OUR VINEYARD
WHY A VINEYARD?
Having lived in West Sussex for many years we were surrounded by vineyards and became curious about growing vines in the UK. The ability to ripen grapes being one of the very few positive effects of climate change.
CREATING THE VINEYARD
We planted the vines in May 2023 after preparing the vineyard from its previous life as an organic arable field We were advised by Vinescapes on layout and establishment
Prior to planting, and after some debate, we decided to sub-soil the plot. Our soil has 40cm loam over hard packed chalk and we were worried the hard interface with the chalk might result in vine roots doing a u-turn. After the sub-soiling we power harrowed the plot ready for planting.
We also invested in a very expensive deer and badger fence. Every time I see a deer outside the fence (often) I feel pleased we made that decision!
As part of our vineyard design we left a wide perimeter to allow for more diverse plantings – currently left to long grasses which are now full of small mammals which attracts the local buzzards.
The planting was done by GPS with a huge rig. This was an incredibly fast process. The whole vineyard was planted in about 7 hours.
In January 2024 as part of increasing biodiversity we planted a hedgerow of native plants along the north and east border. The work was support by FIPL.
We were surprised to discover how windy the vineyard is and with consequent damage to young vine tips as they grow past the wires. So in January 2026, we planted 140 Italian Alders along southwestern border as future windbreaks. Ideally we would have planted a native species but we needed a fast growing wind-break tree and native alders don’t thrive on chalk. Just one of the many trade-offs in trying to be regenerative but effective. As a temporary measure we erected a windbreak screen until the alders grow.
In March 2024, as part of our drive for biodiversity and once again supported by FIPL, we created a butterfly scrape. The aim is to provide a bare chalk environment with appropriate seed provided by Dorset Wildlife Trust in order to support dwindling chalk-land butterfly numbers.
THE CHALLENGES OF ESTABLISHING AN ORGANIC VINEYARD
One of the main factors holding back the establishment of new vines is competition from weeds around their roots. Most conventional vineyards would use Glysophate (RoundUp) under the vines but as an organic vineyard this would go against our principles particularly as there is evidence that glysophate is harmful to human health. So in the first years this left us doing a huge amount of hand weeding and strimming under the vines. The inter-rows developed significant couch grass so we mowed that consistently and have seen the clover now dominate the couch.
We had major infestations of snails in the vine tubes, while we did use an organic snail pellet we also went round scooping the snails out. But the overall outcome is that after year 2, when we might hope to allow the vines to grown on new made the decision to prune them down to 2 buds again. Not only did this put our plans back by a year but also required 3,200 squats during pruning leading to very sore legs.
In 2026, with the vines a bit more mature, we have been using a Clemens under-vine weeder to help control – along with more strimming!
HOW DID WE LEARN?
Back in 2022, Jos did a one week course at Plumpton, the leading center for all vineyard and winery education in the UK.
We also used consultants for soil management and vineyard management.
But above all we relied on the very open and supportive UK vineyard community. Many open days and WhatsApp forums and always a willingness to answer rookie questions. The supportive community of vineyard owners and workers is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being involved in this industry.
OUR VINES
PIWIs
The biggest challenge to growing grapes in the UK is the cool damp climate (most years!) with the main disease challenges being mildews and Botrytis. In a conventional vineyard these are controlled by quite aggressive spray programs. For example, in France the vineyard industry uses 20% of all the agrochemicals used in France while covering only 4% of agricultural land.
So in order to support our organic approach we decided to plant “PIWIs”. These are specially developed hybrids from Switzerland which are disease resistant.
OUR VARIETIES
CABERET NOIR
A hybrid cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and another undisclosed variety!
It produces a medium body wine with an amazing complexity on the nose with spices, juniper bay, red fruits and a very subtle oak profile.
SAUVIGNIER GRIS
Souvignier Gris is a German PIWI bred in 1983 as a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner. It is a pink-skinned 'gris' variety that produces exceptional white wines in the UK.