Vineyard August 2021

VINEYAR VINEYARD YAR Y D for viticulturists in Great Britain ™

AUGUST 2021

Talking sense Leading the way with new viticulture technology

CLAIM YOUR FREE TICKETS & WINERY SHOW

Registration open, see page 16

INSIDE ◆

Here come the PIWIs

◆

Charmat sparkles

◆

Matthew Jukes on lesserknown grape varieties

VINEYARD CONSULTANTS

• Vineyard sales & acquisition • Planning applications • Business plans • Environmental schemes • Grants •

Matthew Berryman 07710 765323 matthew@c-l-m.co.uk

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& WINERY SHOW For viticulturists in Great Britain

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24th November 2021 Kent Event Centre, Detling, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3JF

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VINEYARD for viticulturists in Great Britain

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www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk VINEYARD Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444 EDITORIAL Editor: Jo Cowderoy vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk GRAPHIC DESIGN Jo Legg Flair Creative Design jo.legg@flair-design.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Jamie McGrorty 01303 233883 jamie.mcgrorty@kelsey.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 DISTRIBUTION Distribution in Great Britain: Marketforce (UK) 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP Tel: 0330 390 6555 PRINTING Precision Colour Print Kelsey Media 2020 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published.

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

Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/ . If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk.

www.kelsey.co.uk

NEWS 8 Sad passing of English wine pioneer Rodney Pratt

10 South Downs National Park a potential winemaking hub

REGULARS 20 In conversation

Bibendum is one of the UK’s most successful drinks businesses and Jamie Avenell is responsible for the overall portfolio of wines.

22 Matthew Jukes

Not that weird but very wonderful.

41 A new way to handle your bottoms Tank bottoms from juice settling can represent a major financial loss for any winery. Traditionally, various methods have been employed to recover juice from lees to reduce this loss.

42 Sulphite reduction strategy during pressing

44 The agronomy diary

Stay ahead of mildew and Botrytis.

45 Seven factors to consider if acquiring land

47 Meet the people

behind the wines

Profiling the careers of people working in UK vineyards and wineries.

53 The vine post

Vine-Works management and technical scouting – A sum greater than its parts.

54 Representing you

A winning English Wine Week.

57 Machinery

A new twist to the market.

FEATURES

48 Establishing a legacy of excellence The Wiston Estate has enjoyed considerable success in recent years. Vineyard hears how it has achieved so much in such a short time.

Front cover image: Llanerch © Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

 vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk twitter @VineyardMagGB facebook VineyardMagGB

CONTENTS Features A leading light

24

Vineyard discovers how Llanerch has become an international visitor destination with awardwinning restaurants, hotel, wedding and conference facilities.

Tomorrow’s world today

30

Vineyard finds out how advances in innovative technologies enable precision viticulture and will enhance production, aid efficiency and provide a competitive edge to vineyard businesses.

Here come the PIWIs

34

PIWI grape varieties have been bred and selected to have a high resistance to fungal diseases.

Vineyard finds out why these innovative grape varieties have an important future.

Charmat sparkles

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Vineyard finds out why the success of two products has tempted more brands to explore the exciting sector of the Charmat method.

Jo C

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TRURO

From the editor

Have you booked your ticket yet?

The Vineyard

ALNWICK

eroy d ow

www.hlhltd.co.uk

I have been a regular visitor to the French ‘expos’ Vinitech and Sitevi for many years – so personally I am thrilled that our industry now has its own big event – the brand new Vineyard & Winery show – it is such an exciting landmark! With our well-established robust UK supply chains along with dedicated innovative businesses meeting the needs of vineyards and wineries here in the UK – we no longer have to incur the cost and time of travelling abroad (with or without Covid-19 restrictions).

The Vineyard & Winery show will be a (very) long overdue opportunity to network – especially around the 30 metre long ‘Wine Hub’. With over 100 of the UK’s best wines available for tasting on a central table, it will be a fantastic opportunity to taste some of the country’s top wines, and also a chance to do the all-important exercise of benchmarking your own wine – to avoid the dreaded cellar palate.

Matthew Jukes will be conducting a ticketed tutored tasting of six wines, and this is a valuable opportunity to really understand the structure of these top quality wines. Tickets are limited in number and all proceeds from sales will be donated to The Drinks Trust charity - who have provided a vital support for many in the drinks industry during these challenging times.

The seminar programme will tackle prominent issues for existing wine producers as well as providing an open forum, with the experts, for anyone considering a new vineyard project. We all know that vineyards are amazing visitor destinations, so the seminar will give top tips on making sure the venue provides a great experience and meets the tourist’s expectations. In another seminar the all-important ‘yield’ question will be tackled, and winemakers will share their wisdom on achieving the often elusive and unpredictable malolactic fermentation.

With the UK vaccination programme rocketing ahead we will hopefully have a certain degree of normality by the time of the show in November. I am really excited to see my many friends in the industry and hope we may even be able to shake hands –none of this weird elbow nudging. It would have been good to be able to ‘faire les bises’ also – if it wasn’t for Matt Hancock’s recent ‘faux pas’!!

Despite a late start to the season, the vines have raced up the wires and many are now just starting to flower – we will blink and vintage 2021 will be over. The Vineyard & Winery show will be a chance to draw breath - before the next season gets underway. So, if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you in November at the show – everything vineyard and winery, equipment, machinery, supplies, new technologies – all under one roof at the Kent County showground!

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Send your thoughts and comments

by email to vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk

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NEWS

Sad passing of English wine pioneer Rodney Pratt Sadly Rodney Pratt, co-founder of Bolney Wine Estate, passed away on Saturday 12th June 2021.

Rodney and his wife Janet were true pioneers of the industry, founding Bolney Wine Estate back in 1972 – almost 50 years ago – planting what was then one of the earlier commercial vineyards in the UK. Rodney was of the studious type when he was younger and enjoyed learning new things. When he was studying chemistry and engineering he went on a placement to Gutenberg University, in Mainz, Germany and it was whilst he was studying that another interest began. He spent most of his six months there in the vineyards of Louis Guntrum and from there learned about the difference between the everyday wines and good German wines.

It was from this discovery (and Janet’s love of the land) that Rodney and Janet first realised their dream. That passion and faith sparked off a journey that has now spanned three generations of the family.

Their daughter Sam Linter caught the wine bug from her parents in the

> Rodney Pratt

8 J U LY 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

nineties and with their support and that of her brother, Mark, took the vineyard to the next level. Today, Bolney Wine Estate is an established and well-known brand that continues to win awards and hearts both in the UK and on the international stage. Sam is now Managing Director and Head Winemaker of the ever-expanding business that includes contract winemaking, and a thriving wine tourism and retail operation. The family business is now joined by Sam’s daughter, Charlotte. Rodney carried on in his later role as company president and was proud of his daughter and of all the staff at Bolney that worked so hard to continue what he saw as his and Janet’s legacy. The family was devastated to lose Janet in 2005 and wished alongside Rodney she could have seen how Bolney continued to grow over the ensuing decades.

In a statement from the wine estate and all the team, Sam commented: “He will be sorely missed by all and we are now taking the time to reflect on both our founders and the amazing risk they took in creating a business that has given so many people so much joy.”

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NEWS

South Downs National Park a potential winemaking hub The huge potential of the South Downs National Park to become a winemaking hub for the UK has been revealed in a leading new report.

With its sun-soaked slopes and chalky soils, the South Downs has already made a name for itself; producing some of the best English sparkling wines. Now a new study has shown that the potential for more viticulture may be significant – bringing hundreds of new jobs and millions of pounds-worth of investment to local rural economies in the National Park. The report found that up to a third of agricultural land in the National Park may be suitable for winemaking.

The publication of the study is accompanied by new planning guidance for current and potential wine producers – recognising that any increase in vineyards must protect and enhance the treasured landscape of the South Downs and help biodiversity.

