Vineyard July 2020

VINEYARD for viticulturists in Great Britain ™

JULY 2020

EDITOR’S VISIT Hope on the horizon

MATTHEW JUKES WINE REVIEW Still improving

IN CONVERSATION How Majestic and the market is changing

FLOWER POWER

Why one vineyard is going organic in the pandemic

VINEYARD CONSULTANTS • Planning Applications

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• Site Aquisition

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www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk VINEYARD Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444 EDITORIAL Editor: Rebecca Chaplin vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk Studio Manager: Jo Legg jo.legg@kelsey.co.uk Graphic Designer: James Pitchford james.pitchford@kelsey.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Simon Hyland Talk Media Sales Ltd 01732 445327 Simon.Hyland@talkmediasales.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHER Martin Apps www.countrywidephotographic.co.uk MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Steve Wright CHIEF OPERATING Officer: Phil Weeden MANAGING DIRECTOR: Kevin McCormick PUBLISHER: Jamie McGrorty RETAIL DIRECTOR: Steve Brown RENEWALS AND PROJECTS MANAGER: Andy Cotton SENIOR SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGER: Nick McIntosh SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING DIRECTOR: Gill Lambert SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGER: Kate Chamberlain SENIOR PRINT PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Georgina Harris PRINT PRODUCTION CONTROLLER: Kelly Orriss

NEWS 8 10 12

Black Chalk joins panel

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Oz Clarke launches new book on English wine

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Around the world

Fundraising partnership Cool climate wines from Yorkshire grower

REGULARS 26

Matthew Jukes

34

Focus on BIOProctection

A healthy mix of both still and sparkling wines is fundamental to our industry’s collective success.

How and why?

42

The agronomy diary

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Optimise vine canopies for yield and quality.

Now is the time to calculate your yield estimates.

Updates from the industry’s membership organisation.

Sanitising shared machinery essential to protect against virus.

Front cover image: Harrow & Hope © Victoria Kay-Barrero

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CONTENTS Features

18 24 28 36

English Wine Week Locally-produced wines have been widely celebrated and made more readily available.

In conversation Jack Merrylees from Majestic talks to us about how the business has changed in 2020.

Editor’s Visit Harrow & Hope in Buckinghamshire are going full organic and share what goes into their winemaking.

Itasca Wines Itasca Wines and Penn Croft Vineyard are preparing to take English wine by storm with their state-of-the-art facility.

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There are a lot of words used to describe earth-conscious winemaking – be that looking at your sustainability, are you organic or do you focus on the biological implications?

Each month it seems to become a more achievable goal for vineyards.

Maybe it’s because the nationwide shutdown has freed up time to consider changing the approach as typical daily duties may not be possible or a high priority right now.

If it was that easy, everyone would do it, but there certainly appears to be an increase in growers taking a more natural approach when tending to their vineyard. Expect to see more wildflowers in this issue, and I predict we will see even more throughout the rest of the year.

In this magazine you’ll be able to read about two very interesting approaches to what goes into the vineyard. In the case of Harrow and Hope, although they are switching to organic, they don’t want to put organic on the bottle. It’s more than part of the story, to them, growing organic should make the wine taste better whether you know it or not. Music to my ears and something I can’t wait to taste when the wines are ready.

While we talk about the positives though, we don’t often discuss the negatives. What I found more concerning this month, is actually how vitally important it is that we consider giving back to the land, too.

I met with Simon Porter from Penn Croft Vineyard who has a biological approach to farming called conservation viticulture.

Often confused with organic growing, this is actually about working with what you can learn from the soil and the vines. His point, and one shared by many, is that topsoil erosion is becoming a very big problem that can lead to failed crops or at least a drop in yield. Porter is doing his best, though, to counteract this on his farm.

Recent research from the University of Exeter has backed this up, saying that soil erosion in the UK is at a worryingly ‘unsustainable’ level. It says the soil run-off can also increase the risk of flooding due to extra sediment in the waterways.

With more vineyards being planted in England and Wales, can we really afford not to think about what we are giving to the soil as well as what we’re taking from it? If it’s not something we start thinking about now, could we be paying the price in the not too distant future.

It’s an interesting approach – and not the only unusual element to Penn Croft Vineyard – but one I expect that will gain more popularity as it becomes a more well-known concept. You can read more about Simon’s work on page 36, and as ever please get in touch with your thoughts.

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by email to vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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NEWS

Black Chalk joins panel The People’s Choice Wine Awards has brought together a UK line-up of respected people in the wine trade, and Black Chalk winemaker Jacob Leadley has become the latest addition to the panel.

The panel members, who cover all disciplines, can be called upon to assist with professional opinions and attendance (virtual at the moment) at focus group meetings.

Commenting on the addition of head winemaker and owner of Black Chalk Wine to the panel, PCWA founder Janet Harrison said: “Jacob has some great skills to share – particularly with bringing a new wine to the market and winning several awards.

“His experience in winemaking, brand creation and design will help many and bring a fresh perspective too."

The panel is actively looking for new and exciting projects to work on.

Co-director Judy Kendrick, whose marketing background has been key to the concept behind these projects, added: “Research can include trade and consumer perceptions of things such as packaging, including visuals and shapes, the taste of ‘the juice’ and more.

“In these busy times, it is practically impossible to gather such a prestigious group of industry experts ‘in one room’; however, online conferencing facilities have made this achievable.”

With many consumers and wine trade people being at home at the moment, Harrison and Kendrick would argue that this is the perfect time to be working on these sorts of projects and gearing up for when the world returns to relative normality. In their usual style, they provide some real context behind the numbers and convert each challenge into achievable goals. This will enhance the offering from PCWA to the industry as a whole in understanding what wine consumers really want.

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‘Exceptional’ 2018 Chardonnay

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Devon-based Lyme Bay Winery has released the 2018 vintage of its award-winning Chardonnay, calling it ‘exceptional’.

This is the first time the drinks producer has released a still English wine vintage ahead of an older year, and will move straight on from 2016 to 2018 leaving the 2017 Chardonnay in the cellar.

The 2018 English grape harvest has been recognised by producers and English wine experts as especially good in terms of both quality and quantity. The team at Lyme Bay believe the parcels they pressed have developed into a wine of great structure and character now ready to be enjoyed.

By comparison, regular tasting of samples has prompted the cellar team to judge that the 2017 vintage will develop the great potential it has with a further period of maturation.

The winery has developed a reputation as experts in flavour through consistently producing wines recognised for their quality as evidenced by regularly winning awards in international competitions.

James Lambert, managing director at LBW Drinks, said: “As an experienced producer, we consider each harvest in relation to how the growing season will influence the wine. Our focus is to ensure each wine has structure and delivers in terms of flavour and varietal character.

“As a result, we release each wine when we believe it is ready

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

and most likely to delight discerning drinkers.

“We are able to do this because we work with a small group of growers that share our interest in nurturing selected still wine clones – an approach that is perhaps unique amongst English producers.

“Our ambition, through minimal intervention in the winery, is to allow each wine to develop so it is the best expression possible of the grape, the vineyard locations and of the particular growing season. That’s why we made the decision to release the 2018 now and allow the 2017 to develop its full potential.”

The 2018 growing season meant both unprecedented quality and yields. Harvesting happened at the peak of flavour and phenolic ripeness. This ensured natural levels of alcohol previously unheard of in this country. The 13.5% ABV Chardonnay now being released was produced without chaptalisation.

Fermentation was achieved with a mix of wild and Burgundy yeasts with maturation in two-year-old French oak and stainless steel.

The resulting Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2018 is a well-rounded full-bodied dry wine with subtle buttery flavours and aromas of peach and honey. Lightly oaked, it is extremely versatile in terms of food pairings and would compliment a range of fish dishes such as creamy fish pies or fish cakes, yet can be equally enjoyed on its own.

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NEWS

Fundraising partnership A fundraising partnership to help wildlife, educational and community projects has been launched today by English Sparkling Wine producer Nyetimber.

Nyetimber, whose award-winning vineyards are located primarily across Sussex in the lee of the South Downs plus Hampshire and Kent, will be supporting the South Downs National Park Trust, a charity working to support vital biodiversity and community initiatives across the region.

The producer will be helping to raise awareness of the Trust’s work through its online donations and ongoing events support.

The Trust, the official independent charity of the National Park, is leading a number of environmental initiatives in 2020. Bee Lines is aiming to help reverse the decline of bees by planting a series of wildflower corridors across the National Park – effectively a ‘motorway’ for pollinators. Meanwhile, Trees for the Downs is aiming to plant 5,000 trees in community spaces and along popular walking routes. Other projects include an inspiring activities programme to connect more families with the National Park and small-scale grants to help naturebased community initiatives.

Julie Fawcett, chair of the South Downs National Park Trust, said: “We’re very excited to be announcing this new partnership which celebrates our shared ethos around caring for nature and the community.

“Nyetimber is a very respected local business that has put English Sparkling Wine firmly on the world stage and to have them on board is a real boost to our charity. It’s an exciting time to be part of the Trust as we look to deliver these inspiring projects that will help nature flourish.”

Nyetimber owner and CEO Eric Heerema said: “At Nyetimber we care deeply about nature and our surroundings and it seems fitting that we should be helping to support and protect a very special region in which

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many of our vineyards lie.

“The Trust does a great job to support the environment and communities in our local area and their initiatives are very much aligned with our approach to protecting nature’s assets for current and future generations.”

To celebrate the launch of the partnership, Nyetimber is offering a special prize to anyone supporting the South Downs National Park Trust through its community lottery. With a top prize of £25,000, supporters also have the opportunity to win three special magnums of Nyetimber 1086 Rosé.

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NEWS

Cool climate wines from Yorkshire grower Dunesforde, a boutique, family-run vineyard nestled in the Vale of York, launched its 2019 vintage Bacchus and Solaris during English Wine Week.

Their debut Solaris 2018 sold out in three months and the Bacchus has just a few cases remaining after eight months on sale. The four-acre vineyard produces in the region of 1700 bottles of still white wines. As such these limited-edition vintages have become highly sought after.

Award winning chef Frances Atkins of The Yorke Arms in Ramsgill visited the vineyard for a tasting session to be shared online on Saturday 27 June.

The Yorke Arms stocked the 2018 Solaris exclusively following Chef Director Frances Atkins’s initial tasting which was featured on BBC’s The One Show last October.

On tasting the 2019 wines, Atkins said: “The debut Dunesforde wines were outstanding and that gave me a high level of expectation. I can say with confidence that the 2019 harvest more than matches last year’s vintage. The wines have been refined and have great purity. I also love the lower 11% alcohol level, which makes the wines light and incredibly versatile. Great summer drinking and excellent with food.”

The vineyard will be opening its gates from Monday 6 July to Saturday 11 July for tasting appointments for groups of up to five people.

Referring to the tasting notes, the early ripening Solaris is refreshingly crisp and dry with aromas of lemongrass and tropical fruits, accompanied by citrus flavours. It is great for drinking chilled, on its own or with

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seafood. The Bacchus is a blend of the finest grapes from Dunesforde and those from an international award-winning Bedfordshire vineyard. It is fresh and light with a delicate citrus aroma and a refreshing minerality on the palate, the perfect aperitif wine.

Established by the Townsend family in 2016, Dunesforde pursues their passion for a product that combines community, the environment, quality and craftsmanship. The family’s aim is to create outstanding cool climate wines of the highest quality with a distinct character in a location that challenges convention.

The four-acre vineyard in Upper Dunsforth, North Yorkshire is growing four grape varieties known for their suitability to wine production in the north – Solaris, Bacchus, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir Précoce. Five traditional method sparkling wines launching later in the year complete the Dunesforde wine collection.

Vineyard owner Ian Townsend said: “The demand for last year’s wines was such that we have been taking pre-orders for the 2019 wines since Christmas. With only 642 bottles of Solaris and 1097 bottles of Bacchus produced this year, we find ourselves in the unusual position of limiting the number of cases of Solaris available for sale.”

In the autumn, Dunesforde will release five sparkling wines, which are available to pre-order through mixed cases now. Like the still wines, these will have a limited supply and full details can be found on the Dunesforde website.

