely on the response and reaction our posts receive.

Each channel speaks to different audiences, which in turn is increasing our reach to consumers, trade and influencers considerably. We are always on the look out for great photos and videos from members to use and share, always tagging and crediting, and of course engaging with each.

Please share your stories, events and photos with us.

Export: strengthening overseas sales of UK wines

42

Whilst the recent news that ProWein 2020 has had to be rescheduled due to coronavirus, WineGB’s export group and individual producers remain focussed on developing overseas markets. The primary market is the USA, where some 16 English producers are now exporting. Later in April member exporters will be hosting an inbound visit from trade members and influencers from New York and surrounding areas. The trade and media guests will be visiting a number of producers in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire to learn fully about the wines and get to know the producers.

Some great British hospitality will be enjoyed along the way and the aim is to create some great ambassadors for our industry and its wines and to start building the GB wine brand in this key market.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

Follow us on:

instagram facebook-square

@winegb

twitter-square

@wine_gb

2020 DIARY DATES Please check the online calendar for updates on the WineGB website.

20 April

Plumpton Wine Division Will bring together world renowned wine scientists from around the globe to contribute to a symposium entitled ‘The Perceptions of Wines in an established wine world’’.

28 April

WineGB AGM and Members’ Conference

Vintners Hall, London. Details will be posted on the website.

18-20 May

London Wine Fair, Olympia

Producers interested in exhibiting, please contact the London Wine Fair direct – Alex Booth a.booth@hgluk.com

May to August

A Summer of English Wine!

Kicking off 23 May, English Wine Week and Welsh Wine Week will be extended due to the increasing success of this annual event.

29 July

Gala Dinner to celebrate the success of the industry and present the WineGB awards and trophies Chelsea Old Town Hall, London.

Further details to be available shortly.

22-24 June

8 September

Led by Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke.

Entries will be open soon.

RHS Lindley Hall, London. The event gets bigger and busier each year.

WineGB Awards judging will take place

26 June

Wine Tourism Conference.

This will focus on maximising your cellar door sales and ensuring the best visitor experience.

FORTHCOMING SEMINARS, CONFERENCES AND TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR MEMBERS Our series of conferences and seminars for members covers a range of topics across the industry. Our popular business and marketing conference in January (reported in The Vineyard February edition) was well attended and will be followed by workshops around business development delivered to WineGB members on a regional basis. All speakers’ presentations are available on the members’ area of the WineGB website. The next events are:

Tuesday 24 March, London

WineGB annual trade and press tasting

19 November

WineGB Viticulture Technical Conference Denbies

Wine Estate, Surrey.

Tuesday 28 April, London WineGB Members’ AGM and Conference The AGM will take place in the morning together with reports from the Board and presentations from our industry Partners. The afternoon conference will include presentations on “How to sell your Wines”.

Wednesday 3 June, NIAB-EMR, East Malling Workshop on Weed Control

Stock Financing Seminar

Details to be published to members shortly.

WineGB is presenting a half day seminar for full members on stock financing. Speakers will include producers with experience of gaining stock finance and financiers/bankers who are either already involved or looking to enter the sector.

Friday 26 June, Denbies Wine Estate Wine Tourism Conference Details to be published to members shortly.

JOIN WINEGB

 01858 467792 paper-plane, office@winegb.co.uk  www. WineGB.co.uk M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

43

WINEMAKING

ru

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Optimise wine post-bottling development

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Part 1: Total package oxygen (TPO) and the importance of headspace oxygen.

TPO (mg/L)

In today’s rapid turnaround market, there is a growing interest towards winemaking practices that are able to give wines that are ready for drinking when they leave the production facility. However, even with these fast turnaround times, a period of several weeks or even months intervene typically between bottling and consumption of wine, during which wine sensory characteristics can change as a result of the different chemical reactions taking place. Overall, it is often said that wine reaches a balance after some time in the bottle, provided that adequate conditions exist, including having appropriate levels of oxygen.