Key findings of the report, carried out independently by Vinescapes, revealed: ◆ There has been a 90% increase in vineyard coverage in the South Downs National Park since 2016, with around five new vineyards planted every year. ◆ There are now 51 vineyards and 11 wineries in the National Park, employing 358 people, attracting approximately 33,000 visitors a year and contributing directly around £24.5 million to the local economy and £54m to the wider economy ◆ Currently around 0.4% of farmland is used for viticulture – but 34% could be suitable for vineyards. ◆ The study identifies 39,700 hectares of land in the South Downs National Park as being suitable for viticulture. If just one-tenth of this land (3,970 ha) were to be converted for growing grapes, this would represent an area larger than the current UK viticulture sector (3,500 ha in 2019) and more than 22 million bottles of wine could be produced annually. (2.5m are currently produced annually) ◆ The average spend per visitor in the National Park is currently around £62. ◆ If vineyard area and wine production in the National Park doubles, to

almost 1,000 ha, the study estimates 800 people (full-time equivalent jobs) could be employed, an annual contribution to the wider economy of £127 million could be provided, and 75,000 tourists could visit each year.

Nick Heasman, a Countryside and Policy Manager for the Authority, which commissioned the study, said: “Commercial vineyards have existed in the National Park area since the 1950s, and there are references to vineyards in the region going back to Roman times.

“Then, as now, the special nature of the South Downs National Park provides a working landscape that helps produce world-class wines.

“This study is really important – in terms of improving our understanding of the current viticulture sector in the National Park and also the potential for winemaking to grow sustainably. Climate change is undoubtedly having an impact and, with warmer summers predicted in the future, we know farmers and land managers may be looking at grape-growing opportunities on their land.

“More viticulture undoubtedly has the potential to help our local communities thrive and prosper, but at the heart of our thinking is that any growth must be environmentally sustainable.”

Following on from this study is the planning guidance, called a Technical Advice Note, which will help shape any future viticulture. The guidance recommends any future proposals are landscape-led and must deliver multiple benefits for the National Park, including creating space for nature (such as planting trees and wildflowers) and helping to protect soils and watercourses (by reducing pesticide use, for instance).

Lucy Howard, Planning Policy Manager for the National Park Authority, explained: “This useful planning guidance is aimed at current and prospective winemakers. It forms a framework for how viticulture could expand in the National Park over the coming years, while also delivering benefits for landscape and biodiversity. The South Downs National Park is known for its inspirational landscapes, sense of place and rich history. This marries up with the philosophy of winemaking where for centuries, vineyards and wine producers have drawn on landscape character, soils and a sense of place or terroir to impart or explain the difference and uniqueness of their wines.”

◆ A summary of the South Downs National Park Viticulture Growth Impact Assessment, can be read at www.southdowns.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/South-Downs-Viticulture-Growth-Impact-Assessment.pdf ◆ The full report is also available: http://FINAL-VERSION-VGIA-V1.6-compressed.pdf (southdowns.gov.uk) ◆ Planning advice can be found here: www.southdowns.gov.uk/planning-applications/advice/ • The viticulture planning guidance is available on the website: www.southdowns.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SDNPA-Viticulture-Technical-Advice-Note-TAN.pdf

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> Rathfinny Estate Vineyard in South Downs National Park

A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

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NEWS

Here’s to nature with Nyetimber Nyetimber has announced initiatives with two environmental charity partners, the South Downs National Parks Trust and Elephant Family, as part of its effort to raise awareness of the importance of trees and promote sustainable practices in and around its vineyards and in the world at large.

In June Nyetimber released a limited-edition bottle of Classic Cuvée in partnership with the South Downs National Park Trust. Each of these bottles represent a tree that will be planted as part of the Trees for the Downs initiative this year.

Nyetimber expects to contribute around 1,000 trees which will form part of the 100,000 trees to be planted by the initiative which aims to restore trees that have been lost due to pests and diseases, including Ash Dieback and Dutch Elm disease. The bottles have bespoke neck and back labels with information about the campaign and include Elm Tree artwork. This collaboration runs until 23 July.

Nyetimber is also proud to be supporting Co-Existence, an environmental art campaign produced by Elephant Family which will see over 100 life-size elephant sculptures migrate through London’s Royal Parks this summer. Nyetimber is sponsoring the Tree Trunker Herd in Green Park

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These activities are in addition to the formal recognition Nyetimber received last year from Wines of Great Britain, for its sustainability credentials in part of its Manor vineyard and the winery.

Nyetimber’s vision is to make the best sparkling wines in the world with a commitment to sustainability and biodiversity. From the flora and fauna that grow alongside the vines to the materials and energy expended in bottling and transporting the finished products, Nyetimber takes a 360-degree approach to the land, resources and carbon footprint involved in bringing the wine from the ground to the glass.

Commenting on these partnerships, Eric Heerema, CEO and Owner of Nyetimber, said: “We are delighted to support these very important and worthwhile initiatives that are really making an impact. What they are trying to achieve reflects our view of nature. Winemakers engage in a continuous dialogue with the natural world and as stewards of the land on which the estate sits we have always taken a holistic approach to the ground, resources and the carbon footprint involved in creating our wines.”

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ENWARD

Chapel Down, opens new round of fundraising Chapel Down has announced its plans to raise up to £6.875m as part of a new round of crowdfunding to further accelerate its growth and facilitate the next phase of its evolution.

Backed by more than 4,000 pilgrims (investors) the brand has grown volume by 38% in 2020 despite the pandemic. Hitting the million-bottle milestone in October 2020, it is now the largest producer of English wine in the country with sparkling wine volumes that rank within the top Champagne brands in the UK. With a mission to change the way the world thinks of English wine forever, Chapel Down has led the movement of pioneering shareholders, employees and customers who preach the good word to anyone who has an inquiring mind, an open palate and a love for world class, cool climate wine. Chapel Down’s success is evident, producing world-class awardwinning sparkling and still wines and with broad premium distribution across top end bars and restaurants such as Sketch, Hand & Flowers, Darwin & Wallace and the Grill at the Dorchester. Now with major retailer Tesco adding its flagship sparkling wine to the portfolio in April 2021, along with long established relationships with Sainsbury, Waitrose, M&S and Majestic.

This raise, in partnership with Seedrs, is focused on enabling further growth, improving wine quality even further, building the brand, the e-commerce business and exports. Participating investors will enable Chapel Down to: ◆ Scale up winery operations to process greater quantities of fruit and further improve wine quality whilst also becoming more sustainable and efficient ◆ Complete planting on the finest North Downs chalk terroir, producing up to 500,000 additional bottles of English sparkling wine per annum ◆ Meet the changing needs of consumers by extending its e-commerce platform to be capable of international expansion ◆ Take Chapel Down wines to the world by developing strong, international partnerships to further promote export development ◆ Drive further brand awareness and affinity by telling Chapel Down’s exciting story across multiple channels ◆ Develop the winery as a destination, attracting visitors to eat, stay and play at Chapel Down, opening their eyes to the possibilities of English wine. ◆ Establish a shadow advisory council made up of diverse individuals who will help to steer new product development, creative positioning and policy development at Chapel Down in a changing world.

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In association with

Vitifruit Equipment Sales and Hire

Ben Kantsler announced as guest speaker Head Viticulturist Ben Kantsler is responsible for luxury sparkling wine producer Nyetimber’s 11 vineyards, which span across the counties of West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire. Ben oversees more than 800 acres of estate owned vineyards with more than 1.5 million vines planted.

After working in vineyards across the globe, Ben joined Nyetimber in 2015 and will be sharing his story and views on viticulture in the UK. Ben commented: “I am very pleased to be invited to speak at the inaugural Vineyard & Winery show. In just five years in the UK, I have seen huge changes across the industry and as a whole it is just getting better and better.

It is a privilege to reflect on these changes with colleagues, friends and peers and I look forward to passing on my experiences on what will be a great day.”

Get your free ticket to the show

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The Vineyard & Winery show will be an unmissable event for anyone working in viticulture and wine production in the UK. The new ‘expo’ will take place on 24 November 2021 at the Kent County Showground. Organised by Vineyard magazine and supported by WineGB, it will be an invaluable opportunity for all viticulturalists, winemakers, suppliers and the trade to come together. There will be a packed programme including technical talks from WineGB, tastings of the UK’s top wines, lots of machinery and equipment to see – as well as a long over due chance to network with peers.