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NEWS ◆ Hattingley launches first national TV advert Hattingley Valley has become the first English producer to advertise their wines on national television.

The tongue-in-cheek advert is called ‘C’est Anglais’ and shows a group of Champenois tasting the winemaker’s latest English Sparkling wine and their shocked reaction to its quality.

Hattingley said: “We are proud to launch the first UK TV campaign in partnership with Sky.” It added: “Taking the bold move to invest in TV during this time was not one that we took lightly but we hope that it will raise a few smiles and help spread the word about our wines.”

◆ Bluebell Vineyard launches new Merlot Bluebell Vineyard, with 100 acres under vine stretching from East to West Sussex, has launched its latest wine.

Called Boundary Block 2018, the vineyard said: “This still red wine is 100% estate grown Merlot that has spent fourteen months in old oak barrels. It is a medium-bodied garnet with aromas of soft black pepper, blueberries, blackberries and black cherry. It displays a soft palate, good tannins and a wellbalanced finish.”

◆ Albury launch Linda’s Pinot for English Wine Week Surrey-based Albury Vineyard launched two new products for English Wine Week – a Pinot Gris and Bianco Vermouth.

Owner Nick Wenman planted a couple of rows of Pinot Gris for his wife Linda when the vineyard began 11 years ago. Linda and daughter Lucy harvest the dusky pink grapes each year and, in good years, they make a still white wine called Linda's Pinot.

Only 220 bottles were made from the 2019 vintage they are releasing some for sale to celebrate English Wine Week along with an off-dry vermouth. This has been hand crafted from distilled Sauvignon wine blended with Pinot Noir and a selection of botanicals.

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Oz Clarke launches new book on English wine Wine writer Oz Clarke has long been a champion of English and Welsh wines and he has now released a book to help more people find the best of what the country has to offer – covering sparkling wines, whites, some impressive reds and even dessert and orange wines.

Called simply English Wine, the book is the ideal companion for lovers of wine who already enjoy English wine or are completely new to it. Clarke covers the basics of making wine in England in an engaging way and recommends those wines he has both enjoyed and found interesting as well as encouraging you to try for yourself.

He shares his experiences of visiting a wide range of English vineyards, in the north, south, east and west, as well as some Welsh, including some well-known names and some emerging and intriguing winemakers.

In his introduction, he explains: “We must play our part. We must choose to drink English and Welsh wines. If we live in wine-making counties we must support our local producers and we must visit them. Wine tourism is of ever greater importance to wineries and vineyards.

As more and more people seek ‘experiences’, Photo © Keith Barnes Photography

not just the mere flavour of a bottle of wine – well, there’s no better way to get the best out of a bottle than by visiting the place the grapes are grown and meeting the people who do the work.”

English Wine will be available to buy from 3 September, 2020.

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Around the world New dates for New Zealand wine event Organisers of New Zealand’s most internationally-recognised wine event have announced their new dates for Pinot Noir NZ 2022.

The three-day celebration was postponed from February 2021 due to the ramifications of Covid-19, and will now take place in Christchurch from 15 – 17 February, 2022. The event attracts Pinot Noir experts and enthusiasts to New Zealand from every corner of the globe.

The four yearly event showcases the country’s Pinot Noir and the people who make it, and has cemented its place on the global wine calendar as a unique combination of information, inspiration, interaction and experience.

Co-chair Helen Masters says there will be some incredibly interesting

conversations to be had, and once some certainty returns around international travel, the event will be more important than ever for New Zealand Pinot Noir.

She said: “We are really excited about welcoming people to New Zealand to tell our collective stories and explore the evolution of New Zealand Pinot Noir.

“It was important for us to delay this event by a year, so we can celebrate face to face and glass to glass, rather than looking at a digital alternative.

The cornerstone of this celebration is bringing the global wine community together to spend time with us on our shores, and experience the best in kiwi hospitality.”

The programme for Pinot Noir NZ 2022 will evolve in light of recent events, ensuring it remains relevant, informative and inspirational she says.

Tickets for Pinot Noir NZ 2022 will go on sale in February 2021.

Chanel’s Mediterranean island vineyard releases 2019 vintage

16

Domaine de l’Ile has released its 2019 vintage from the French island of Porquerolles – a white and a rosé.

The vineyard was established under the guidance of François-Joseph Fournier, who bought the island more than a century ago and dedicated his life to turning this small Mediterranean gem into a paradise. In 2019, after many fulfilling years as a wine producer and a sailor, his grandson Sébastien Le Ber opened a new chapter in the island’s story by entrusting it to fashion house Chanel.

The terroir of Domaine de l’Ile offers shale source rock, clay and is influenced by the sea.

Agronomist and oenologist Nicolas Audebert has been managing Chanel’s wine estates since 2015.

The Rosé is made of a blend of 28% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 21% Cinsault, 16% Mourvèdre and 11% Tibouren while the White is completely made from Rolle.

Drawing on his experience in Champagne and Argentina, Audebert is pouring all his energy into both the vineyards and the winery.

He said: “I am aware of how fortunate I am that such a project was entrusted to me. Shale source rock, saline tension, the freshness of the sea, Mediterranean dew brushed by the mistral, the symbiosis between the vineyard and the island’s vegetation… The environment of the Domaine de l’Ile is unique and its history is extraordinary.”

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

American rapper Post Malone French Rosé Grammy nominated rapper Post Malone has chosen to make his next collaboration with a vineyard in Provence.

Maison No. 9, a new French Rosé created and developed in partnership with friend and entrepreneur James Morrissey of Global Brand Equities, and Dre London, long-time music manager and Founder of London Entertainment.

Post Malone said: "Rosé is for when you want to get a little fancy. It's a nice switch up and I have been thinking about doing my own wine for a while. It was great to work with Global Brand Equities because they saw the vision and we got to do some super cool stuff. Maison No. 9 goes down smooth, and you're all going to love it!"

Working closely with winemaker Alexis Cornu, winner of fifteen gold medals and seven 90+ point rosé wines, the founders spent much of 2019 traveling frequently to the winery. They tried many grape varietals and sampled over fifty blends until they developed a new blend of premium rosé that they were happy with.

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2020 vintage in 40 days A South Australian winery has used grapes from its city vineyards to release a 2020 vintage in only 40 days.

The grapes were harvested in April and made into this Grenache/Pedro Ximenez blend by Patritti Wines, Adelaide.

Winemaker Ben Heide told Australian media The Lead: “We took it up this year as a bit of a nod to the past and we just thought it was a really good opportunity to show off those local vineyards and get it into bottle really quickly.

“These days with modern technology to analyse the wine and make sure the fermentation has finished and is stable, it is easier to bottle so young.

“We’ve been stoked with it and it’s gone down really well. It’s been a fun project and I think the best thing about it is that it’s really good booze.”

CONTRACT WINEMAKING SERVICES No vineyards or brands, just contract services for others:

Pressing Filtering Cold stabilising Bottling Riddling Disgorging Labelling Storing

www.definedwine.com Outside Canterbury, CT4 5HL henry@definedwine.com J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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ENGLISH WINE WEEK

Five new English wines at Waitrose On 20-28 June English Wine Week saw locally-produced wines widely celebrated and made more readily available.

Waitrose & Partners celebrated English Wine Week by launching five new and exclusive homegrown wines, including two from the Oxney Organic Estate in East Sussex.

The supermarket also hosted a free online tasting on 26 June to educate customers and encourage them to try English wine.

Sales of English and Welsh wines at Waitrose are up 40% year-on-year, with sales of local and regional wines soaring, as shoppers look to support small-scale wine producers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With a range of over 110 English and Welsh wines – the biggest in the UK – Waitrose continues to showcase and champion the industry by introducing five new wines which have previously not been available at a national retailer. The Oxney Organic Estate Pinot Rosé and Brut Rosé NV will extend the supermarket’s already large organic wine range, and wines from Rathfinny and Beacon Down are both excellent additions from Sussex-based producers.

Marien Rodriguez, Waitrose English & Welsh wine buyer, said: “We are very passionate

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J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

about supporting and showcasing small, often family-run wineries who sell their products via their local Waitrose shops.

"The care and patience of the winemakers when producing these small batches result in excellent quality, special wines.

“I am extremely proud to launch two English organic wines from Oxney Estate, a Pinot Rosé and a Rosé Brut NV. This is an important milestone for the industry and a remarkable achievement for the growers, given the challenges of a cool and wet climate.

Additionally, our new wines from Rathfinny and Beacon Down are important additions to an already versatile and exciting range of English & Welsh wines.”

Julia Trustram-Eve from WineGB added: “Waitrose is a true champion of English and Welsh wines, bringing producers from around Great Britain to their customers. In this English Wine Week, we’re putting a spotlight on all the fantastic wines produced on our doorstep and encouraging everyone to explore and discover them too!”

ENGLISH WINE WEEK

Boom in English sparkling wine production A boom in English Sparkling Wine will see production double in the next decade, according to Nyetimber’s CEO. Eric Heerema, owner of Nyetimber, said he expected to produce two million bottles a year by 2030, up from one million today, with the entire industry producing at least 20 million bottles.

Setting out his vision of the future of English Sparkling Wine to mark English Wine Week, Heerema also forecast a growing battle between English producers as their French counterparts seek to muscle in on prime land in southern England.

In recognition of the growing competition, several celebrated French Champagne houses have established vineyards in the UK, buying up large parcels of land in Kent and Hampshire.

Heerema said: “Several Champagne houses have indeed already established their sparkling wine production in England, and I expect that we have only seen the early beginnings of that so far.

“With global warming making Champagne production ever more challenging in the coming decades, and given the high-quality reputation of English Sparkling Wine this tendency is very likely to not only continue but rather to intensify.”

Climate change, the ideal chalky terroir in southern England and increased investment in the UK industry mean English products are increasingly seen as world class and beating Champagne in international competitions.

He added: “At Nyetimber we have always endeavoured to produce the very best sparkling wine and although we feel that our wines are unique and different from Champagnes, it does give us satisfaction when those blind tastings confirm the quality of Nyetimber.

“But our greatest satisfaction is to provide every drinker of Nyetimber a special moment and a unique experience.

“English Sparkling Wine has already proven its quality potential and as ever more producers apply professional and high-quality standards, this tendency will strengthen. The establishment of well-reputed Champagne houses in England to produce their own English Sparkling Wine is further proof that English Sparkling Wine is not just a trend but has come to stay.”

As we reported last month, Nyetimber has planted around 44 hectares this year, mostly in Kent, and Heerema adds that this means “our production should increase considerably, resulting in just under two million bottles a year”.

He explained: “Production of English Sparkling Wine is certainly increasing every year, and although it’s just a guess, by 2030 there could be at least 20 million bottles of sparkling wine being produced.”

Heerema also forecast that the number of jobs in English Sparkling Wine – currently around 2,500 – would increase at the same rate as production.

However, noting that some producers were starting to make sparkling wine in England by using other methods than the traditional bottle fermented method, instead fermenting their wines in vats, he insisted: “The traditional method is firmly established as the highest quality means of producing sparkling wine and we believe that it is the best way forward for world-class, age-worthy wines to be made in England.

“If wine producers want to make sparkling by alternative means we shouldn't prevent that by regulation as long as it is clear for the consumer what they are buying. Ultimately the best wines will rise to the top and be recognised as such by consumers. As an industry we shouldn't be worried about how the wines are made, as long as they are produced solely from UK-grown grapes.”

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ENGLISH WINE WEEK

Interview: Cherie Spriggs We speak to the Nyetimber head winemaker to get her take on English wine.

How are you spending your time during English Wine Week?

We are still pretty busy in the winery. We’re at the bottling stage of the 2019 harvest, so we’re trying to get the last of that sorted and begin preparing for our harvest 2020.

Has your opinion of English wine changed since you started working at Nyetimber?

I would say no, but I think other people’s opinions have changed. It’s interesting coming into an industry from “the outside”. I came to the UK with a heritage, because my father was from England, but I hadn’t lived here before. I didn’t have any of that baggage walking in, I was just thinking what can we do with these soils and this climate. We felt very early on that the potential at Nyetimber was enormous. To the degree that we decided that we were going to make prestige cuvées, for example. It’s been more than 13 years that I’ve been working in this country and this climate and I still think the potential for sparkling wine is really second to none. We have been and will continue to stand with the best in the world.

