After the leaves drop from the vines, though late October/early November, the vineyards can feel quite empty and austere, on a cold and dreary winter day, to look out and see no growth or canopy, some of the romance of a vineyard can sometimes be lost. If you’re not into traipsing around in the English winter drizzle, doing manual labour that is. Which by default must mean that vineyard folk LOVE doing just that. What a funny bunch.

After 5 or 6 months of there being no green growth on the vines through the winter, this moment becomes all the more exciting – budburst! With the last few warmer weeks, the vines have fully woken up, and this year’s growth is underway. What starts off as tiny woolly tufts emerging from the canes, there is now a sea of leafy emeralds, gleaming in a huge array of colours.

After months of all the vines looking pretty much the same, it’s the first time we get to see the character of the different varieties emerge again. Looking out over Saw Pit vineyard in front of the terrace, there is a clear distinction between the colour and growth in the shoots of the Pinot Noir (bright lime green), the Pinot Meunier (silver & pink), and the Ortega somewhere between the two, but already much bushier. Each has its own character, just as we see in the wines.

Speaking of wine, the first round of kegging has started for the 2024s. A format we’ve been fond of for some years, but have now really leant into. The goal is to have our core range of wines entirely served from keg on site, omitting the need for glass – a fizz, white, rosé & red. This year will be the most we’ve ever done with c. 12,800 bottles going into this format. The first kegs of the 2024 Rosé and R will be tapped this weekend if you’re keen to try – English gamay anyone?

Tierney Beames | Wine Manager

 

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