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Who should attend? ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

> Ben Kantsler

The seminars

In affiliation with WineGB, expert speakers will cover topics such as viticulture, winemaking and marketing. There will also be a dedicated session aimed at new entrants to the industry. ◆ Planting a vineyard Dr Alistair Nesbitt will look at the future climatic conditions for grape growing in the UK, Mitchel Fowler will discuss the financing options for a wine growing business, along with additional speakers offering practical advice for vineyard projects.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Viticulturists and vineyards owners Winemakers Viticulture suppliers (vines, trellising) Packaging suppliers (bottles, labels, corks, cases) Vineyard machinery and equipment suppliers Winery machinery/equipment suppliers Winemaking sundries and supplies (yeasts, nutrients, cleaning products) Winery services (contract winemaking, contract bottling) Business services (marketing/PR, legal, insurance) Labour providers Retail, wholesale or wine trade Soil and plant health companies Students and educational organisations Consultants New entrants to the sector

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Don’t miss out

Register now for your free ticket to the show at www.vineyardshow.com

◆ Malolactic fermentation – when, where and how Emma Rice, winemaker Hattingley Valley Vineyard, Nick Lane, winemaker at Defined Wine and consultant winemaker David Cowderoy will share their wisdom and experiences for achieving MLF in still and sparkling wines. ◆ Enhancing your tourism offer Julia Trustram Eve, WineGB Head of Marketing, along with experts in this field, will provide tips for making sure your venue meets the needs of the visitor – with wine tourism becoming an increasingly popular experience. ◆ High achievers: yield and quality Matt Strugnell, Vineyard Manager at Ridgeview Wine Estate will lead the discussion on how to achieve both good yields and quality in commercial viticulture.

Harvest Green Development will be sponsoring all the show hospitality and Ferovinum will be the sponsors of the WineGB seminars.”

The exhibitors

The wide-open space at the Kent County Showground can accommodate even the largest machinery, as well as provide flexibility for meetings. Over 70% of the stands are already booked with a wide range of companies keen to network and discuss solutions. As there is nothing better than seeing vineyard equipment first-hand N.P. Seymour and S.J. Barnes are planning to bring a massive Pellenc machine harvester, the new Fendt tractors and a Wagner vine planter!

If you want to understand the intricacies of crossflow filter, then visit the BevTech stand.

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Interested in exhibiting?

Details on how to book an exhibitor place can be found on www.vinyardshow.com or call Sarah Calcutt on 07827 642396, or Jamie McGrorty on 01303 233883. To register your place to attend the show and to purchase tickets for the tutored wine tasting (available via Eventbrite) go to www.vineyardshow.com

The show sponsors

Protect your home with an insurer who knows your world – from the Sarah Calcutt, Vineyard & Winery Show Director grapes you grow to the wine you own. commented: “We are so proud, and honoured, to have support of some of the most prominent From cases of the vintage burgundy and champagne to art collections, businesses in the sector including CLM, Bruni diamond Erben, jewellery and watches, for and Royston labels.

Hutchinsons, Vitifruit high-value homes and contents, choose NFU Mutual Bespoke.

To find your local Bespoke home insurance specialist, email: winegb@nfumutual.co.uk or search NFU Mutual Bespoke

◆ Network with the key players in the UK wine industry ◆ Meet with industry experts ◆ Learn the cutting-edge technology and see demonstrations of the latest machinery ◆ Take part in the Matthew Jukes tutored wine tasting, the worldrenowned wine writer and columnist Matthew Jukes will present 6 still and sparkling wines. Tickets are £20 and the proceeds are donated to the Drinks Trust charity. (Numbers are limited to 120 – so book early!) ◆ Visit the Wine Hub and taste some the UK’s best wines – up to 100 different wines available to try on the day ◆ Attend the WineGB seminars – Expert speakers will cover viticulture, winemaking and marketing topics – aimed at new entrants to the industry as well as those already established ◆ Join some of the biggest names in the industry such as CLM, Hutchinsons, Vitifruit, Bruni Erben, Royston labels – and many more

Nick and I, and the rest of the team at Seymours are very much looking forward to welcoming visitors to our stand – after such a challenging year it will be lovely to see everyone.

Claire Seymour from N.P. Seymour

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AWARDS

WINEGB AWARDS

Winners announced The WineGB Awards, the national competition for the English and Welsh wine industry, is organised and run by WineGB and highlights the winning styles of today.

Awarded by top judges led by Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke OBE, the competition judging took place between 7-10 June at Ashling Park Estate who kindly provided the venue.

Record number of entries

The WineGB Awards 2021 saw a record number of entries from all over England and Wales – from the smallest to the very largest in the country; including 24 new producers entering for the first time. Producers from Wales and nearly every county in England gained medals, signifying the breadth of winemaking skill across the UK and one of England’s smallest vineyards scooped a major trophy alongside the established stars in English winemaking.

Over 300 entries were received, with 37 Gold medals, 107 Silver and 131 Bronze being awarded. Of the entries 133 were sparkling and

176 were still, and of the total medals awarded, 126 (46%) went to sparkling and 149 (54%) to still. The Classic Method sparkling wine styles triumphed winning seven of the 10 trophies, but innovation in UK wine industry shone through with an impressive clutch of awards for a range of new styles and methods. In terms of vintage sparkling wines, 2015 proved to be the star of the show, winning nine gold medals.

The results illustrate the ever-growing quality, innovation and new talent in the industry as well as reinforcing some of the best-known winemakers in the ‘Hall of Fame’ of GB wines.

Whilst Classic Method sparkling wines remained the hero style of the industry, the awards embraced a huge range of styles including still wines – which won medals across the board – and innovation shone through with new styles and methods appearing for the first time including Pet Nat (petillant naturel), canned wine and a wine produced in an amphora.

Trophy triumphs

2021 Trophy triumphs included: Ashling Park,

Wiston Estate, Gusbourne, Harrow & Hope, Chapel Down, plus Digby and Bluebell Vineyard Estates cementing their positions on the winners’ stage once again. New trophy heroes include Surrey producer Greyfriars and one of England’s smallest vineyards, Stonyfield Wine, a single field family-owned and run vineyard in Blisworth, Northamptonshire, scooped the Trophy for Best Sparkling Blend (which includes non-traditional varieties). The wine – Stonyfield Sparkling White 2017 – brings a national trophy to an English county little known for its wine production.

Commenting on the Awards, Co-Chair of judges Susie Barrie MW said: “2021 has been a great year for the WineGB Awards and undoubtedly our best yet. These Awards shine a light on the very best still and sparkling wines the UK has to offer and it’s wonderful to bear witness to an industry that is now consistently producing wines that really are world-class. Not only that, the range and variety of wines just keeps on getting better.”

Non Classic Method Sparkling Wines also proved shining examples of innovation and

Photos: WineGB/Tom Gold Photography

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growth, receiving 10 medals, including one Charmat method wine, three Pet Nat styles, and two canned wines.

Traditional grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and even Pinot Meunier also featured prominently in the award-winning still wines in all colour categories. Bacchus also remained a popular variety earning 41 medals and a Trophy.

Still rosé wines accounted for just under 25% of all still wine awards together with a trophy.

Two trophies have also been awarded: Boutique Producer to Sugrue South Downs (for the second year in a row) and Newcomer, which went to Yotes Court.

Another notable Gold medal win was an Ortega fermented with wild yeasts on skins and aged in terracotta amphorae for 10 months before being bottled without filtration, produced by Westwell in Kent.

Further innovation in lesser-known varieties played their part with a Trophy-winning still rosé being 45% Merlot in the blend, a still red blend of Sovran and Cabernet Noir, and a 100% sparkling red Merlot.