I think I have an interesting perspective on this, again coming from the outside. When I came here in 2007, I felt that no one seemed to appreciate what was so incredible in their own country. It was like there was a reluctance to show pride in the amazing things made in England. I think when you come in from the outside, you see those things and think that’s great without the cultural need to feel reserved.

I do think that now, people feel a little bit more comfortable to be proud of some of these things. Some of the products in this country, the asparagus, strawberries, that are grown, they’re world class. I think now people are just starting to feel more confident and are taking pride in those great things.

Is the amount of grapes you produce every year important?

I think it’s important to know that Nyetimber will only use fruits from vineyards that we own, and therefore in order to grow the business, the only way to do that is to buy more land. The reason we do that, I lovingly say, is we’re control freaks.

We want to be able to choose the perfect blend and the soils that we believe in with the right varieties, clones and rootstock. That is important to us and it’s harder to have that control when you’re working in the market of buying fruit.

What are you excited about at the moment?

I think at the moment my head has been to the grindstone trying to operate differently in Covidtimes! It is quite busy but looking out the window now I’m excited for the potential of 2020 no question. We are right in the middle of flowering and when we have this sort of warm weather during flowering period, that’s such a perfect way to take us through to harvest in autumn time. I smile every time I look out the window right now.

What’s been your proudest moment since working at Nyetimber?

Absolutely, without any question. When I started in 2007, it wasn’t unusual at all to have people who didn’t know grapes were grown in this country or that we made sparkling wines on an international level of quality. The level of awareness, across the UK, was quite small.

Now, when I meet people and they ask why I’m in England, I don’t get strange looks when I say I’m a winemaker at Nyetimber.

If I think of what I’m most proud of and my proudest moment, they’re distinctly different. My proudest moment would have to be when I was the first person outside of Champagne, and in fact the first woman ever, to win the winemaker of the year award and the International Wine Challenge. That competition has been running for decades and they’ve awarded it to champagne every year since it started. The thing at Nyetimber that I feel I’ve been able to achieve is the consistency of the quality. I feel that you can rely on Nyetimber from bottle to bottle.

Do you feel more pressure with more producers appearing?

What are your predictions for English wine globally?

Have reactions to English wine changed?

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Are you feeling there’s a growing appetite for homegrown products recently?

I think we feel the pressure, but not necessarily because there are more producers. It’s so much part of our company ethos that we are pioneers, we lead the way and we need to challenge ourselves. In fact, we’ve always compared ourselves to Champagne and it hasn’t changed from that perspective. There is no getting comfortable at Nyetimber, it’s just not the way we work.

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

It’s definitely going to grow. Part of our predictions for the future are driven by the fact that up until a couple of years ago our exports were zero. A lot of UK producers began exporting before Nyetimber. I feel like we’ve barely started and we have a lot to do. We need to tell the rest of the world how fantastic this English Sparkling Wine is and that will take time but there’s no doubt in my mind that the potential is there.

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Properties of the month

Kingscote Vineyard is a well-established commercial vineyard in the heart of the Sussex Weald, boasting an imposing Grade II Listed house and offering a significant trading opportunity.

60 acres of vines • Fully equipped winery • Traditional barn for visitors and events • Imposing 5 bedroom Listed farmhouse • 2 bedroom holiday cottage • Substantial additional farm buildings

Guide £6.75 million

Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard offers a rare opportunity for a purchaser to enter the rapidly expanding English Wine industry and acquire a well established and respected vineyard.

Well established organic vineyard • Contemporary design visitor centre • 3 bedroom cottage subject to AOC • About 16 acres • Excellent opportunity for new entrants and existing producers

Guide £1.95 million Talk to us today Chris Spofforth Savills Viticulture 01444 446064 cspofforth@savills.com

PROPERTY

Established vineyard and winery in the heart of the Sussex Weald SUSSEX WEALD

| SUSSEX

A well-established vineyard in the heart of the Sussex Weald with 60 acres of vines has come to the market.

The vineyard comes with a fully-equipped winery, Grade II listed farmhouse, holiday cottage and tithe barn for weddings and events.

Kingscote Wine Estate extends to 152 acres, is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to the Ashdown Forest, and the Bluebell Railway runs through the estate. The vineyard and its associated land and buildings are being marketed by Savills with a guide price of £6,750,000.

The land has around 60 acres under vine, planted with Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Bacchus, Pinot Blanc and Regent.

The initial vines were planted in 2010, 2011, and 2013, with extensive planting in 2017. The vineyards have been planted on southerly slopes and have been established to produce a range of both still and sparkling wines.

The winery contains all the latest technology for producing premium wine using stainless steel and temperature control. There is also a two-acre apple orchard planted in 2011, the fruit from which has

£6,750,000

152 ACRES

been used in the past to produce cider.

The five-bedroom Grade II listed farmhouse has an abundance of traditional character features and exposed timbers and benefits from views across the vineyard and the beautiful undulating countryside. The Coach House, a two-bedroom property with open-plan living space, is currently used as a holiday let.

A traditional timber-framed barn is in a prominent position on the estate, with a courtyard to the front and a garden behind, and views over the vineyard and towards the Bluebell Railway.

The barn is open-plan and full of character with exposed original timbers, and equipped with an impressive kitchen, bar area and toilets, making it ideal for events. At one end, a mezzanine gallery overlooks the main entertainment space, which has been used in the past as a smaller meeting area and as a stage for the band at events.

The estate benefits from a newly constructed Shufflebottom machinery store and workshop, and there is also a substantial barn in the yard, which has potential for a variety of alternative uses.

The remaining land extends to about 80 acres and is predominantly pasture with around 22 acres

of woodland, stretching out over opposing sides of the Medway Valley. From the top of the farm there are stunning views across the Weir Wood Reservoir and the undulating countryside beyond, towards the Ashdown Forest. There are also two fishing lakes on the estate extending to about 2.7 acres, which are well stocked with carp, perch, bream and rudd.

Chris Spofforth, Savills head of farm agency in the south east, said: “Kingscote is a wellestablished commercial vineyard with all the facilities on site to undertake wine production from the vine to the shop.

“The current owners have more than doubled the amount of vines on the estate over the last couple of years and worked hard to build up the brand, resulting in a significant trading opportunity for the new owners.

He added: “Weddings, events and tourism are a clear area for potential growth, especially being as close to London as the vineyard is. The popular Bluebell Railway runs through the estate providing a great backdrop and there are several prestigious country house hotels and renowned gastropubs nearby.”

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SALES AND MARKETING

es yle

In conversation...

Jack M er r

This month we take a look inside Majestic wine to find out from Jack Merrylees how it and the market is changing…

How has the pandemic affected your business?

Clearly with such an unprecedented situation, the pandemic has had a big impact on Majestic. We’ve had to adapt our ways of working, almost overnight. Two days before the lockdown was introduced, we moved our stores to a ‘dark store’ model – meaning we would only be open for home delivery and would not be allowing customers into any Majestic branches. Over the last few weeks we’ve continued to see a marked increase in demand for home delivery, but we’ve had to balance that against the loss of our Majestic Commercial (our on-trade arm) and Calais businesses – which have been in hiatus throughout. We’ve been able to redeploy our staff into the areas of the business where they’ve been needed most, and it’s been an incredible effort by everyone to adapt at such short notice.

We’ve been in the fortunate position of having a business model that has been able to adapt and continue to serve our customers, even with our doors actually closed.

What has been heartwarming to see is not only how well the Majestic culture has held up, with our teams working around the clock to continue to trade and support one another, but also the amazing feedback we’ve received from new and existing customers alike.

How have you adapted to work within the new regulations?

Initially we moved to delivery only, but over the last week we have also rolled out next day collection from our stores too. We are fortunate that, at Majestic, we have a fleet of over 200 vans nationwide – which has meant we’ve been able to continue trading safely throughout.

Although Majestic, alongside all other drinks retailers, received ‘essential’ status at the start of lockdown, we decided to put the safety of our colleagues first and foremost and kept our stores closed to walk-in trade.

With retail now beginning to reopen, we’re starting to trial different ways of opening up once more in the ‘new normal’ situation and have a number of trials in place. Although with 200 stores nationwide in a variety of different formats – we have everything from listed medieval barns, to warehouses, to high street stores – we’re going to do this on a store by store basis with full risk assessments completed first. Only then will we begin any reopening.

Do you think this will change wine retailing forever?

I am absolutely confident that, although we’re dealing with a completely new environment, wine retail still has a positive and exciting future.

Whilst the last few months have of course been challenging, they’ve also crystalised everything which is special about the world of wine. At Majestic we’ve continued to connect people with amazing bottles, and give them something to continue to discover even when locked inside their own houses. Our colleagues have been incredible in finding new ways to adapt, from video tastings to offering phone guidance for customers.

Our customers have of course been incredibly understanding and supportive throughout this time. But we know from their feedback too that they’re looking forward to being able to visit us again, to be able to taste wine in our stores and chat to our brilliant expert staff. It’s an experience you simply cannot get online.

Do you think there are any opportunities for producers in Great Britain?

Absolutely. We’ve seen a sizable increase in sales of English wine through lockdown which again feeds into the idea that customers are willing to learn and discover more. One of the big success stories has been our new English still Rosé from Simpsons in the range, alongside some really exciting new sparkling wines from the likes of Pommery and an expanded offer from Chapel Down.

Will you be looking to take on any more English or Welsh wines at Majestic?

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The category has been growing over a number of years. Initially Majestic were one of the first nationwide stockists to really go big on English sparkling wines in particular. We’ve perhaps rested on our laurels for some time.

As part of our new range reviews we’ve already begun to expand the range, bringing in new wines from the likes of Simpsons, Three Choirs, Hambledon and Louis Pommery. But it’s a category which continues to adapt and change – so watch this space.

SALES AND MARKETING Are you seeing any big changes to the global wine market?

Overall, supply lines have held up remarkably well throughout. It’s been a brilliant effort from suppliers and the often unsung heroes in our depots and transport teams to keep the stores and our customers fully topped up.

It’s also been an interesting time for Majestic as we’ve been completely refreshing our range in the middle of the pandemic, with the buying team introducing some really exciting new wines, styles and producers to our stores. Without the ability to physically hand sell or taste wines in branch, we perhaps expected that many of these new additions would be slower sellers. But the opposite has been true. It’s clear that there is a huge appetite out there for customers to continue to discover and explore in the comfort of their own homes, and we’re delighted that so many of the changes we’ve made to our ranges have been warmly received and commented on – even some of the more obscure additions!

With a little bit more time perhaps at home to research wines, you’re seeing key trends gain even more momentum. Throughout our range review we’ve put a sharp focus on organics, championing new styles or historic producers and ensuring we have closer relationships with some key suppliers to help educate consumers.

It’s really paying dividends now and you’re seeing customers respond to these.

Have consumers changed how they buy wine in lockdown?

Naturally, without our stores open for walk-in trade, we have seen a big change in the way our customers shop with us with all orders placed now either online, or through local stores via phone or direct email. It’s certainly been interesting to see how tastes have changed throughout lockdown via these orders. You see how customers have been willing to branch out a little more, perhaps because their wine racks have become their outlet to explore. Esoteric regions and styles have seen spikes of interest, with things like sherry, English wine and Portugal all receiving sales increases.

In every category there’s been some kind of divergence. Rosé, for instance, is an area where we’ve seen customers branch out beyond the ‘classics’, with a growth of interest in New World styles. We’ve seen a slight increase in the average bottle price too, as clearly people are looking to treat themselves through their wine choices.

Whilst our core focus has, of course, been on facing into the outbreak, we’ve also been refreshing the Majestic range. It’s been really interesting to see how our customers and staff have responded with enthusiasm to the new wines we’ve brought in, with many of them becoming overnight bestsellers. It suggests that people are more willing to give something new a go!

Is there a UK produced wine that stands out to you?

I’ve long been a fan of wine made on our shores.