The type of closure, and specifically its OTR (oxygen transmission rate) value is certainly a major factor contributing to oxygen exposure in the bottle. However, although very important, closure OTR is not the only factor influencing wine exposure to oxygen inside a sealed bottle. Figure 1 shows a set of data collected at different wineries by means of the oxo-luminescence-based Nomasense® oxygen analyzer, during bottling sessions using different bottling equipment and closure types. As can be seen, the amount of oxygen present at bottling, typically referred to as TPO (total package oxygen), can consist of several mg/L, in some cases reaching values close to 10 mg/L. Considering that closures currently existing on the market cover a range of approximately 0.55 mg O2/bottle/year, these values are equivalent to the amount of oxygen that will permeate through a closure over several years. It can therefore be deduced that TPO represents a highly significant component of the oxygen seen by a finished wine in its entire life. The following is aimed at showing the influence of TPO on wine evolution, illustrating how correct management of TPO is a key ingredient to achieve consistent post-bottling evolution.

A

44

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Dissolved and headspace: the components of TPO Figure 1 also shows, for each of the TPO measures taken, the split between dissolved oxygen (DO) and headspace oxygen (HSO). While DO is often higher than HSO, this cannot be generalized, as several instances were found where, in spite of a low DO, TPO was still high due to high HSO. This is of great interest, given that most wineries tend to rely on DO measures to assess their overall ability to keep oxygen under control. While this is correct for the monitoring of oxygen exposure throughout the winemaking process, when it comes to bottling performances the measurement of DO alone is obviously not sufficient anymore, and HSO should be taken into account.

From the data in Figure 1 it can be observed that too high TPO values can be common to all closure types, regardless of whether they are cylindrical (e.g. natural cork, agglomerated cork, synthetic co-extruded, injected molded) or screw cap. TPO values are linked to good conditions of storage and handling of the wine to minimize DO pickup prior to bottling, as well as to optimal functioning of inerting equipment at bottling. It seems therefore logical that the type of closure has a secondary influence on TPO. However, a trend seems to exist in this dataset, with screw caps always being affected by relatively higher HSO (average HSO for screw cap 3.66 mg/L, compared to 1.54 mg/L for other cylindrical and 1.27 mg/L for Nomacorc). This reflects probably the fact that, in screw capped bottles, headspace volume is much larger, and oxygen is more difficult to remove.

Additionally, the air trapped under the screw cap can be conveyed back into the bottleneck upon application of the cap, further contributing to higher HSO.

> Figure 1: TPO values measured at bottling for different types of closure, also showing the proportion of DO and HSO

HSO DO

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 www.BruniErben.co.uk  07805 081677 paper-plane, Mark.Crumpton@BruniErben.co.uk M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

Still wine corks

Nomacorc

From a practical point of view, excessive DO or HSO levels, although part of the same problem, have very different origins and require very different cures. Leaving aside issues of high DO related to inadequate storage and transfer conditions, DO levels in the bottle can often reflect oxygen pickup during bottling operation, for example at the level of individual filler heads. This can be the source of a relatively high variation in TPO at bottling, as can be observed in Figure 2.

Conversely, HSO values are linked to the performance of the inerting devices that are active on a bottling line (e.g. nitrogen sparging, vacuum, etc).

Malfunctioning of these devices can be rather common, but it is difficult to assess as it requires measuring the oxygen concentration in the headspace of a sealed bottle.

Bruni Erben can supply the complete range of closures to suit your needs and bottling requirements as well as the machinery and support to ensure precise and consistent bottling.

Read part 2 in the next issue

Screw cap

> Figure 2: Variations of DO observed on different filling heads of the same bottling line

1.6 1.4

DO (mg/L)

1.2

Approx 1 mg/L of difference

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0

6 9 29 4 8 5 7 17 24 3 2 20 26 30 18 27 10 14 25 19 22 28 1 21 23 16 15

Filling head number

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

45

The coming of age of the English and Welsh wine industry.

Evidence of winemaking in the UK can be traced back to Roman times, in the form of wine cups and fermentation vessels from 1 BC. Yet, it wasn’t until the middle ages when the commercialising of vineyards occurred with the planting of Painshill Place in Surrey.