Oz Clarke commented: “The WineGB Awards are one of the highlights of my year and this year certainly reinforced that; we had the thrill of encountering and rewarding even more styles, witnessing more innovation and discovering new producers, new names and new wines. I can speak for all the judges in saying that we’re all really excited about the potential that Britain is rapidly developing, and we saw it this year. You can only be at the birth of a new wine region once – and that’s where we are now!”

Top trophies still to be unveiled

The top trophies will be announced at the WineGB Trade & Press Tasting on 7 September,

This year’s judging panel comprised:

Rebecca Palmer, wine buyer of Corney & Barrow; broadcaster and journalist, Helen McGinn; Head Sommelier and wine buyer of The Tate, Hamish Anderson; Majestic wine buyer, Elizabeth Kelly MW; and wine writer and consultant, Simon Field MW. The number of judges was reduced to ensure that they could taste and assess in a safe environment and within the existing social distancing restrictions.

> Prue Folliott Vaughan, Belinda Brown and John Folliott Vaughan (Stonyfield Wine) and Jonathan Lewis (Boxes & Packaging) additionally celebrating the champions of each region, being the wines that earned the highest marks. Each of the category trophies announced will go head-to-head for Top Still, Top Sparkling and Supreme Champion. The winner of Winery of the Year (of which there are two awards: Contract Winery and Estate Winery) will also be announced in September.

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The judges

The WineGB Awards is one of the most rigorous and respected of competitions. Judged by a leading team of experts from the industry, headed by Co-chairs Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke OBE, all wines are retasted if they are to qualify for trophies, which are only awarded to a category when the judges feel they are deserved.

The full list of winners is available on the WineGB website www.winegb.co.uk

> John Billings (Carpenter Box), Mark Harvey (Chapel Down), Frazer Thompson (Chapel Down) and Doug Jackson (NFU Mutual)

> Laurence and Kevin Sutherland (Bluebell Vineyard) and Jamie Matthewson (Waitrose & Partners)

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AWARDS THE WINEGB AWARDS TROPHIES 2021 WERE AS FOLLOWS: Classic Cuvée NV/MV

Ashling Park Estate

Ashling Park Cuvée NV

Prestige Cuvée

Chapel Down

Kit's Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2015

Sparkling Rosé

Digby Fine English

2014 Vintage Rosé Brut

Classic Cuvée Vintage

Greyfriars Vineyard

Cuvée Royale 2015

Blanc de Noirs

Harrow & Hope

Blanc de Noirs 2015

Sparkling Blend

Stonyfield Wine

Sparkling White 2017

Blanc de Blancs

Wiston Estate Winery

Blanc de Blancs 2015

Best Still Chardonnay

Gusbourne

Chardonnay Guinevere 2019

Best Still Bacchus

Chapel Down

Kit’s Coty Bacchus 2019

Best Still Rosé

Bluebell Vineyard

Ashdown Rosé 2018

Boutique Winery

Sugrue South Downs

Newcomer

Yotes Court, Kent

ASHLING PARK ESTATE Ashling Park Cuvée NV BLACKBOOK WINERY Pygmalion 2018 BLUEBELL VINEYARD ESTATES Ashdown Rosé 2018 BOLNEY WINE ESTATE Estate Chardonnay 2020 CAMEL VALLEY VINEYARD Bacchus Dry 2020 CHAPEL DOWN Kit’s Coty Blanc de Blancs 2015 Kit’s Coty Chardonnay 2018 Kit’s Coty Bacchus 2019 Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2015 DAVENPORT VINEYARDS Limney Estate 2015 DENBIES WINE ESTATE Blanc de Noirs 2014 DIGBY FINE ENGLISH Non Vintage Brut 2014 Vintage Rosé Brut 2013 Vintage Reserve Brut

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ENGLISH WINE PROJECT Renishaw Hall Walled Garden Rosé 2018 EXTON PARK VINEYARD RB32 Brut NV GRANGE ESTATE WINES LLP The Grange Classic NV GREYFRIARS VINEYARD Cuvée Royale 2015 GUSBOURNE Blanc de Blancs 2016 Chardonnay Guinevere 2019 Natural Brut 2014 Nest Selection 2014 HALFPENNY GREEN WINE ESTATE Rosé Sparkling 2019 HARROW & HOPE Brut Rosé 2018 Blanc de Noirs 2015 LANGHAM WINE ESTATE Culver Classic Cuvée NV Rosé 2017 LBW DRINKS LTD Chardonnay 2020

The full list of winners including Silver and Bronze medals is available on the WineGB website www.winegb.co.uk

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NUTBOURNE VINEYARDS Bacchus 2019 STONYFIELD WINE (PAINTERS VINEYARD) Stonyfield Sparkling White 2017 SUGRUE SOUTH DOWNS Cuvée Boz 2015 The Trouble With Dreams 2015 TINWOOD ESTATE Blanc de Blancs 2017 WESTWELL WINE ESTATES Ortega Amphora 2019 WISTON ESTATE Blanc de Blancs 2015 WOOLTON VINEYARD Cuvée No1 2015 YOTES COURT Best Turned Out 2020

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s

Where a vineyard has many assets, and owns land, buildings, plant and equipment, the conventional banking offering usually works well.

However, often the most valuable part of the business is the stock of wine, which increases in value over time. It is not uncommon in conventional banking for it to be significantly written down for lending purposes rather than it being recognised as an appreciating asset.

Unfortunately for vineyards, this means conventional banking generally tend to treat stock unfavourably, which can lead to lending challenges.

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Funding challenges

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Have you found discussions with your bank around funding your vineyard and winery business a challenge? Funding can be a major problem area for many players in the wine industry, but there are options available beyond conventional high street lenders.

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Funding for vineyards – what are your options?

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wine and then make adjustments on the basis of the funding provided. In most cases, the stock remains on the vineyard’s premises throughout the process.

With the UK wine business continuing to grow, there is now more funding support than ever for vineyards and wineries. To maximise your chance at accessing funding, it is important to work with a dedicated adviser to help assist with funding applications, cash flow and financial projections.

How we can help

Carpenter Box is proud to be a Patron of WineGB, and our dedicated team of vineyard specialists can help with funding applications to help you take your business to the next stage.

Vineyard friendly options

Fortunately, there are some options available. There are a few non-conventional banks that work with vineyards. They understand the natural variability of the vineyard sector due to the weather and appreciate the value of the wine stock. They may provide conventional banking facilities, but these are significantly extended using third party experts to value the wine stocks on a regular basis.

There are also some relatively newer entrants into the marketplace offering lending not available previously. These specialists understand particularly how vineyard stock works, and that it increases in value over time. This allows them to provide flexible stock funding facilities: the more stock you have, the greater the facility.

This approach helps growing businesses fund their continued growth. So far, these players have focused on medium and larger vineyards, but this is expected to change over time.

Below are a couple of the new lenders we’ve worked with and have seen success within the vineyard sector: ◆ Ferovinum: they offer a flexible alternative to finance for wine and spirits companies based on the value of maturing wine. They work primarily with mid-size wine businesses. ◆ PNC Business Credit: they provide secured financing and lending solutions for larger vineyards and spirit merchants across the globe by maximising access to capital.

How it works

£ £ £ £££ £ £ £ £ £ ££ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ ££

The structure of the lending facilities can differ. The primary structures are: ◆ A credit facility is agreed with a floating charge over the stock; or ◆ The lender legally purchases the stock from the vineyard; the vineyard agrees to buy the stock back at a pre-agreed price in the future.

With both structures, the lenders start with the market value of the

 www.carpenterbox.com/vineyards  01903 234094

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SALES AND MARKETING

In conversation...

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Best sellers?

The Bibendum model

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Bibendum is one of the UK’s most successful drinks businesses and Senior Wine Buyer for Bibendum Jamie Avenell is responsible for the overall portfolio of wines from around the world to its diverse multichannel customer base. Bibendum’s English range has seen a strong doubledigit growth for a number of years, for both still and sparkling, and is looking good for continued growth into the future.