When I began working for Majestic in 2012 one of the first wines I tried was from Chapel Down. It’s been incredible to taste how they’ve continued to develop over the years, alongside my own palate during that time.

There are so many exciting new avenues for UK produced wines now and, at Majestic at least, it very much feels like a coming of age. The investment and interest in the category seem to be growing and growing, and with the likes of Louis Pommery now entering the field, alongside the established likes of Hambledon, quality is following.

I have to say that, for me, one of the wine highlights of my year is a glass of Nyetimber Demi-Sec on Christmas morning alongside my smoked salmon sandwiches!

What was the first English wine you tasted?

That’s a great question. I believe it may have been a still Bacchus, quite likely Chapel Down.

I was introduced to it by my then manager in Majestic Swindon (where I began my wine life as a van driver!) who recommended it as a great alternative to our customer’s (and my mother’s) New Zealand Sauvignon obsession.

Do you prefer still or sparkling English wine?

Both, of course, have their virtues. But I’d certainly say sparkling (for now at least). It has so many fantastic connotations and memories from my time in the industry and I think the quality is truly outstanding. That being said, I think the potential for still wines across the UK is huge.

What is your perfect dish and wine pairing combination?

I’d have to point you back to Nyetimber Demi-sec and smoked salmon sandwiches on Christmas day! Alternatively, one of my favourite ever wines remains Camel Valley’s Vintage Brut Rosé. I could enjoy that with anything, but particularly fish and chips.

What’s your background and how did you end up in wine?

I began working in wine in 2012, following the completion of my degree in Archaeology and Medieval History. I quickly fell in love with the rows upon rows of exotic bottles, different grape names and immersed myself in the world of wine books and histories. At the time it was meant to be a stop gap before going on to resume my studies and become a pro archaeologist – but in wine I found all the stories, history and interest you could hope to find beneath the earth!

I’ve worked for Majestic ever since, beginning in stores and working around the South West in Devon, Somerset and the Cotswolds – before joining our head office team in 2015. I now look after our PR, social media and that kind of thing.

I feel very lucky to have gone from reading about wine to writing about it. It’s been an incredible journey and one I’m hugely grateful for.

I’m a recent WSET diploma graduate and write my own wine blog in which I still try and pair wine to its archaeological and history routes – ‘Past Cuttings’.

For me, that’s what makes the world of wine such an exciting and interesting product; how its connections to our past have shaped the landscape and what we drink – and what that might even be able to tell us about the future. Wine in Britain is an amazing example of just that, with its checkerboard history from Roman origins to post-war revivals.

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WINE REVIEWS

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Still improving

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 www.matthewjukes.com paper-plane, vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk

I drink an awful lot more still wine than I do sparkling. I have never really considered what the ratio is exactly, but if I opened more than one bottle of fizz per fortnight I would be surprised.

I don’t think that this is unusual either. With our homegrown industry focussing so heavily on sparkling and with prices generally starting around the £25-mark, save for the own-label high street brands, if most peoples’ habits are broadly similar to mine we will need to celebrate quarterly birthdays and encourage hordes of deep-pocketed fizz fans to prevent our sparkling industry from grinding to a halt.

This is why a healthy mix of both still and sparkling wines is fundamental to our industry’s collective success. We need a good

Bored of lockdown?

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number of reputable wineries making whites, rosés and, dare I say it, a few reds, too, under a tenner and widely available and then we need to pack the sub-fifteen mark with even more finely tuned creations.

While a ‘wine list’ of reliable, great value, modern wines, available within an arm’s reach of most consumers, will take a good few years to come together, there are already very encouraging signs out there that there is the ambition and determination to make this work. Overleaf I have picked out a modern classic, a true fine wine and a cheeky debut act to show that with serious knowledge, quick thinking and a genuine desire to keep challenging the consumer anything is possible in our industry.

Why not subscribe to Vineyard magazine for the year?

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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MATTHEW JUKES This is a wine which I am sure that everyone who reads this august publication will be very familiar with.

So why am I using up precious ink on Flint Dry, after all it already has a well-established footprint firmly stamped into our market?

The answer can be seen all around the wine world. Great brands, like Torres, Penfolds and Guigal, with superb, affordable wines in their portfolios always seem to impress, year in year out, but the only way that they can do this is by continually improving.

This ruthless pursuit of intrinsic deliciousness is to be admired and these wines act as ambassadors for their entire portfolios. If we could compare Flint Dry from a decade ago to the Flint Dry today, they are wholly different wines and this shows incredible progress. The bottom line is that this complex blend of grapes and soil types is one of the country’s most energetic, affordable and ever-evolving wines. The zesty fruit, cut with exotic flashes and bright, electricgreen tanginess make many other wines look dowdy and sluggish, so hats off to Flint Dry.

2019 Chapel Down, Flint Dry £13.00

Waitrose Morrison Coop

2017 Gusbourne, Guinevere, Boot Hill Vineyard £25.00 www.gusbourne.com;

Approx. £30.00

www.fortnumandmason.com www.beckfordbottleshop.com www.butlers-winecellar.co.uk www.tivoliwines.co.uk Like Flint Dry, Guinevere is a wine which has improved year on year. Unlike Flint Dry, it has only been around for a few vintages and so while this is one of the most impactful white wines in the country we are only just starting to understand the potential of this style from Gusbourne.

Another point of difference is that while Flint Dry is made to a style and price point Guinevere, I suspect, will be allowed to go anywhere it wants over time. In ten years, there may well be a hierarchy of Chardonnays at this estate – village, premier cru and even grand cru – if the vineyards perform. This makes the future of Guinevere and other still wines at this estate very exciting indeed. I have always loved this wine, noting two years ago that the 2014 vintage was a ‘grand and daring’ release. While the 2014’s exuberance made up for some of its lack of polish, the 2017 is sublime. Like a lusty, young Saint-Aubin, the fruit is exquisite and the oak management, these days, is what makes this such an impactful wine. Strident, powerful and firm, this needs a year or two to mellow but it is a bold statement of intent and I think the value for money here is extraordinary.

While the other two wines on this page have been fine-tuned and much deliberated over, this blossom fresh rosé is a first still wine release ever at Hattingley and it shows just how astute and instinctive winemaker Emma Rice is when it comes to making seat of the pants decisions with her wines.

A few years ago she asked a grower to plant some Pinot Noir Précoce, or Frühburgunder as they call it in Germany. This early-ripening mutation of Pinot Noir is a useful variety in our cool climate and it was intended to ensure that Hattingley had continuity of supply for their famous sparkling Rosé, which is made by blending red wine made from this variety. They realised a great crop in 2019 and so they harvested more than anticipated. The sheer calibre of ripe fruit was such that the wine in tank, as it fermented, was so delicious and fruity they did not need to chaptalise. Emma has always said that she would make a still wine if the grapes were ripe enough. They made 1300 six-packs, earmarked for a couple of restaurant customers, but as Covid-19 struck, the plan had to be changed. Bottled three days before ‘lockdown’, they decided to sell it directly to consumers from their website, and a voucher scheme was drawn up for lucky customers to spend in the restaurants who have missed out on listing this wine.

A great story, a great wine and stunning ingenuity, too.

2019 Still by Hattingley Valley, Rosé £84.00 for six bottles, £14.00 each, free delivery for two cases www.hattingleyvalley.com

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27

EDITOR'S VISIT

lin or Ed it

Hope on the horizon

ecca Ch ap Reb

Ten years into making the switch from Bordeaux to Bucks, Rebecca Chaplin meets up with Harrow & Hope owner Henry Laithwaite.

The clouds are gloomy in what seems to be the first hint of rain in forever. The ground is hard, the air is still warm but there’s a heaviness in the skies as if they've forgotten how to turn rain clouds into water drops after so long.

It’s clear it's coming though, as owner of Harrow & Hope Henry Laithwaite and I stand at the edge of the vineyard and decide we’re going to have to go for it or miss our moment. Here we explore what might be considered a petite plot, nestled not far from the M40 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, although you’d be hard pressed to tell when standing among the vines here. It’s around 20 acres in total, with 16 under vine, and in the 10 years they’ve been here they’ve already expanded to almost the limits.

Flowers are appearing here too, as Henry points out on the vines, well ahead of what was expected.

He is conservatively predicting that the early hot weather we’ve been having could lead to the earlier harvest he’d like – but those looming clouds suggest it might not be smooth sailing through until the end of summer.

“The flowers are all kicking off. The first flowers we saw were on 31 May, its usually the end of June,” he tells me but, as we know, it’s not been easy for vineyards across the country so far and Harrow & Hope have been working hard to protect the early buds.

“We were almost a whole month ahead of the average. May was insane, and the early start bud burst was end of March, early April. As a consequence, we had frost but we use candles so we managed to get through it.”

He explained: “We got hit in 2016; we lost about 60%. After that we decided we can’t just sit here and take it and invested in the candles.

It’s expensive, it’s a lot of hard work, but they’re guaranteed to work. I’d rather do that than buy something that might or might not work.

“Then May was exceptional, really warm, really dry, and the vines have just gone crazy. Ironically, flowering started and the weather has changed.

It’s, as someone said on Twitter, all the right notes, just in the wrong order at the moment.

“So far, so good. I think the vines are in a good place, but like I say, we’ve got a bit of rain over the next few days, which is not ideal but it is what it is, and then it looks like the heat will pick up again. Still a long way to go but harvest is looking ridiculously early in September.”

When husband and wife team, Henry and Kaye, decided they wanted to plant in England they could have chosen anywhere, he tells me, as they didn’t already own land or have ties to a location.

“I was born just south of here in Reading, in Thames Valley, and I couldn’t understand why there weren’t more vineyards in the area,” Henry said as

> The Buckinghamshire hills from Harrow & Hope Photos © Victoria Kay-Barrero

28

we walk through the vineyard, crossing the initial boundary line from the first field they purchased and the hedgerow that’s now been removed.

“We started looking for land and then thought this is probably the reason why there are no vineyards around here because land here is very expensive, and that’s only if you get a chance to buy it. The chance to buy a piece of land that’s suitable for growing vines, south facing, low altitude, all those things coming together, the chances are very slim but I think we just got lucky. Right place, right time.

“The owner was selling three fields and we thought we’ll separate this one. We just jumped on it straight away. This was February 2010. The field had some horses in it, and we thought it ticks pretty much every single box, so we snapped it up and by that May we’d prepped the land and the first 20,000 vines went in.

“A couple of years ago we bought the field above.

There was a hedge here that we’ve ripped out for lots of reasons, and then we bought the second half, built the winery and planted another couple of hectares.”

A decade on and amid the chaos of the current climate Henry and his Kaye have decided to move to full organics, something that’s always been the plan. The aim this year, says Henry, is to focus on producing the best fruit they can.

> Henry Laithwaite, Cat Wilder, James Townsend and Matt Robson The pandemic meant that they’ve lost their route to market through the on-trade, and had to cancel vineyard tours and their usual release parties for new wines. Meanwhile, you’ll notice Kaye is absent from these photos, as she’s on maternity leave and tackling the arguably as challenging – if not more – role of homeschooling two children while looking after a newborn.

Not an easy time on any front, but that doesn’t mean they're going to stand still. The release of their latest Rosé happened in April, weeks into lockdown, and demand was still high because, as Henry puts it, “they just wanted Rosé, I guess”.

“Normally we get people to pick it up, have a big sort of festival and we fire up the bread oven, but obviously we couldn’t do that; but that still didn’t put people off.”

There’s been an acceleration to the conversion of their new on-site cellar door and tasting room, previously the Kirkland tractor's shed, where vineyard manager Matt Robson can currently be found when he’s not working with the vines; but most importantly there is the switch to organic.

We stand among the Pinot Noir with wildflowers growing between the rows of vines – bright spatters of colour set against the grey clouds in the sky – as Henry explains his plans.

“We’re moving to full organics this year, a full programme, and if it goes well, we’ll start our

conversion process at the end of the year,” he says.

“I think for us now it’s just about ratcheting up what we’ve got as far as the quality and the farming are concerned. You can see we’ve got our cover crops down, planted wildflowers everywhere and we’ve started compost regimes; all the sort of things that you need to essentially feed the vine and the soil, we are doing. It’s a big step for us and we’ll see where we are at the end of it.