Unfortunately, the vineyard was scrapped due to, you guessed it, unfavourable climatic conditions, struggling yields and varied quality; something we can all relate to in the modern day. This is hardly the revolution we have come to know, but it was the start.

From the mid/late twentieth century our grape revolution was reignited, aside from a 14-year gap where there was a decrease in vineyard area as the lost souls at the time became disenfranchised by the British weather. To the believers, they knew this was our renaissance, our age of enlightenment, our time.

There is no doubt that global warming over the past hundred years has sent our weather into a frenzy; warming southern England by over 1.5°C in the past 65 years according to Met Office data. The rest of the world is on fire and having strong weather shifts. The English and Welsh viticultural areas are benefiting from it.

This is of course not brilliant, but it has allowed vines to grow in more favourable conditions giving rise to a thriving agricultural community. This has led to more custom crushing in the last five years, alongside estate-made wine. On average during that time, 6.9 million bottles were produced. A long way from the quarter of a million bottles assumed to have been produced over 40 years ago. Despite the same variable climate, inconsistent yields and grape quality, people are still flocking to the UK, planting and looking closely at how our industry is progressing and evolving.

As our niche market gives birth to further revelations, new budding brands are reaching the market beyond their local consumer base, something that proved difficult previously. Social media is helping to propel popularity, among those savvy enough to exploit it. More exposure, in theory, maximises sales to help regulate the increased production.

New technology is on par with the sophistication of Japanese toilets, which by the way, if you have never used one, will change your life! These exciting times have paved the way to the micro-negoc, urban wineries, custom crushes and hybrid wineries, which have changed the face and notion of what is British wine.

46

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Ve o i rg

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Coming up British

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WINEMAKING

A bit like the phoenix rising from the ashes? Ok, maybe not, but one cannot argue with the fact that in the past decade English and Welsh wines have grown in popularity and demand. Rising stars such as Dan Ham of Offbeat Wines (ex-Langham and Westwell Wines) have been successful in helping to alter the face, of conventional winemaking and sparkling wine.

This is thanks to a number of different factors, one of which was mentioned previously. However there is no doubt that the injection of investment has played a major role. Our little industry has attracted outside investment both domestically and internationally leading to more vines in the ground and state of the art wineries being built. Further reaching recruitment has proved successful in attracting a highly skilled labour force, both home grown and internationally. Winemakers and viticulturists are coming from all corners of the earth to gain cool climate experience in our little nook of the planet.

All this has added to our current state of positive growth, and while all this is encouraging, it is difficult to determine where our industry will go beyond.

I would like to think that it will continue and the future will be secure, but I am not sure. I am of the opinion that the current rate of growth currently is unhealthy and untested. In an earlier piece in Vineyard magazine, I mentioned the 1 million vines going in annually over the past couple of years and the concern of wine flooding the market in a few short years. This is a real threat.

I don’t think the current infrastructure will be able to handle the flood. I am going out on a limb here, but if smaller producers aren’t prepared to wade through the waters, they may be in for a shocking surprise. Bigger and more established companies may have developed strategies around such issues, but it will be a question can they survive the impending price wars or the influx of competition?

Closing on a positive note, in the past five decades the British wine industry has seen pioneers such as Breaky Bottom, Camel Valley, Carr-Taylor and more recently Chapel Down and Nyetimber paving the way. Their earlier commitment has helped blossom our industry into stardom and propel our wines into fine dining restaurants, pubs, shops and more recently the export markets. Those of us who have joined the struggle in more recent times have benefitted from the elbow grease and perseverance of the trend setters. Our industry has progressed immensely in the past decade, growing to one of the most exciting vine growing regions in the world. We should all give ourselves a pat on the back!

 www.blackbookwinery.com paper-plane, sergio@blackbookwinery.com

Equipment for Vineyards

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Mycor A & Pralor A A Mycor A & Pralor Mycor A & Pralor A Biostimulant Biostimulant Biostimulant