Bibendum’s model is to offer our exclusive agency producers a complete solution for the UK market through Bibendum On-trade, Walker & Wodehouse for Independent retail, and Bibendum Off-trade. Through our ownership by C&C we also now work with the Tennents business in Scotland and C&C’s distribution businesses in ROI & NI. So, we have a diverse-multi channel customer base.

I’ve been with Bibendum for just over 10 years now and I’m currently on the second year of the MW programme – which is great fun but a lot of work and a challenge to fit in around work, family and anything else there is time left for.

English wines

We currently work with a total of 10 English producers on an exclusive basis for the UK market within Bibendum, with a good mix of sparkling and still wine producers. We have expanded the number of producers we work with a number of times over the last few years as demand has grown and we have really focussed on growing and developing the category. At the moment we probably have the right number of producers, but I would love us to be in a position where demand meant we needed to expand further in the future.

Pre Covid-19, we had seen consistent strong growth, but clearly during the pandemic whilst Independent retail sales have done incredibly well the on-trade has suffered, but with the trade open again and demand strong I would expect English wine to continue its growth in our business.

Whilst sparkling gets all the plaudits and column inches, we have seen growth in demand for English still wine pretty much in line with the growth of sparkling over the years, which is why we have added a number of still wine producers to our portfolio over the last years.

Although there has been great momentum in the category, the enthusiasm for buying local has helped – and the English category is probably the only one that will benefit from Brexit, in the short term anyway until we have trade deals.

Ridgeview is our top selling producer currently, and within this the Ridgeview Bloomsbury NV. They are a fantastic producer, with an established name, great quality, and with whom we work closely to develop and support sales with our customers.

A market for Charmat?

There is absolutely an interest and market for Charmat – and it is an area that we have seen strong growth in. I was a little reticent to start working with this category initially when we first teamed up with Fitz, given the perceived danger to the category some see with Charmat, but I felt the commercial opportunity was strong, and importantly it targets a totally different customer to traditional method English Sparkling Wine – and so it has proved.

It allows customers who might not sell much traditional method sparkling wine to sell a fun English wine, with an approachable style by the glass at a price point that works for their business and their customers. Those that have the customer base for it will then also list traditional method English Sparkling Wine. It’s expanding the footprint of English wine overall and bringing it to a wider customer base which can only be a good thing. We are very careful to ensure it’s clearly positioned as a different category of English wine, not one in the same.

Getting listed

For producers wanting to get listed and gain distribution with Bibendum, quality is key – as is building a name and customer demand for your wines and getting out there supporting sales. Whilst there has been fantastic growth in the market as supply increases this will only become more important.

How can producers help sales?

In normal times we run a regular programme of tastings and events both for customers and in-house trainings, have an incredibly strong social media program, and a brilliant knowledgeable sales team that have a passion for English wine and the producers we work with.

The future?

As volume increases and the industry grows the attention to detail has increased as producers grow and evolve experimentation in the winery, and push the boundaries of what can be done with English wine products – such as Ridgeview Oak Reserve, and Balfour’s limited release wines. These kinds of wine really underpin the qualitative message of English wine which will continue to underpin UK growth, and help establish the category further for export market growth – which will be really important to the category over the next 10 years.

Importance of sustainability

Sustainable practices are becoming a pre-requisite for sales with many customers and so it’s absolutely vital that producers give thought to their sustainability practices and how they can contribute to a better future through the way that they work. We have always worked with producers that give great importance to this, but it’s definitely become even more important over the last few years.

English Wine Week

This year, because of current Covid-19 restrictions we were unable to run some of the activity we would normally run during English Wine week, but were able to support producers with our social media activities. Let’s hope next year we can see a return to larger scale events to fully support the event.

Most recent imbibes?

Picking a favourite would be difficult, but the last English wine I sat down to drink was a bottle of Balfour’s Suitcase Pinot Noir. The quality of the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier red wines coming out of Balfour is phenomenal and shows that reds could possibly become a bigger player within English wine in the future where climate allows.

What do you like to do when not buying wine?

Studying for the MW programme takes a lot of time. Spending time with my wife, and our six year old daughter – who is a bundle of energy, travelling (how I can’t wait to do that again…), eating out, and then running to moderate the former. I’m taking part in the Scotland coast to coast race in September – a race including running, cycling, and kayaking from one coast of Scotland to the other over one day!

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WINE REVIEWS

Mat h e w

Not that weird but very wonderful

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A collection of wines from lesser-known grape varieties.  www.matthewjukes.com paper-plane vineyard.ed@kelsey.co.uk I often use the expression ‘weird and wonderful’ in my wine writing as a catch-all phrase for wines made from grape varieties that don’t fit into conventional sets like Bordeaux blends, Rhône varieties and so on.

This month I have found a collection of wines made from lesser-known grape varieties that are, quite frankly, not that weird, but they are very wonderful indeed.

Some of these varieties will be familiar to those of you who work in the English and Welsh wine trades but I suspect that your average punter might not even know that they are actually grape names. Given the quality of these wines, I hope that they remain planted in our soils and that wines like the beauties mentioned overleaf gradually do the job of educating palates that they are capable of making fascinating and rewarding wines.

Before I continue, I have not included wines made predominantly from Bacchus in this article.

I think the Bacchus PR job has been done rather successfully and, fortunately, this variety has such a catchy name unlike some of the others we are dealing with this month. A confession – I have had to look up one of these grapes because, while I am in my 35th year in the wine business, I have never heard of it before, so perhaps this is a genuinely weird fellow!

While you might think that this month’s theme was a fairly difficult topic to research, I have actually left out a star wine from the trio on the opposite page. In order to maximise the number of shout-outs, I have found two wines from each

In association with

> Giffords Hall of my selected wineries and one extra for good measure! My bonus wine is 2019 Giffords Hall, Madeleine Angevine (£14.50, www.giffordshalll. co.uk) which I deem to be the perfect aperitif white for sophisticated gatherings. Gentle and smooth with a light lemon theme and a lovely dry, crisp finish, this is an enchanting wine with an airy character. And this is precisely what these W&W

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wines do for our palates.

They are not electrifying Bacchae (is this the plural of Bacchus?), nor are they indulgent Chardonnays. They are certainly not highlypriced Pinot Noirs either. These are all eminently affordable, uniquely interesting and wonderful English wines that capture the imagination and reward the senses.

Vitifruit Equipment Sales and Hire

& WINERY SHOW

For viticulturists in Great Britain

24th November 2021: Kent Event Centre, Detling, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3JF

22 FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF THE TEAM:

Event Director Sarah Calcutt 07827 642396 Booking enquiries Jamie McGrorty 01303 233883

2018 Blackdown Ridge, Triomphe £16.66 (sold as 6 bottles for £100) www.blackdownridge.co.uk

Made from Triomphe d’Alsace and seeing 10 months in French oak, this is a dark, spicy, bonfire-tinged red wine with lovely black cherry fruit and masses of gusto.

Relatively straightforward on the palate and generously juicy, too, this would be a surprisingly good steak wine such is the energy found here! Business Development Manager turned budding winemaker, Lucinda Colucci, told me that the 2020 vintage of this wine was, “made completely by me with remote directions from our consultant winemaker due to Covid-19 issues.”

She continued, “I even trod the grapes. It was a big learning curve!” Because the 2018 vintage is getting low on stock I felt compelled to ask for a barrel sample of Lucinda’s 2020 and she kindly obliged. Needless to say, just you wait until this wine goes on sale – it is even finer and plusher than the suave 2018 with spicy, blackberry and plum fruit bursting out of the glass. These wines are genuine triomphes (sic).

2018 Meophams, Signature Red £13.95 www.meophams.co.uk This red is The Traveling Wilburys in vinous form. This is made from a hilarious band of oddball grapes, including the one I had to look up - I thought that Léon might have been the winemaker’s name! Rondo, Regent, Triomphe d’Alsace and Léon Millot result in an old-style English red with a faint hint of verdant garden centres and miscellaneous greenery but there is a core of black fruit ripeness here which cannot be denied.