“From day one it was always my goal but I sort of realised you’ve got to learn. Everything is a learning journey; you can’t just say today we’re going to go organic. Vines, when they’re young, are quite vigorous, quite precocious, and they were just growing like crazy. I said, we have to temper the growth first, balance out the vine before I will feel the confidence to step into full organic. We’ve never used herbicide from day one, so that’s not an issue; really it was just the sprays.

“It was always something we’d set our sights on, it was just a question of when. With everything that is going on at the moment I thought, let’s go for it.

“To be fair, 2017, 18 and 19 had been really good years for us with great yields. If you’re ever going to go for it, I thought, now is the time. And it is a leap of faith at the end of the day; you can’t do a little bit of organics. You’ve either got to do it or not, and we decided to take that jump.”

Although Henry talks about learning, this is not

his first experimental vineyard, but it is his test of what can be done on English soil. As a Laithwaite, his family has had a long relationship with winemaking, and when he says it has been ever present in his life, he means it.

Henry had grown up around vineyards but he was 17 and straight out of school when he completed his first harvest in the Ardèche and, despite not speaking a word of French and no one speaking English, he fell completely in love with it. “I fell in love with French culture and how wine is such an earthy and agricultural product; how everyone in the village is somehow involved in wine," he said.

“That was sort of the thing that lit the touch paper, and after that I decided it can’t all be this good! There’s got to be a bad side to the industry.

I thought let’s go to another country, so I went to Australia. It was different, bigger, more industrial, very long intense harvests and no time for two-hour lunches, but I loved it – the people were amazing. It was different but different in a good way. Having seen both hemispheres I thought this is definitely for me.”

Henry and Kaye met at Durham University, where they both studied biology, and lived in Bordeaux for a time where they still have four hectares of vineyard. However, when the time came to start a >> family it meant relocating to England; Henry

29

> Henry Laithwaite

30

> Pinot Noir vines at the top turn into Chardonnay down the slope

<< has definitely taken some French influence with him.

He said: “The viticultural side, for me, is very much French driven. To me they are the leaders, from my perspective and from what I’ve seen, they’ve always been great believers in organics and biodynamics.

“In the past, they have seen the other side. When you conventionally farm you can use too much herbicide. They’ve experienced the downside of what that can mean on the chemical farming side.

Because they’ve experienced it, they’re moving back towards a more chemical-free farming method. My philosophy on viticulture definitely comes from Bordeaux.”

That philosophy and influence stretches even to the naming of the vineyard, with the pair wanting a more unique name that they could easily protect.

“It came about because we didn’t just want to call it Marlow Vineyard. It’s very hard to protect the word Marlow because it’s the name of a town, and we wanted a name we could very much protect. I was always fascinated with French vineyard names.

They don’t necessarily mean anything, but they are derived from words that describe what it’s like to farm.

“You get lots of good names that are descriptors of the soil and what it’s like to farm. When we started farming this site, because of the excessive amount of flint and gravel in it, it’s Thames gravel terrace, because we didn’t use herbicide, we had to use traditional intervine cultivation, and it used to destroy all of the implements. So we used to say to harrow, as in to plough, and to hope you don’t break anything.

“We used to get 12 or 13 punctures a year. My dog was in the vets every month with sliced paws; it used to cause absolute havoc. So it’s more of a descriptor of what it was like to farm in those early days. We've sort of twisted it to make it like hard work and good fortune are what you need to grow grapes in this country.”

The flint, clay and chalk layers have also shaped the way the vineyard has been planted, as Henry explains from the top of the Pinot Noir, looking down toward the Chardonnay.

He said: “We are traditional sparkling varieties.

We’ve got Pinot Noir, Chardonnay as the pitch goes down and the chalk is closer to the surface, then the Meunier is in the corner over there. We’re

40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Meunier.

Then all the wines, therefore, are Pinot led, apart from our Blanc de Blancs obviously, because that ultimately was the style when we did our research into drinking.

“That was the style of champagne, the traditional method that we really enjoyed. Ultimately, you’ve got to make a wine that you like to drink. We set the vineyard up like that, we put the Pinot on the more clay ground and the Chardonnay is where it’s chalkier, and that seems to have been the right decision.”

He’s optimistic, with bud burst so early this year and flowering beginning almost a month ahead, that an earlier harvest could be on the way.

“I like being early because it means you’re finishing mid-September and the chance of good weather at harvest increases. Once you get into October it’s a bit sketchier as everything cools off and you have to wait longer for that ripening phase,” he says. “To me the earlier your vineyard is, the better chance you’ve got of getting it to that ripeness level. For us that is the key, the ripeness.

You pick up that hedgerow, elderflower and those are not the characteristics I look for in our wines.”

As Henry explains, he’s looking for that “pure fruit character with a sort of minerality” in his wines and that while he likes fruit, it’s not enough on its own and he’s looking for “a certain savoury character, that something a bit extra”. That’s a large part of why he’s pushing to organic.

“Ultimately the vineyard will give whatever it gives. That’s one of the reasons we’re pushing towards organic, to help express a bit more of the vineyard character by not hiding it behind excessive use of pesticides or anything like that. The more naturally you can work, I think the better chance there is of creating something that is unique to where it’s made.”

This year will be the ninth harvest at Harrow & Hope but things have had to change due to the pandemic. Contract labour isn’t an option for them right now, which has meant the team have had to improvise to get the job done. On site they have Catherine Wilder, Matt Robson, Stacey Bright and James Townsend employed by the vineyard but they’ve also found new ways to get to work.

“We can’t stop. Everyone is contributing in the vineyard; when we get out here we’ve all got a job,” Henry said. “We’ve also recruited local chefs, front

> Organic growing sees wild flowers flourish between the vines of house staff from pubs and restaurants we work with, and we have got a good group of people together who have essentially done all of our vineyard work.

“It’s actually been really nice because we feel like we’re helping them out because they’re at a loss with no work, and they’re good because they’re used to the intensity of restaurants, the manual labour side of things and they work really hard.

They really seem to be enjoying it. If we can keep them on until harvest, I’d love to do the whole of harvest with a local team. Usually we’d use contractors so that is the biggest change for us.

What happens the year after? I don’t know. We can sort of create a bubble and sort of make sure people are safe.”

Fortunately, after a combination of difficult conditions, the weather is – almost – playing ball,

explains Henry as we tentatively check the sky again.

Eventually, the clouds can’t hang on for us anymore, and we make a trip into the winery just in time to miss the start of the drizzle.

As Henry previously mentioned, winemaking is his true passion, and it’s clear as he talks me through the different decisions they’ve made. The winery has changed around over the years and is currently going through the next stage of changes, with the office soon to become Henry’s new lab and other functions moving off-site.

He said: “To be honest, we built this shed and thought it would be enough, based purely off what people had told us about yields and volumes. We used to keep our bottles of tiraged wine here but it was taking over the cellar so we’re renting a place down the road that we’re just currently insulating.

All of our aging stock is down there, we just reserve this for fermentation now.

“Disgorging is down there as well. It’s amazing isn’t it, you build a shed, fill a shed and then need to build another. I think the next step for us will be hopefully to build a dedicated disgorging shed.

Disgorging and labelling, so the finishing of the wines takes place where we can regulate the temperature. But we’re sort of running out of land here.”

The tanks Harrow & Hope use are custom made near to their vineyard in Bordeaux. He tells me: “The principle is that each clone of each variety, of each press fraction, gets its own tank. If you’re a huge winery you probably split by different vineyards and villages, but when you’ve got one site like us, you’ve got to split it up a different way. >> “The general rule is each clone variety gets

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EDITOR'S VISIT << its own tank and it can ferment separately, develop its own characters, with the aim being when you get to blending you’ve got all these wonderful different components that we can then start to piece together.”

The winery is almost split, with the very shiny and modern tanks on one side and the traditional oak barrels – although not ancient, just aging – on the other.

Under the lights they look stunning but this is a key part of Harrow & Hope’s production.

“We do about 70% in stainless and about 30% ferments in barrels. That’s quite a key point to our style. Stainless steel is great; it’s nice and shiny, looks great and is easy to clean, but it’s essentially inert so you don’t get any oxygen going into it as it ferments. That’s very good for preserving fruit character,” he said.

“Most of the barrels we get are six or seven years old by the time we get them. We are playing around with larger format barrels and maybe this year we’ll be looking to get some even larger oak fermenters. There are always concrete eggs, there are a lot of winemaking tools out there.

“You can play around a lot these days, oak’s not your only option.

“That’s what’s so exciting; we’re not restricted by anything. As much as I love France it is very restrictive with appellation rules on what you can do.

The pressing, everything, is very tightly regulated but here you can do what you want.

“There are more varieties allowed and you can machine pick if you want. It’s nice on that front that you can do whatever you want. It’s a big advantage for the UK, certainly when you’re finding your feet.

“For us the first 20 years are just about figuring it out and messing around a bit. Trying to work out what works best for the style of wine we want to make.”

Harrow & Hope produce four wines, a Brut Reserve, Brut Rosé, Blanc de Blancs, and Blanc de Noirs, and Henry explains that their staggered release always seems to play out that one sells out and a new vintage becomes available.

The only other wine they produce in the winery is for Henry’s mum Barbara Laithwaite, from Wyefold Vineyard in Oxford.

He said: “Our main wine is our Brut Reserve NV, so that’s just over half our production. It’s our most important wine. It’s the one that no matter what the weather throws at us we absolutely have to make a success of. The way to do that is to have a good library of reserve wines that we’ve kept back over previous years. We’ve got about 80 barrels worth of reserve wines now, so if this year turns into an absolute shocker then we’re confident at a minimum we’ll be able to produce our Brut Reserve.

“We’ve started putting a number on the back now too, because non-vintage is

great but it doesn’t give you a lot of information about what’s in the bottle. I think most people don’t care, but those who do care want to be able to impart a little bit of information, so we’ve just put a number on. You can then go on the website and it’ll tell you enough information to enhance the drinking experience.”

While this family affair resulted in this plot, it’s clear that their winemaking family is a little bit bigger, and Henry includes those people who he is extremely grateful to for helping them get to where they are.

“We have a tight relationship at Ridgeview. They really helped us in our first years and helped set up the winery when Mike was around. He used to come up here with our blending; that was fantastic. I’m eternally grateful to the Roberts family for helping us get up and running.

“We also had a guy called Dr Tony Jordan, who was a sort of prominent traditional method Aussie. He set up Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley for Moet Chandon. He also looked after Cloudy Bay, but was mainly a specialist sparkling winemaker. He came over; he’s known my dad for 40 years, and he came over just to see what the Poms were up to, making British Fizz, and he returned twice a year ever since.

“His knowledge has really helped us, certainly with the oak part of the winemaking, the blending, the finishing the wines – he was instrumental. Sadly, he passed away last September, very quickly, so we sort of lost both our original mentors. But we’re grateful for the time, the six years that we had, and we’ve learnt so much so quickly.

“It’s been quite a rollercoaster of learning. When this lockdown finally finishes we’ll hopefully be able to get out to Champagne again because that’s the bit I miss about France – speaking to people. You can’t just go down the local bar and chat to winemakers. It’s just us.

“I’d like to get back to France, because there’s a good young generation of farmers out there doing things naturally and I’d love to pick their brains about stuff. That’s the only way you’re going to learn.”

For now, hard work and perseverance are back on the agenda, until some sort of reality is back on the cards. The new cellar door is nearly ready for an alternate normality though, and the changes to full organics are just one of the positives Harrow & Hope will take from the lockdown experience.

It looks like there could be a bit more of the harrow on the cards though, as the heavens fully open as I prepare to leave. However, there has arguably been no one working harder or persevering quite as much as Bear the dog, who didn't let up for one moment in his attempt to play fetch anywhere and everywhere throughout my entire time at the vineyard. How he didn’t make it into every single photo, I’m still not quite sure.

"You can play around a lot these days, oak’s not your only option"

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

33

WINEMAKING M a rk C

m

Focus on BIOProtection

ru

n pto

BIOProtection, how and why?