Contains strain of mycorrhizae, Glomus Contains aa strain strain of of mycorrhizae, mycorrhizae,Glomus Glomus Contains a strain of mycorrhizae, Glomus intraradices, has greatercapacity capacityfor for intraradices, which which has has aaa greater greater capacity for intraradices, hasrobust a greater for colonization and more robust thancapacity otherspecies species is more than other colonization andwhich more robust than other species colonization and is more robust than other species increases root increases the the volume volume of of the the root root increases the and volume the root system 8-fold the absorption 8-fold absorption system and the of absorption system of 8-fold and surface the to surface of the roots byabsorption up rootsthe up to to surface of the roots by up to 1000-fold 1000-fold 1000-fold gives the the plants plants gives gives the plants greater gives the plants greater availability of and availability of availability of water water and availability of water nutrients, especially phosphorus, nutrients, especially phosphorus, nutrients, especially and nutrients,potassium especiallyand phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium nitrogen, nitrogen, potassium and nitrogen, potassium and micronutrients micronutrients micronutrients micronutrients improves growth, growth, yield and improves and plant plant improves growth, yield improves growth, yield and plant health saves on fertilizers health --- saves health saves on on fertilizers health - saves on fertilizers Mycor AA A (granules) (granules) and Pralor Mycor Pralor AA Mycor (granules) and Mycor A (granules) and Pralor A (rootdip) are intended (rootdip) are for use use (rootdip) are intended intended for (rootdip) are intended for use or during planting, transplanting during planting, transplanting or during planting, during planting, transplanting or potting potting potting potting

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M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

MACHINERY

New planting machine launched at show Now able to offer a complete in-house vineyard establishment service, SJ Barnes officially unveiled its new Wagner vine planting machine on its stand at Farm Expo on 4 March 2020.

The annual agricultural business and machinery event, which was organised by the Kent County Agricultural Society and held at its showground in Detling, also played host to one of the WineGB vineyard managers’ forums. Participants gathered pre-meeting on SJ Barnes’ and NP Seymour’s joint stand to see the new machine on display.

The Wagner IPS-Drive, which is controlled by GPS, has been designed for high precision planting and is capable of measuring vine placement to within 2cm. Equipped with the latest technology and newest software, Sam Barnes and his team can now offer incredibly accurate site mapping, providing customers with vine and post requirement calculations to the nearest 10.

The machine planter will be driven by a JCB Fastrac, which Sam invested in last year to transport his Fendt Vario 210V tractor and viticultural machinery to the numerous vineyards which he provides mechanical contract management services to across the South East of England.

“The vine planter is incredibly accurate and simple to use once the field has been mapped pre-planting,” said Sam, who will manage planting-day operations,

while his team drive the machinery and feed vines into the newly imported machine.

UK viticulturists with established vineyards should already be familiar with the Wagner IPS-Drive, manufactured in Germany by the eponymous familyowned company which has been making vine planters since 1976.

“My planter is exactly the same machine as the ones that have been brought in from outside the UK and I should think that every single vine, which has been established by machine in the last few years, would have been planted with one of these,” said Sam, who is able provide the same service as others at competitive prices.

The difference for Sam, however, is that by having a planter now based in the UK, there is more flexibility to plant in optimal conditions, with reduced pressure from not having to stick to a tight schedule.

“Having invested in the machine, there will be less of a rush against the clock to finish the planting season,” said Sam. “We will look at working from the end of April and into May, but if the weather happens to be poor, I can play it by ear and be completely reactive to changes as the machine will never be due to be sent back to Germany.”

With bookings from both new vineyards and existing producers who are expanding, SJ Barnes’ new mechanical vine planter is due to establish 250,000 in its first season.

“The industry is coming on leaps and bounds and is now large enough to support internal growth and development,” said Sam. “I really want the British viticulture sector to be able to sufficiently support itself without having to rely on overseas contractors and this was one of the main driving forces behind adding the Wagner to my fleet.”

Continuously reinvesting in his business for the overall benefit of the sector, over the last 12 months SJ Barnes has also added a state-of-the-art Pellenc grape harvesting machine and another Fendt Vario, a 211V model, to the line-up.