Check out the price, too, while you fire up your barbecue. This is a spicy, jolly red with a big heart. While you are at it, grab an ice bucket for 2019 Meophams, Oakmead White (£13.95). This time a Madeleine Angevine and Reichensteiner blend, which harnesses apple skin and hedgerow scents with a dry, perky finish that follows a slim and harmonious path. It is the perfect counterpoint to the Sig Red and I cannot think of drinking a finer nor better value white and red English combo in my own garden this summer.

2018 Halfpenny Green, Late Harvest £12.95 half bottle www.halfpennygreen.co.uk Made from Huxelrebe and Bacchus, this is a bruised apple and pear-skin-scented sweetie with a faint Muscat feel, and a light and refreshing finish.

At 10% alcohol, it is a delicate and gorgeously innocent pudding wine for the lightest of fresh fruit desserts. If you think of this wine solely as a sweetie, it is one of the country’s finest, but then place it on a world stage and there is nothing like it with its delicacy, finesse and lightness of touch and that is before we even consider the value for money!

Working along the same value, tenderness and uniqueness path, 2019 Halfpenny Green, Penny Black (£9.50) is a dry white wine made from Madeleine Angevine and Huxelrebe in perfect partnership. This is a quaint reflection of our collective vinous past and at £9.50 it might just be England’s finest fighting price still white wine! I have also tasted the tremendous 2020 that follows hot on its heels and this wine has even more lift and perfume. Tell the world!

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23

EDITOR'S VISIT

Photos: Martin Apps, Countrywide Photographic

24

itor

Llanerch, nestled in the beautiful Vale of The proverb 'great Glamorgan of South Wales, is Wales’ second oldest and largest commercial vineyard. oaks from little The vineyard was initially planted in 1986 acorns grow' is with a small bed and breakfast business in the original farmhouse – but it wasn't the fitting for the short thriving business it is today.

Ryan Davies trained as a geologist and but spectacular was about to head out to Australia to use his degree in the mining industry when his parents story of Llanerch tempted him to stay in Wales with a sum of vineyard’s success. money to start his own business. At the time, in his early 20s and keen on extreme sports, At just 24 years Ryan started looking for a suitable location to create an extreme sports park, when he landed old Ryan Davies upon Llanerch vineyard, “I was not particularly interested in wine at the time but saw the bought one of the potential of the site as a tourism location. While oldest vineyards travelling I had worked at a few vineyards in New Zealand and Australia, where many in Wales with the vineyards are tourist attractions. I could see that this would be a great place to open a restaurant. vision of creating We are close to the M4 and Cardiff, and only two hours from London – well from the London a tourism-driven Welsh Rugby Club in Richmond to be more vineyard business inspired by those he had seen on his antipodean travels.

Vineyard discovers “Ryan is not someone how, in Just to rush change, the 10 years, expansion has been, Llanerch organic – slow has become and steady.” an international visitor destination with awardwinning restaurant, hotel, wedding and conference facilities – and is also leading the way with new viticulture technology.

Ed

A leading light

Jo Cowdero y

precise,” he smiled.

Ryan bought the property in 2010, aged just 24 – with no experience in either hospitality or vineyard management. In just 10 years the small bed and breakfast has grown unrecognisably, the initial investment from Ryan’s parents has enabled the business to develop step by step to attract further investment. “Initially planning permission for expansion was challenging, but we know the system well now and the planners can see the benefits, especially with the numbers of people we employ and how much tourism we bring to the area,” Ryan explained.

Despite his relative youth, Ryan is not someone to rush change, and the expansion has been, organic – slow and steady. “In 10 years, we have grown to employ over 100 people, have 37 hotel rooms, all five star, and which recently have achieved nearly 100% occupancy – and the restaurants regularly do 300 covers a day. My

wage bill is scary!” Ryan exclaimed. “However, I have a great team of managers and staff, so I can now spend weekends with my young family.”

Llanerch is home to some of the oldest vines in the country as some of the original plantings in 1986 and trellised on Geneva Double Curtain – older than Ryan at 35 years – are still healthy and producing good crops. The older vines are Triomphe d'Alsace and Reichensteiner, but the newer planting in the seven-acre vineyard include Pinot Précoce, hybrids Seyval Blanc, Phoenix and Solaris, which do well.

All the wine is sold on site at full retail price, in the restaurants and at the weddings and corporate events as well as the tours and tastings. Ryan does not see that it is cost effective to sell to supermarkets or bars – even though there are frequent requests to stock his wines.

“We do not currently have a shop on site, but wine is sold from reception – but we don’t really have enough we are not encouraging these sales. We did have the wine available online, during the pandemic, but have taken it offline now to slow down sales,” Ryan exclaimed. But as the business grows there are concerns that the current volume of wine produced will not be able to meet demand, so another six acres have just been planted this year, with Solaris, Phoenix >>

> Ryan Davies

25

> Pierre Graves

“The vineyard and wine are definitely a draw for not take over. We luckily have a slick team of chefs and << and Rondo. “We are continually being asked for a red visitors.” service crew – and some very well-oiled logistics,” Ryan wine, so with Rondo we will be able to meet this demand,” added Ryan.

Running through all the business development and expansion plans is a commitment to sustainability. “We have a wastewater treatment plant which discharges clean water into the stream. Restaurants do create some food waste, but we ensure that this is collected so that it can be converted into biofuel and fertiliser. We also recycle as much as possible.

Keeping the income streaming in

26

Llanerch is firstly a tourism location with its beautiful upmarket restaurant and hotel, wedding and event venue. “But Llanerch has a unique selling point which makes us stand out – and that is the vineyard and wines. In fact, we were proud to be The UK’s first vineyard hotel,” commented Ryan.

The vineyard and wine are definitely a draw for visitors. “We usually run three vineyard tours and wine tastings per day – which amounts to around 90 people – every day of the week, through the summer months. The tours are full most days! The people that come on the tours often then stay for lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner, bringing additional income to these facilities,” explained Ryan. “The on site cookery school owned by Angela Grey is another income stream. And because we are not far from BBC Cardiff, we often provide a setting for filming, including some recent episodes of the TV series ‘Casualty’,” Ryan added.

Llanerch with its beautiful views across the vineyards and surrounding countryside makes it a stunning setting for a wedding. With a licence for civil ceremonies the wedding can take place in the Calon Lodge overlooking the vines, adding to the ‘wow’ factor. A spacious permanent marquee can seat 150 guests and overlooks the new vineyard. “We are very popular for weddings and the vineyard certainly adds to the romantic setting. We had been doing, prior to the pandemic, about 70 weddings a year, but will increase this to 100, but want to make sure that weddings do

A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

commented.

The hotel business has also grown step-by-step – led by demand.

“The reception staff kept saying to enquiries that we were fully booked, so we needed more rooms. I went to my bank and was able to show them turnover and profit margin, and we received a loan for the extension, refurbishment of existing rooms and a new 26 room two-story vineyard hotel with conference suites – and amazing views across the vines and Vale of Glamorgan,” explained Ryan.

The superior suites, located in each corner of the hotel, are very spacious and include a bedroom with super king size bed, as well as a living room area with sofas, a luxury ensuite bathroom, Juliette balconies and breath-taking views.

“Around the world high quality vineyard hotels are very popular and we bring that unique experience here. We have had a lot of international visitors, before the pandemic, as we are so close to Cardiff airport – especially visitors from Dubai and UAE, saying they need to cool down here as the summers there are so hot,” Ryan smiled.

Ryan is a dog owner, with two beautiful Bernese Mountain dogs, called Bella and Bajha, so he saw the opportunity to meet the needs of dog owning customers by offering dog-friendly rooms in the hotel – and even a dog-friendly area in the restaurant.

The power of Instagram

Ryan has used marketing and PR agencies in the past, but now finds that Instagram is doing a lot of his marketing for him. A very ‘Instagrammable’ colourful flower covered wall with the Llanerch brand is the first thing visitors see as they arrive - and is a prime opportunity for the obligatory selfie which is then posted on social media far and wide. “Although I didn’t realise it at the time, my best marketing

decision was probably deciding to rope my Nan into appearing, with me, on the TV show ‘Four in a bed’. This was back in 2012, so early on in the business development and we had just opened our bed and breakfast. The other contestants on the show were really quite slating in their comments towards us, and we didn’t win – but this must have triggered a lot of support as our website hits increased massively and after its broadcast we were fully booked,” Ryan exclaimed.