BIOProtection consists of the addition of a living organism to occupy an ecological niche to limit the development of undesirable indigenous microorganisms.

In practical winemaking terms, it means applying selected microorganisms to grapes or must to limit the growth of microorganisms harmful to wine quality.

Often, BIOProtection agents are non-Saccharomyces yeasts. The term brings together a heterogeneous group of yeasts with varied characteristics. Not all of them have the oenological qualities required to ensure BIOProtection of the must, so care must be taken in the selection of the species and the strain.

BIOProtection ◆ Selected from natural grape and must flora, to guarantee oenological origin. ◆ Adaptable to numerous oenological situations. ◆ Have low fermentation activity at the inoculated dose while being able to colonise the medium. ◆ To be made up of high-quality species and strains.

Species making up ZYMAFLORE® EGIDETDMP: Torulaspora delbrueckii

Metschnikowia pulcherrima

Less sensitive to SO2

Low fermentation activity

Strong ability to Robustness to implant in must or juice non-rehydration Resistance to cold ++

Resistance to cold +++

BIOProtection and reduction of SO2 BIOProtection is often, but not only, used in the context of SO2 reduction. The anti-microbial action of SO2 on must aims to select for microorganisms best suited to alcoholic fermentation. Reduction or absence of SO2 must therefore be replaced by other strategies. When SO2 is reduced, the microbiological pressure on the must is increased. Indigenous populations, primarily of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, can be higher than those found during conventional sulfite addition.

Depending on the oenological context, the effect can be variable, as shown below.

The effect of SO2 reduction varies depending on context. In the example above, the total yeast population remains identical at both levels of sulfite added to Pinot Meunier, however the total yeast population behaves differently depending on the level of SO2 applied to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Reducing SO2 is not just quantitative. It is also qualitative and reshapes the microbial balance of the must. Not all yeast species react in the same way to variation of sulfite level. Among them, Hanseniaspora uvarum seems particularly favoured in situations where the use of SO2 is limited, leading to the production of VA.

Effect of BIOProtection in a context of SO2 reduction Figure 3 compares the same Merlot harvest, vinified without SO2 and with and without BIOProtection. In the case of the harvest

> Figure 1: Yeast populations after sulfite addition at 6 or 2 g/hL (60 or 20 ppm). (Measurement at completion of settling).

5E+06

CFU/mL

5E+05 5E+04 5E+03 5E+02 5E+01 Sulphite 6 6 g/hL (60 ppm)

Sulphite 6 2 g/hL (20 ppm)

Pinot Meunier

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Total yeasts J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

Sulphite 6 6 g/hL (60 ppm)

Sulphite 6 2 g/hL (20 ppm)

Pinot Noir NS yeasts

Sulphite 6 6 g/hL (60 ppm)

Sulphite 6 2 g/hL (20 ppm)

Chardonnay

WINEMAKING > Figure 2: Influence of sulfite levels on different yeast species at the pre-fermentation stage

SO2-

SO2+

Saccharomyves cerevisiae Candida zemplinina Hanseniaspora uvarum Torulaspora delbrueckii (PREFERMENT project – Albertin et al., 2014)

without sulfite and without BIOProtection, the microbiological pressure of the must is such that it prevents the inoculated S. cerevisiae yeast from becoming established after the pre-fermentation soak. The consequences are higher levels of oxidative markers compared to the no-sulfite but bioprotected harvest.

Check on establishment carried out after inoculation with S. cerevisiae active dry yeast at 20 g/hL (200 ppm), coupled with or without ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP at 5 g/hL (50 ppm).

The must underwent a 48 h pre-fermentation soak at 12°C. CL35: dose of total SO2 required to obtain 3.5 g/hL (35 ppm) free SO2. The higher the value, the higher the content of SO2 binding components in the wine.

> Figure 3

NO SULFITE + ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP TDMP

Analysis during AF

Establishment of the S. cerevisiae strain

Negative

Positive

Analysis at end of AF

TL35 (mg/L)

74

61

Ethyl acetate (mg/L)

86

61

VA (g/L H2SO4)

0.22

0.13

> Figure 4: Robust establishment of ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP TDMP – Inoculation in must after pressing, no sulfite. Count of non-Saccharomyces yeasts after settling. Conditions: 181 g/L (181000 ppm) sugar, initial N 160 mg/L (160 ppm), settling at 12°C for 14 hours

LAFFORT® and BIOProtection

1.00E+06

1.00E+05 CFU/mL

ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP: The LAFFORT® solution for the BIOprotection of grapes and musts. Resulting from our research work, ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP is composed of the non-Saccharomyces species Torulaspora delbrueckii and Metschnikowia pulcherrima in order to adapt to all situations and preserve wine quality.

NO SULFITE

1.00E+04

Applications for BIOProtection?

BIOProtection is recommended in all cases where there is a delay between picking the grapes and starting the alcoholic fermentation.

ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP can then be used, rehydrated or not: 1. On harvesting and grape reception equipment in contact with the grapes.

2. When red grapes go into tank, regardless of the pre-fermentation protocol.

3. After pressing to bio-protect the musts until settled (white, rosé and sparkling).

4. During cold storage of white and rosé musts.

1.00E+03

Torulaspora delbrueckii

ZYMAFLORE® Other ÉGIDETDMP TDMP non-Saccharomyces yeast

Did you know?

A wonderful weapon of the Greek gods Zeus and Athena, the “égide” (aegis) is the symbol of invulnerability and the assurance of protection.

It often takes the form of a shield. But unlike this mythological object, ZYMAFLORE®

ÉGIDETDMP is very real!

BIOProtection is clearly visible following inoculation with ZYMAFLORE® ÉGIDETDMP and the non-Saccharomyces yeasts detected correspond only to the species T. delbrueckii and M. pulcherrima.

 www.BruniErben.co.uk  07805 081677 paper-plane, Mark.Crumpton@BruniErben.co.uk J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

35

ITASCA WINES

Bigger, better, stronger winery nears completion Itasca Wines aspirations and achievements have grown dramatically a year into the project. Vineyard Magazine visits to find out what’s next.

Last time we visited Penn Croft Farm it was just a field about to become a vineyard as the first vines were hand-planted.

That was only a year ago – or 13 months to be precise – when farmer Simon Porter teamed up with his tenant and film producer Malcolm Walker to create Itasca Wines and Penn Croft Vineyard.

As you can see from the photos, a lot can change in 13 months though. The Itasca’s contract winemaking facility is almost ready to open, a new head winemaker has joined the team, and the vines are now established in the vineyard – so it was about time we took a look around again.

When I arrive, Malcolm is working on film series Cellar Rats. This is the third part of the wine making projects taking place at the farm, and the link between them all.

36

Photos © Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

The combined team of Itasca Wines have always said their venture into winemaking needed to be commercially viable, which led them to the contract-winemaking facility. However, the need to offer the best service they can is a large part of achieving that.

The wide skillsets them in good stead to do so, as they show me.

The winery It’s amazing to see at this stage and to think that in only a few months the winery will be welcoming customers. At the moment, it’s a nice bit of respite from the incredible June heatwave that’s occurring on our visit but mainly a large metal structure, with the build kept on track through Covid-19 by winery contractors Apecs.

In only one day the entire 998sq ft concrete floor will be poured, and once the new doors are in place things will really start to take shape.

“It’s all about having spec and flexibility,” winemaker Ben Smith said.

He lays it out for me with the latest plans, and explains where Itasca Wines’ new two-tonne press, as well as a five-tonne press, and a range of tanks in different sizes will be, allowing them to cater for vineyards of all sizes.

“We’ll use gravity for fruit processing, tipping into bins. The idea being that the fruit stage is where you need to be really careful with handling. We’ll then be able to gravity feed everything into the presses, and the nice thing with that setup is we’ll be able to do everything from smaller vineyards whole-

bunch through to machine harvest.

“We can tailor our winemaking to meet each client’s needs and their goals.”

Malcom and Simon had been searching for the right winemaker, but no one quite fitted until Ben came along. It was fortuitous timing, as the team couldn’t have planned for Oxney Organic’s 2018 Chardonnay, made by Ben, to achieve such high praise as he took up the new role.

“We’re really excited to have someone with Ben’s skills able to build the winery from the ground up, literally,” said Malcolm.

For Ben, being really focused on the details is a key part to his winemaking style, and he said: “Being able to build your own winery, in terms of spec, really helps that.”

He added: “The idea of having wine coming from across the country. The variety that can bring; the different styles. We had people here this morning who want to make some quite cool styles of wine. Winemaking is a journey and we want our clients and growers to be with us on that journey.”

Fortunately, he tells me, that so much of the basics had already been covered and he’s been able to go in and finesse the final layout and kit.

Everything from super insulated panels to non-UV lights are being used to ensure the fruit and wines are kept in the ideal conditions while in the building.

“We’ll have one of the most advanced

disgorging lines in the UK. It’s fully automated and can run up to 1,000 bottles an hour,” Ben explained. “That area where all of the riddling and disgorging will happen is all temperature controlled. We basically have a modular temperature control system. All of our storage is temperature controlled as well.

“Traditional method is obviously a huge element of the industry but, as that 2018 Chardonnay from Oxney shows, English still wine has a huge amount of potential so I think we’ll see demand for that as well.

“We’re building a facility that can do both.

Everything is set up with versatility in mind so we can adapt.”

Ben explains that in the past he’s had breakdowns with machinery from suppliers where the support hasn’t necessarily been there, should something go wrong. However, in Farnham, they have been able to locally source from Core Equipment. They’re fortunate to be just six miles from one of their engineers, and the team joke that they couldn’t have planned it better, but again things seem to be falling into place for Itasca. >>

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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<<

> Bees at Penn Croft Vineyard

> Healthy roots from special cover crops

Beyond that there are even more plans in the works. Already marketing director John Wilkins has successfully been pushing out their updates to potential vineyard clients and the response has been extremely strong with contracts completed already. It’s clear the team’s hunch that their services would be in demand was the right one, and Malcolm adds this space could be full pretty fast.

Every day they’ve been getting phone calls from vineyards wanting to become clients. John is now planning ahead to the next stage, with a cellar door and restaurant in the works.

This isn’t the end for the winery either. Another building will go up beyond the back wall, creating an L-shaped building. Malcolm and Simon explain that early on they realised there was a need for storage with vineyards coming to them before they’d even decided to do contract winemaking, just to ask if they had space.

Sustainability and excellence It’s clear that Simon has a very considered and precise approach to his farming, that has carried over into the vineyard and winery. He tells me that while they didn’t have spare cash to throw at this - it had to be right.

“We’re advertising ourselves - not arrogantly or conceitedly - as state of the art, while also using traditional methods to not damage our grapes,” he said.

“It was a bit of a gamble, we could sense there was a market, but as we’ve gone down the road people have come back to us.

“From 45 years of producing food I've realised that success and profitability comes from excellence, and I try to work on the same principle here.”

However, that level of excellence doesn’t just come from having the right equipment for the job. Itasca Wines is investing in a brand-new lab and software to improve the analysis side and enable clients to be involved with all stages of the process.

Ben explained: “We’ll have a specialised lab, so we can do our analysis in house. It’s something we thought was really important from early on, not only for our own production, but so we can offer an external service and people can send wines or juice samples to us. We can process them and give them the results back.

“We’re investing in Vintrace winery software. It allows our clients to access their wines via a portal. They can log in and see their wine's status. For a lot of our clients, this will be their first harvest and, they don’t know what their bunch weights will look like or maturity. We'll be able to track that data from day one and build up year-on-year.”

He added: “Having outsourced lab analysis in the past, there’s a demand for that and only a few places that are doing it.

“The technical aspect of winemaking in England is increasing and people want more numbers. I think for a lot of people it used to be a bit more hit and hope, but now they are interested in seeing numbers, generating data and working from them. The nice thing is because we’ve got winemakers on the end of the numbers, if they’ve got a question, they can contact us and we can give them some advice on how to react to the results.”

It won’t be simply a remote and digital experience though, with a tasting room also sitting on the mezzanine with the lab where clients will be able to come to try their wines too.

The excellence factor is also tightly linked with being able to offer clients sustainable winemaking, which is becoming increasingly important for vineyards who have already put in the time and effort to grow sustainably or go organic.