“It is all about future growth and helping the UK to reach a commercially viable status,” said Sam, who is now able to offer vineyard owners and managers everything from site preparation, to vine selection and supply, machine planting, trellis supply and installation, year-round mechanical vineyard management and grape harvesting.

Agrimix fertiliser spreaders Kirkland UK are proud to announce they are the UK importer for the impressive Vineyard Agrimix Fertiliser Spreaders.

The RP2X-F vineyard spreader as standard is built with a powder coated compact profiled hopper with dimensions of 1235x1040mm allowing you to work in extremely narrow rows. Its stainless-steel double conveyor allows a spreading width up to 9 meters and can be easily taken off to complete a full field of spreading up to 16 meters. This localiser is built with 2 separate chambers, giving you the option of double or single side spreading.

Several options are available for setting the dose rate (cable control, hydraulic, and electronic control) for extremely precise control of dosage.

Many accessories are available, including the option of a stainless-steel hopper, hopper extension increasing the capacity to 860L and road lighting kit. There is also the option of the under-soil kit meaning fertiliser can be placed directly into the soil where needed.

M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

49

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Winter machinery roundup This season's wet weather has been an enormous challenge to outdoor operations and to add to the gloom, the prospect of losing access to foreign labour is also looming.

To put some cheer into the situation there have been some advances in the way outdoor jobs can be done faster and more efficiently. Major operations like cane pulling and bud rubbing, for instance, can be done equally fast or faster by one person sat in a tractor.

Having invested in the Zanon battery powered tying down tools, some vineyards are now no longer needing to rely on bought in labour for cane tying down. David Sayell at Vitifruit Equipment has found these to be the fastest and most efficient on the market, and when factoring in the benefit of reduced labour costs and timeliness he says they are a no brainer.

A major cost this time of year is pulling out the canes after pruning.

At least half the bill for pruning is dedicated to this work and there is now a tractor mounted mechanical machine which can help. The Provitis VSE 430 pulls canes out from the side just like doing it by hand.

It works best when the canes have been laid down without twisting the previous year and the movable wires have been put down or up to allow the wheel of the machine easy access to the pruned canes.

The Provitis VSE 430 comes from the same company which produces pre pruning tools of various types and there is interest in the idea of one which runs just above and below the top wire and cuts away the tendrils and tops thus allowing easier pulling out by hand saving a lot of time. David has also seen an increase in the use of his advanced design prunings mulcher for dealing with canes left in the row. The idea is to reduce the size of the lacerated prunings so that when they are ejected through a sieve and fall onto the soil surface they degenerate quickly, reducing the chance of disease carry over. The machine is called a Sauerburger Lima and when used in conjunction with the cane puller is capable of simultaneously pulling out and mulching 3 to 4 hectares per day.

As an alternative, the Lima can be positioned at the back of the tractor and be used in conjunction with a front mounted double sided sweeper from Boisselet to remove prunings from under the vines, where they pass under the tractor and into the mulcher behind.

 www.vitifruitequipment.co.uk  01732 866567 paper-plane vitifruitequipment@sky.com

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M A R C H 2020 | V I N E YA R D

51

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Why Agrofrost ?

We are the biggest producer of frost protection machines in the world and our turnover increases year after year. During the last 50 years, we have been the only company that introduced new effective solutions to fight frost. We have the biggest range of frost protection machines in the world, so we can always offer you the best solution and we continue to invest in research for better solutions and better results.

For spring 2019, we introduce several new machines: New Frostbuster F501 with 8 or 10 bottles and automatic burner ignition.

New 3-Point Frostbusters, with 2 low or 2 high outlets (ideal for blueberries).

New FrostGuards Basic; a new economical model.

A new Frost Alarm, based on the wet temperature.

New Wind Machines and Burners for Wind Machines.

UK Importer: NP Seymour - Cranbrook - Kent TN17 2PT Tel: 01580 712200 - www.npseymour.co.uk Email: hello@npseymour.co.uk

Agrofrost (Belgium) Contact: Patrik Stynen Tel.: 01580 291565 or mobile +32 495 517689 Email: info@agrofrost.be

Find out all about it on our website: www.agrofrost.eu