The Cariad range

Llanerch’s award-winning wines are called ‘Cariad’, (meaning ‘sweetheart’ in Welsh), which are made from varieties, mainly hybrids, well-suited to the site and climate. “Our average production at the moment is 12,000 bottles, and currently all our wines are made by Three Choirs Vineyard – as they do a good job – so we do not have any plans to have our own winery,” commented Ryan. “We want to keep the range simple, so we produce a dry white, an off-dry white and now, to meet demand, a medium sweet. We have a blush, and two sparkling wines – a white and a rosé. There are no varieties on the label, and we don’t see the need for obtaining a PDO or PGI – to keep it simple we just label the wines as product of UK.”

Future plans

Ryan is creating complimentary business enterprises that ensure multiple income streams – and the steady, organic growth is a testament to his persistence and patience. “I may do things step-bystep, but I always have lots of plans constantly buzzing in my head,” Ryan commented.

“My next project is to create a spa and gym and we are in the process of applying for planning permission. I would like another building for the weddings, as well as larger conferences and corporate events, as I would like to expand into that market,” he added.

Ryan’s success with his own tourism focussed business means that he is a valuable member of the WineGB tourism working group – helping the industry with its wine tourism development. “Here in Wales, we have a wine cluster group, and there is the opportunity of funding from the Welsh government, but it has to benefit all of the Welsh vineyards. The group have discussed the possibility of a marketing campaign or research into a wine tour route, but nothing is decided yet.”

At Llanerch there are 10 acres of mature woodland and three acres of lakes. “One of my future projects is to put in some luxury treehouses – and provide golf buggies for the guests to get back from the restaurant. I may also consider purchasing more land for vines but will wait for the newly planted six acres to get into production first. I also need the new hotel to be fully up and running and turning a profit before the next project – I need to be patient.

Although I do not plan to revive the extreme sports park idea – I do think a zip wire over the vines might be fun,” Ryan grinned. >>

John Buchan AGRONOMY LTD For independent advice on: Interpretation of soil and tissue Formulation of nutrient programmes Supply of tailor-made products General agronomic advice

27 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

EDITOR'S VISIT

The Internet of Things in UK vines When Ryan Davies was contacted by Dr Pierre Graves, a spectroscopy specialist and innovator, last year he and his vineyard manager Laurence Bond immediately saw the benefits of using the latest technology in the vineyard – to enhance his production, improve quality, and provide pest and disease alerts in order to reduce inputs on plant protection products. All a step towards precision viticulture.

Pierre is a scientist and his company, Corbeau Innovation, specialises in innovative spectroscopy products, which can be applied in many different sectors from precision agriculture to microelectronics. “Imaging is a hot ‘tech’ area – but all technology is dependent on other technology. The Internet of Things links this, using GPS for location measurement, bandwidth for transmitting the data from the field, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced algorithms for interpreting the vast quantities of data into meaningful information for the user’s device.

The Internet of Things is a network of objects that are usually not computers themselves but are connected so they can send data to a computer (like the one in the office) or a cloud computing service (like Amazon Web Services).

“At Llanerch we are trialling a platform which is the result of a pan-European precision viticulture (PV) research project called FREND.

Using sensors to record the microclimate and leaf monitors to provide plant characterisation, artificial intelligence can guide growers to accurately deliver water, nutrients and plant protection products at just the right time,” explained Pierre.

“Basic weather station sensors have been used in agriculture for some years but FREND uses AI and multispectral imaging as well as physical sensors. The project aims to provide growers with as much information as possible to help their decision making. This is taking viticulture to another level. But the platform is a smart easy system that anyone can use without special technical knowledge,” Pierre added.

“The new platform, sold under the tradename Xloora, uses SensIT, an advanced, multi-sensor weather station and a portable multispectral device, BACO, which takes images of the vine leaves. Images are presented as a kind of Normalised Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) reading. NDVI quantifies vegetation by measuring the difference between reflected visible light and infrared light. For example, healthy vegetation with chlorophyll reflects more near-infrared and green light compared to other wavelengths, but it absorbs more red and blue light.

“The data from these two devices, with the help of AI, the cloud system storage and advanced algorithms can provide real-time

> Pierre Graves and Ryan Davies

28 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

alerts to the presence of disease, water stress or nutritional deficiencies in the vines – highlighting any problems well before the human eye can see them.

“During the study in Portugal the platform was able to show the early stages of powdery mildew, downy mildew and Botrytis, before these could be detected by eye – which resulted in a 60% reduction in disease,” Pierre added.

Satellite imaging has been used for a while to map and provide leaf canopy spectroscopy in vines and other crops. This can give a reading for canopy density measuring reflectance across blue, green, red and infrared wavelengths. But satellite imaging has its limitations explained Pierre. “Its ability to record is affected by shadows, cover cropping or cloud cover, and the spatial resolution is only about 10m. BACO multispectral leaf imaging device is able to provide high spatial resolution imaging of individual leaves, it is unaffected by cover crops or by shadows and sunlight and with GPS its resolution is around 1.3m.”

The trials at Llanerch Vineyard started late spring 2021. The two-hectare vineyard parcel has been divided into four blocks and has been fitted with the solar powered SensIT weather station, linked to the internet. Regular leaf measurements are taken using the hand-held BACO, which has GPS for location measurement.

A leaf is picked and placed in the drawer of the unit, with measurements taken across seven different wavelengths, in both the visible and infrared spectrums. This provides an NDVI reading which detects changes in chlorophyll and hydration. The SensIT has an aerial for connectivity, and sensors which measure air humidity and canopy humidity, temperature, wind speed, solar radiation and it also has a wet leaf sensor. The AI and algorithms can then be enhanced with the vineyard managers own experience.

“One slight challenge is that the UK has yet to favour either LTE-M or Narrowband IoT cellular protocols, which are low power cellular connectivity for Internet of Things applications therefore the platform provides conventional 2G and 3G connections too,” explained Pierre.

“The platform will provide baseline measurements this season I am particularly keen on receiving an early warning of disease, so that we can improve on spray efficiency and lower inputs – which is also better for the environment,” added Ryan.

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29 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

GRAPE GROWING

Tomorrow’s world today Innovative technologies to enable precision viticulture and enhance production are not futuristic notions, they are soon to be upon us, as the latest research in data-driven production spreads fast through agriculture and viticulture. Vineyard finds out how these advances will aid efficiency and provide a competitive edge to vineyard businesses.

The technology to collect the data to enable precision viticulture involves weather sensors, soil and moisture sensors, multispectral imaging and then the interpretation of this data, often with artificial intelligence (AI), specialist software, or the Internet of Things (IoT) – in order to present the vineyard manager with useful information for management decisions. The aim is to improve fruit yield and quality, reduce inputs and the impact on the environment as well as achieve operational efficiencies.

Sensors in the vineyard are not necessarily new but the technology has evolved so they now can use AI and IoT which compute the data, and present it to the vineyard manager in meaningful form via various devices, such as phones, tablets and laptops.

Ben Kantsler, Head Viticulturist at Nyetimber Vineyards, runs over 800 acres of vineyards across the counties of Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

“Precision viticulture is a term used to manage variability within the vineyard.

With advances in technology this variability can now be measured in new ways, so we can capture the information we need and combine this with in-field benchmarking to keep us informed of the growing season and aid management decisions.”

The Bakus robot from VitiBot

Bakus is an electrically powered robot developed by VitiBot. It has 3D sensors that enable it to autonomously navigation through the vines and detect obstacles. It is being developed to mechanically weed as well as spray.

30 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

Darryl Kemp, Vineyard Manager of Simpsons Wine Estate in Kent, uses precision viticulture, currently on a small scale but is evaluating whether further technology can be of use. “The more relevant data you can record and analyse the better. You can reduce inputs and improve processes – hopefully improving efficiencies and profitability and also grape quality and our environmental impact.”