Malcolm said: “We’re probably one of the most sustainable wineries in the UK. We'll be generating all our own power with solar energy from the roof."

“The other thing is waste water, we’ll have onsite wetlands,” adds Simon.

He explained: “At the top of the field we’ve got three wetlands, which are

"We’re investing in Vintrace winery software"

38

ITASCA WINES > John Wilkins, Malcolm Walker, Simon Porter and Ben Smith

"It’s fully automated and can run up to 1,000 bottles an hour"

designed by Living Water Ecosystems Limited.

“We will be filtering the water through a biofilter made from straw bales, to take out all the big heavy stuff. Then the water is gravity-fed into the wetlands.

“There are 50 species of plants in there, which are producing oxygen and will purify the water. By the time it comes out of the third wetland, it’s ready to come out across this road to where we’ve got a willow coppice."

It’s a large commitment at this stage, but as Ben said: “It’s the small decisions that will make a big difference.”

Simon explained: “People who are producing wine, and trying to produce it well and sustainably, we want them to know that when they send it here the wine and the environment is being looked after with equal intent.”

Penn Croft Vineyard

We head over to the vineyard and the vines that are now a year old aren’t the only new growth. Between the rows – a less conventional four metres apart – there are legumes and wildflowers planted to put goodness back into the soil.

These cover crops are just part of Simon’s strategy of conservation viticulture, and he explains: “We will cut this in about a month’s time, and then we will replant with mustard, phacelia and linseed.

“Conservation viticulture is biological; it’s not organic. It’s working with the nutrients in the soil, learning what we know of it and what scientists are telling us about it, as well as what practical experience tells us about it. Then using >> that to make the soil productive and healthy. Healthy soil will produce

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

39

ITASCA WINES << healthy plants, healthy plants will produce healthy food.”

The difference between these cover crops and using grass between the vines is the depth of the root, which Simon shows me by digging some up. These are feeding nitrogen back into the soil, making it incredibly healthy and adding lots of nutrients for the vines.

The field hasn’t been ploughed for 20 years and it hasn’t been cultivated for seven, Simon explained, but reinvigorating the soil in this way is still critically important. He said: “This has given me a whole new reason for farming, but I’m hoping that our winery will reflect some of the skills and attention to detail and listening to sustainability.

“We’re not just going to be organic because that’s the thing to be, and we’re not just going to be biological because we think it’s the latest buzzword. We believe that biological can bring together all the various strands that are needed to have the least intrusion by man in growing a healthy productive crop.”

The vines aren’t just planted four metres apart to accommodate these cover crops, it was a much simpler problem, they already had a standard size tractor, but they’re hoping it will have some added benefits.

However, even getting people on board with Simon’s strategies was a struggle until they paired up with Vine Care.

Malcolm said: "When Simon and I decided to go ahead we’d marked this field out as the best on the farm, as south facing with a nice elevation. We had a lot of people come down to discuss planting the vineyard and how many vines we’d get in. The most awkward thing we found was that people planted by machine and weren’t willing to accept what we were saying – except Paul at Vine Care. He

really logged onto the principles of the agriculture and the conservation Simon has been doing for so many years.

“He explained that the Scott Henry system was a way of getting the yield up and he said he’d hand plant. We thought, with the amount of vines, that’s going to be a lot of work! True to his word, Paul turned up with his team and I think it was about 10 days with 20 people here until it was all hand planted.”

“What it’s enabled us to do is grow four-metres apart, and by going higher We will not sacrifice too much yield as if we were two metres apart,” Malcolm added.

“We’re hoping that this improves the flow of air between the vines and that they’ll get more sunlight because they’re not shaded by each other.

“It’s also saved us a lot of money by not having to buy narrow tractors or specialised machinery. The farm already had standard size tractors that would go between this four-metre gap.”

It certainly looks like a vineyard now, with vine posts being put into place by the Vine Care team just before we arrive creating that clear definition of the rows but it will be interesting to see when the vines reach the top.

The bees are now working hard in the vineyard too, another way Simon is supporting the healthy growth of the land by giving all elements the best chance. The next stage for these cover crops is to become mulch full of goodness for the vines, as well as a natural weed suppressant.

There’s only a couple months to go until the launch of the winery and no letting up in the vineyard, so there will be no slowing down for the Itasca Wines and Penn Croft Vineyard team. We’ll be back soon to see the finished result.

> Winemaker Ben Smith talks through the plans

40

TAILORED INSURANCE FOR GRAPE GROWERS AND WINE MAKERS Helping protect the UK wine industry Our network of local offices can provide the specialist advice for your vineyard and business.

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AGRONOMY

Rob S

ders un

Agronomy diary

Ch

Keep it clean All foliar disease affects the photosynthetic capacity of vines, and can infect developing bunches, so a tight programme must be maintained.

Eradicant options are limited, and inherently less effective than a good protectant approach as crop potential will have been damaged once disease is established. An effective mildew protectant is proquinazid, which should have been applied just ahead of flowering, followed by another application a month later, integrated around other chemistry as required.

Under moderate disease pressure, or when growing PIWI or hybrid cultivars, sulphur plus tebuconazole (as in Unicorn) is a good option; the sulphur providing Powdery mildew control and tebuconazole for botrytis, Powdery mildew and some wound protection.

Growers should also be wary of metalaxylresistant Downy mildew strains and use other actives, such as dimethomorph or amisulbrom, especially on sites where metalaxyl has been used extensively in the past.

The foliar phosphite and biostimulant product Phorce appears to help boost plant resistance to Downy mildew so can form a useful part of the programme.

per Coo

42

Leaving it too long risks canopies becoming too big and bushy causing shading and increasing disease risk.

Trimming just one or two nodes from the tips encourages lignification and helps vines settle to form buds for next season. Subsequent trimming should always be slightly higher than the previous cut.

r

is

Optimise vine canopies for yield and quality.

Effective canopy management benefits yield and grape quality and helps lay firm foundations for next year, as Hutchinsons’ Rob Saunders and Chris Cooper explain A well-structured vine canopy is essential for maximising light interception over the remaining summer months, which in turn benefits the quantity and quality of grapes produced. It also helps manage disease risk, ripening and future cane production.

The mixed growth stages in many areas following May’s frosts are undoubtedly complicating canopy management this season, but it is worth being patient to get it right.

Research suggests a minimum of 12 leaves per bunch is required for capturing light and maximising sugar production.

Leaf stripping around bunches helps ripening, but be careful not to diminish the canopy too much, especially if growth has already been compromised.

Equally, where there has been a big flush of growth from the head of vines in Guyot and ScottHenry training systems, this should be addressed – if not done already – to optimise cane selection for next pruning season. Monitor growth to ensure it does not become excessive, especially if low fruit yield is expected due to frost damage.

Where minimal damage occurred, the balance of new growth to feed grape clusters is important.

Remember, at least 1m of canopy is needed above fruit, and a “little and often” approach to trimming is more effective than removing large amounts of material.

Any growers that did not carry out mechanised or manual topping in June should do so this month once canes extend above the top wire.

a

Where growth stages are very mixed due to frost damage, botrytis fungicides must be timed carefully, as primary and secondary clusters could be poorly synchronised and flowering three weeks apart.

This year, flowering on sheltered sites was well underway for primary inflorescence clusters in early June, but if secondaries have not flowered by mid-July, they should be removed, as they are unlikely to ripen before the weather turns.

Crop nutrition has a big influence on canopy growth and grape quality, particularly potassium and nitrogen. Pay attention to optimising the nitrogen balance as too much causes excessive foliar growth and increases botrytis risk, while too little can mean poor fruit set. Low levels of free amino nitrogen are also associated with poor aroma, so levels need to be regulated carefully.

Products such as Lallemand’s Pro-Precocity are worth considering to help tailor nutrition for grape quality.

A further consideration is applying kaolin to reduce sunburn (primarily in Bacchus). Concerns about the impact of surface residues on flavour have deterred growers from doing so in the past, but recent research failed to find any discernible effect. It may be something to evaluate on a trial area, although the shading effect and consequently reduced photosynthesis, and its effect on ripening in our climate, have yet to be fully evaluated.

 www.hlhltd.co.uk paper-plane information@hlhltd.co.uk  01945 461177

GRAPE GROWING

The vine post

Matt St

ro r ve

Now is the time to calculate your yield estimates.

Understanding your yield estimates is the first step to planning your harvest. The sooner you can have an idea of numbers, the better!

The first opportunity to gauge your potential crop load presents itself before flowering – inflorescences can be counted and you can have your first yield prediction to present to your winemaker in early June! Obviously, this prediction will be based on a series of assumptions – bunch weights, percentage losses and flowering success.

The beauty of making a yield prediction at this time means that once you have done bunch counts post fruit-set, the flowering success can be quantified. As we know, the outcome of flowering is often dictated by the weather, but a low flowering success rate in a year in which the weather during flowering was optimal would suggest nutritional deficiencies which need attention.

You may have likely missed this opportunity by now as many vineyards burst into flower many weeks earlier than expected – bring on an early harvest! Once flowering is through and the fruit has set it is time to start making some more accurate predictions.

To carry out an accurate count of the bunches on a vine you will need to remove leaf in the fruiting zone to make sure that you are not missing any bunches. For this reason, it is quicker to make the counts once you have carried out your leaf stripping across the vineyard. However, it is important to get this count in ASAP as you may find that you are sitting on a large crop that might not ripen in time. In this instance you will need to make arrangements to thin out the fruit to the desired cropping level, this is quite a slow task but it’s worth doing to achieve a quality crop. Often this task is carried out too close to harvest at the point when it becomes clear that there is a lot of green fruit that will not get over the line before the end of October, try to pre-empt this and go in early so vines are not wasting valuable energy on fruit that will not be harvested. Obviously more fruit

equals more revenue so this can be a painful call to make.

It’s crucial that sampled vines are selected at random, as humans, our brains are wired to select the most fruitful plants – a useful evolutionary trait for a hunter-gatherer but not so much for a random sampler! For a truly random sample it’s best that the sample vines are pre-determined before entering the vineyard. If samples are to be selected at the discretion of the sampler, it’s important that any bias is removed. For example, whichever sample is chosen “at random” you could then move a set number of vines/bays along the row to ensure that it is random. Clearly samples need to be evenly distributed across the vineyard, a grid pattern is the best way to achieve this. The number of sample vines that are required depends on a few factors – how accurate the estimate needs to be, how much time can be spent counting bunches and how varied the crop load is across the site. Unfortunately, the late frosts this season has made for a lot of variation across affected sites which will make yield estimates challenging.

Essentially, the goal is to find out the average number of bunches per vine, by multiplying this number by the total number of vines and your expected bunch weight you will have an estimation of the total tonnage.

You can also calculate the percentage error of the sample, this will give you an idea of how accurate your estimate is likely to be – less than 10% error is desirable but not always possible, if the percentage error is not within tolerable levels then you may want to increase your sample size.

Ultimately, accurate yield estimates are necessary to allow for harvest planning in the vineyard and in the winery. Through our Vineyard Management and Technical Scouting service we use Sectormentor to collect data across a variety of vineyard sites, this database enables convenient collection of data via the app and negates the need for numerous Excel spreadsheets. Happy counting.

 www.vine-works.com paper-plane, sales@vine-works.com  01273 891777 J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

43

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.

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

Top international speakers for WineGB viticulture webinars WineGB is honoured to have several internationally renowned speakers for the viticulture webinar series, lined up with our own UK experts. These webinars aim to combine the latest technologies and knowledge with practical application and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;know howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the vineyard.

At present most of the WineGB webinars are open to all, due to the current coronavirus situation. The feedback has been excellent, with participants commenting on the support they

are receiving through these challenging times.

Full details of all the webinars and the speakers, with registration links and past webinar recordings can be found on the WineGB website. www.winegb.co.uk/join/webinars/ Dr Andrew Landers was a key presenter for the Vine Pest and Disease Management webinar on the importance of spray application. The recording of this webinar can be seen on the WineGB website.

2 July

6pm Canopy Management (part 1) with Dr Patty Skinkis, Professor and Viticulture Extension Specialist, Oregon State University, and Duncan McNeill, Viticultural Consultant.

7 July

6pm Routes to Market (1): preparing your sales strategy with Mike Paul. Please note that this will also be broadcast at Viti-Culture LIVE! on 9 July

14 July

6pm Routes to Market (2): selling to distributors and the on trade

16 July

6pm Vine Nutrition with Dr Akshay Baboo, Researcher, Plumpton College, John Buchan, Independent Agronomist and Mark Botting, Laboratory Manager, FAST - a WineGB Patron.

23 July

6pm Routes to Market (3): selling into the UK retail sector

30 July

6pm Yield Forecasting with Dr Greg Dunn, Head of wine division, Plumpton College, Ben Kantsler, Vineyard Manager, Nyetimber Vineyards and Emma Rice, Winemaker, Hattingley Valley Vineyard.

> Dr Glen Creasy

> Dr Andrew Landers

> Dr Patty Skinkis

13 August 6pm Canopy Management (part 2) with Dr Glen Creasy, Viticulturalist, Researcher and Author, and Stephen Skelton MW, Viticulture Consultant and author.

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27 August 6pm Preparation for Harvest with Joel Jorgensen, Vineyard Manager, Vine Works J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

> Dr Greg Dunn

Sustainable Wines of Great Britain: first accreditations Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB) has been in operation since earlier in the year but can now announce that the first vineyards are going through the formal accreditation process and, if successful will be able to proudly bear the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain Founder Member emblem to promote their credentials, and benefit from extensive marketing and promotion of the Scheme.

WineGB initiated SWGB with over 30 founder

member vineyards and producers of different sizes and from all parts of the country. Between them this already represents some 40% of the total hectarage under vine.

“We are proud that the UK wine industry is focussed on sustainability – that is a powerful message to share. Our key ambition is to get most, if not all, of the vineyards and wine producers signed up to the scheme, and that the industry is perceived to be more sustainable by government, customers and consumers.

When you see the SWGB emblem, you will know what it stands for.” Commented Chris Foss, Chair of the SWGB group.

The Newest New World Wine Country Oz Clarke’s new book, ‘English Wine: From Still to Sparkling. The NEWEST New World Wine Country’, covers the best wines, from fizz, whites, some impressive reds and even dessert and orange wines. From Yorkshire to the far west of Cornwall and across to Wales. The book is officially published on 3 September 2020, but early copies of Oz Clarke’s English Wine book are available to Vineyard magazine readers who can buy direct from the publishers, Pavilion Books. Please email Oliver Geary for details – ogeary@pavilionbooks.com

The National Competition goes ahead!

Due to the commitment of the judges, the venue, our logistics partners and competition manager, the national competition is going ahead – albeit a little different this year!

Over the course of a week later in July, our judges, Susie Barrie MW, Oz Clarke OBE and Rebecca Palmer will judge each wine meticulously. Rigorous measures have been put in place to ensure the absolute safety of the whole team and we are extremely grateful to Ashling Park for providing the venue.

We also delighted that Waitrose and Rankin Brothers are supporting this year’s competition again as our main partners.

We will be promoting the awards extensively including a great social media campaign – from the judging through to the trophy presentations. Look out for the announcement of the medal winners on 4th August and there will be exciting online unveiling of the trophies on 8 September.

Follow us on:

instagram

Opening up after lockdown Shop Local

WineGB’s shop local campaign continues to support producers. It is signposted from the website home page and includes listings of vineyards selling direct to customers, as well as a directory of retailers that stock English and Welsh wines.

@winegb

facebook-square

@winegb

twitter-square

This informative webinar was broadcast on 25 June and is now available as a recording to help guide vineyards and wine producers through the Government directives, bringing clarity and advice on how to move forward with re-opening vineyard and winery visitor operations. It also provides useful experiences from two different-sized vineyard operations.

The webinar recording is on the WineGB website – search in the ‘become a member’ section.

@wine_gb

JOIN WINEGB

 01858 467792 paper-plane, office@winegb.co.uk  www. WineGB.co.uk J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

45

MACHINERY

Tractor tests resume on 6 July Tractor tests will resume in England from 6 July, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has announced.

To help with this year’s harvest DVSA is getting its tractor driving test service back up and running. However, only those who had a tractor test cancelled will be able to rebook currently.

DVSA has said once all of these candidates have been offered the opportunity

to book a new time and date, it will reopen its booking system.

Anyone wanting to book a tractor test can apply for an emergency test via the critical worker emergency booking service by visiting the Government website.

Driver and rider testing services will resume in phases, starting with the ones where social distancing is easier to maintain. As the driving examiner gives instructions from the side of the road during a tractor test it is one of the first services to return.

DVSA will contact everyone who had a tractor test cancelled after the service was suspended on 20 March to agree a suitable time and location for their rearranged test.

DVSA chief driving examiner Mark Winn said: “The agricultural industry is a vital cog in the UK economy which keeps us all fed and nourished.

“Tractors play a key role in this industry by supporting harvesting and many other farming activities, so I’m pleased to announce the restart of tractor tests in England.

“It is vital that tractor tests resume when it is safe to do so and in line with the Government’s advice.”

DVSA added that it will publish further information and make future announcements on the resumption of testing, training and lessons as soon as possible. It will announce the restart of tractor driving testing in Scotland and Wales subject to the devolved administrations’ lockdown guidance and is keeping the situation under review.

Sencrop chosen as Trimble Select Partner

46

Sencrop has been chosen as a Trimble Select Partner for agriculture.

Under the Trimble Select Partner Program, Sencrop’s connected ag-weather stations will be available to customers through the Trimble and VantageTM distribution networks in the European Union and in the United Kingdom as part of its marketplace.

A leader in ag-weather solutions connected to farm plots, Sencrop is the only fully connected ag-weather ecosystem in Europe. Weather data including temperature, wind speed, humidity, and rainfall is shared and accessible among all farmers with Sencrop weather stations, distinguishing the French ag-tech start-up from other weather providers on the market.

Sencrop’s digitally connected ag-weather station allows farmers to access real-time climatological data and parcel-specific weather conditions from all affiliated weather stations directly from their smartphone or computer.

Pairing the Sencrop systems with Trimble solutions offers benefits to vineyards by enabling them to make weather data-driven decisions.

By collaborating with Trimble, a leader in the global ag-tech industry, Sencrop intends to increase its number of ag-weather stations and expand its collaborative network. An expanded network can provide farmers in the EU and in the UK with the opportunity to enhance or improve the precision

J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

of interventions on their plots by sharing weather data among all Sencrop weather stations.

Co-founders Martin Ducroquet and Michael Bruniaux said: “We are enthusiastic to have been chosen as a Trimble Select Partner and to be associated with this strong brand, well-known in the agricultural sector.

The establishment of a commercial relationship with Trimble’s distribution network in Europe contributes to our goal to offer an integrated digital service to farmers and bring them innovative solutions, allowing for good decision-making regarding interventions in their plots, in alignment with Trimble’s product line. To take part in the Trimble Select program is an ideal distribution vehicle for Sencrop.”

The companies are excited to introduce this ag weather-data technology to Trimble dealers and customers in the EU and in the UK. Trimble has been at the forefront of the precision agriculture business for many years and recognises Sencrop as a technology innovator in agricultural weather products.

This announcement comes five months after the Sencrop buy-out of sensor specialist Visio-Green, which has taken its customer base to more than 12,000 across Europe.

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MACHINERY

Sanitising shared machinery essential to protect against virus Ensuring your vineyard is safe for those working in it, as well as the products leaving it, will continue to be a high priority until a vaccine is found and shared machinery will be a high-risk area.

As the UK begins to gradually open back up, Alison Clark, Progiene Business Unit Manager is urging members of the agricultural and food production sectors to ensure sanitising practices are being conducted with due diligence and with products that are fit for purpose.

When it comes to selecting sanitising spray, it must be efficacy tested and conform to EN 14476, a test which verifies the product will kill 99.99% of enveloped viruses such as the novel coronavirus. According to Clark, this can be found on cleaning product labels.

She said: “Whether it be regularly wiping down a shared tractor cab between different members of staff or keeping surfaces clean in farm shops, garden centres and merchant stores, precautions must be taken to prevent potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.

“There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace with people purchasing products with the best of intentions. A good example is a bottle of leading household Surface Cleanser – capable of killing bacteria and seemingly a good option. However, it is not verified as capable of killing viruses.”

Clark explained: “Before making a product purchase, check that it is

EN 14476 verified, and if it is not, then don’t waste your money on it. The novel coronavirus is an enveloped virus; therefore products must be able to penetrate its lipid structure to kill it and EN 14476 ensures the product can do this.”

For areas that need to be sanitised in production facilities, to avoid contaminating food supply through residual build-ups. While alcohol and bleach have been proven to be effective at killing enveloped viruses and are safe for food production, they are very harmful to stainless steel and textiles and have substantial hazardous profiles. Instead, she advises using a spray free from QACs, bleach, alcohol and formalin.

Since it is not advisable to expose skin to chemical sanitising sprays, soap and hand sanitiser should be utilised for hand hygiene.

She said: “Soaps are also known for their effectiveness in breaking through the lipid membrane of the cell wall to destroy bacteria and viruses. It is advised to wash hands thoroughly with hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds.

“Practicing good sanitising measures with products verified to kill enveloped viruses like the novel coronavirus is absolutely essential to protect the health of staff and customers, and to maintain regular business operation. Using a multi-purpose product that will not only kill viruses, but other pathogens, is an effective way to do this.”

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THE all new TERRAGLIDE SUSPENDED FRONT AXLE and TRELLEBORG PNEUTRAC TYRES

available across New Holland T4 Speciality range

JEREMY CLOUDE 07710 870153

RICHARD SMITH 07483 035922

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J U LY 2020 | V I N E YA R D

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VITIFRUIT EQUIPMENT

Under vine weed control solutions Rollhacke discs can be useful in certain circumstances where the soil conditions are just right and the vine rows are straight and level but often the results are disappointing with the need for further intervention with other tools.

The problem is that they only move soil at the side of the vine trunks but not between or around them so weeds in the centre of the strip are not disturbed and continue to grow. The addition of a spider wheel can help if the soil between the vines has been previously cultivated and is loose but even they do not penetrate the soil between the vines or get close to the trunk so any established weeds remain unharmed.

The other major problem is the tendency to create potato ridges under the vines, which increase in height with each pass even to the level of the graft and these ridges are a real problem to level out. To achieve full weed control right across the strip and right up to the trunk requires a more sophisticated approach with a multi-function machine such as the Boisselet with a modular design which enables different types of cultivator head to be fitted to a single frame and swapped around according to the soil type and condition.

For those who neither want to cultivate the ground or use chemicals the Boisselet system can also be fitted with inter vine mowers and different types of strimmer, vertical and horizontal.

Vitifruit Equipment would be delighted to show you these tools in action in your vineyard. They have a number of tools for demonstration, sale and hire. There are many videos on their Facebook page and Vitifruit encourage you to take a look at them. Please note that all are taken in real conditions in English and Welsh vineyards.

Contact David or Richard for details and please take time to visit the manufacturers website www.boisselet.com and www.facebook.com/vitifruitequipment.co.uk

“Your local vineyard tractor & machinery specialists”

Martin Bailiss

07796 305209 sales@farol.co.uk

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

Rycote Lane Farm, Milton Common, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2NZ Unit 12, Newton Business Park, Newton, Nottinghamshire, NG13 8HA Coldridge Copse, Shefford Woodlands, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 7BP Wharf Farm, Coventry, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0NB Holmbush House, Holmbush Ind. Est., Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9XY London Road, Twyford, Reading, Berkshire, RG10 9EQ

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State of the art winery opening September 2020

Offering full pressing and processing, sparkling and still wine, temperature controlled storage (including on lees), bottling, riddling and disgorging, labelling and packaging. Laboratory offering wine analysis services.

Contact us & find out more itascawines.com | info@itascawines.com | 01252 279830 Itasca Wines, Penn Croft Winery, Clifton Farm Croft Lane, Crondall, Hampshire, GU10 5QD