Current technology in the vineyard

“In respect to vineyard variability, historically, we have always managed this by understanding the localised geography of the site and soil sampling to understand the vigour potential of each field. We now combine this information and layer it with fortnightly nitrogen tissue testing, annual petiole sampling and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) information for the season,” explained Ben. “Other technologies we use include disease forecasting linked to weather station data and in-field temperature sensors via tiny tags, these allow us to understand localised weather conditions better. Personally, I also appreciate everyday accessible technologies which aid management such as WhatsApp, Dropbox and Google Earth,” said Ben.

GRAPE GROWING At Simpsons Wine Estate, “the vines were planted using a GPS planter, so we have field maps of the location of every vine as well as soil maps using Agrii’s Soilquest – which forms the base of a precision viticultural system. Also, we have weather stations and additional satellite stations that measure air temperature, humidity, soil temperature and soil moisture – as well as a leaf moisture sensor – and this feeds back into an App to provide weather alerts such as frost, growing data like GDD, and disease modelling and predication.

And of course, there are the trusty excel spreadsheets,” commented Darryl.

Already in widespread use in vineyards are the Sectormentor and ClimateVine apps. Sectormentor is essentially a data recording app and the vineyard manager can input data as they go through the vines which can be used, for example, counting inflorescences for yield estimates. “However, the accuracy does always depend on the human. You input the data, and the app does the calculations. Yield estimations can be as close to 3-5% with data collected nearer harvest. It’s a useful vineyard diary and can record dates and growth stages. It has a map function and GPS, so is as accurate as the phone. The ClimateVine app is more about climate data and provides frost alerts as well as growing season heat summations,” explained Joel Jorgensen, viticulturist at Veraison.

Embracing the new

“Technology is evolving so quickly so at Nyetimber we are constantly looking at alternatives to aid management. In terms of data, we want enough to assist management decisions – without overcomplicating the management process. I think we will get to a stage where more of our tractors have GPS systems fitted and these will be combined with in-field LIDAR (satellite) information to provide a more accurate description of vineyard variability at vine level. LIDAR information should then assist with yield estimates, leaf area to fruit ratios etc,” added Ben. “We have just started using a growing management app called Farmable, explained Darryl. “It’s a smart phone-based tool recording everyday viticultural activities – for example you can create and record vineyard tasks, such as spraying. We can input our product list and equipment list into the database.

It tracks the task via GPS and creates a log of the hours and products used – as well as the area covered. For me, the most useful data collected will be the time taken and the labour hours for each task – giving the ability to measure the cost of production for each parcel of vines, with minimal office time. I’m also keeping an eye on the emerging technology to predict yield quickly and consistently to allow for better harvest planning and production planning for the winery.” >>

> Farmable app

> ClimateVine app

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The TED robot from Naio Technologies

TED is an electric powered GPS guided autonomous vineyard weeder from Naio Technologies and reduces the need for herbicides.

Useful data

“Data only has value when being utilised,” commented Ben, “so we try and only collect the data we need. Grapevines produce an annual crop, so data collection becomes very important to achieve the best outcome for that season. Climatic data (rainfall and temperature), soil data {chemical properties, biological activity and Readily Available Water (RAW)}, vine data (bud fruitfulness and internode spacing), crop walking (for trap catches and nitrogen testing) during the growing season are recorded and assist daily management. Comparing this data with previous seasons also allows some understanding of how these variables interlink - which in turn hopefully aids management decisions.”

“Our data collection currently enables us to measure cost of production, to track and reduce inputs, measure seasonal vine growth and allow for historical comparisons. In the future we plan to use technology and the data collected to provide yield predictions and disease alerts,” commented Darryl.

The barriers

Many vineyard managers are poised to embrace new technologies, but there are barriers to uptake. “There will always be some barriers to adopting new technology – it may be administrative, cost related or even psychological!

However, these barriers will always be specific to the individual and I find that

> Sectormentor app

cost/benefit analysis is a good tool. For our business the most common barrier is generally scalability and we manage this via small field trials initially and if positive, collaborate with teams and providers to build it into a management strategy,” explained Ben. One of the main barriers, In Darryl’s view, “is the lack of the integration between technologies, cost, and the fact that new technologies can become outdated quickly.” He also adds that, “it is important not to collect data for data’s sake and to assess the cost and the time taken to collect and analyse the data to ensure there is improvement and return on value.”

What’s next

There are many technologies available already that collect data in the vineyard, including sensors, monitors and multispectral devices which can be handheld, tractor mounted or used with drones. These all aim to support precision viticulture, ultimately improving fruit quality, reducing costs and environmental impact as well as improving efficiency. They provide data for management decisions, but do they yet replace a human in the vineyard? With potential labour shortages there is a demand for technology to provide yield forecasts, disease and nutritional status assessments, as well as to carry out weeding or spraying. Robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are evolving so quickly, and the next step is for all the technology to be linked and for automation to reliably replace people in the vineyard – maybe one day the vineyard can be managed from a laptop.

Coming soon

Coming soon are the Cornell AgriTech and SAGA Robotics developed autonomous robots, that are fitted with UV light lamps and rove the vineyards at night that are proving effective at killing powdery mildew.

Cornell University researchers have also developed a novel, cheap and effective method of early yield estimation based on smart phone video footage using AI to analysis of the recorded images.

32

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33 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

GRAPE GROWING

Here come the PIWIs PIWI is a German abbreviation for Pilzwiderstandsfähig – which essentially means fungal resistant. These grape varieties have been bred and selected to have a high resistance to fungal diseases, so reducing the cost of inputs. Vineyard finds out why these innovative grape varieties have an important future in UK wine production.

> Caberet Noir PIWI varieties are interspecific hybrids and the result of crossings between Vitis vinifera and other species of the genus Vitis. The aim of the breeding programmes, which can take up to 30 years, is to develop new grape varieties that meet future challenges in the vineyard – such as lowering the impact on the environment by reducing spray use and vineyard operations. PIWI wines are already widespread in Germany and becoming increasingly popular in other countries, including the UK. PIWI International is a working group to promote these resistant grape varieties with a focus on the ecological, economical – and trendsetting – aspects of sustainable wine production.

The PIWI advantage

34

Sam Doncaster is a British-born viticulturist who spends much of his time working on breeding programmes and field selections in Germany and Switzerland, with Freytag Nurseries and Pepinieriste Viticole Borioli. Sam has also conducted both Canadian and New Zealand PIWI field trials, and as a winemaker, has made wine from these varieties in commercial quantities.

“There are so many reasons why UK wine producers should be considering PIWI vine varieties,” commented Sam. “Firstly, there are a range of red varieties with an intensity of flavour

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for either stand-alone varietal wines, or as blending components. Secondly, PIWI varieties make economic sense as they have higher yields than most cool climate V. vinifera – in Germany I have seen 20 t/ha with some varieties, so in the UK, 12 to 15 t/ha may well be achievable – along with lower inputs and costs of production.

But, most importantly are the considerations around chemical use, with its detrimental effect on soil biology, as well as residues, social and environmental responsibility, and legal issues. In my view it is important to plan and plant for the future. In addition, there may also be marketing advantages – with wine drinkers interested in ‘what is new’ and ‘what is different’. I don’t think the names put people off, as most of the names like Sauvignac sound sufficiently authentic and are not difficult to pronounce – and we are all familiar with words such as Cabernet and Blanc.

So, in fact PIWIs make good business sense,” commented Sam. “PIWI sparkling wines are increasing – with wickedly high yields, early picking dates, high acid with an unobtrusive flavour – they are so appropriate for this style of production.

PIWIs have now stepped into mainstream production in cooler areas of European wine production – with simply eye watering amounts of planned production of sparkling wine styles,” Sam added.

Higher yields and lower costs Duncan McNeill, viticulture consultant based in East Anglia, is seeing more and more demand for PIWI varieties both from vineyards for new planting as well as from wineries – particularly the boutique ones wanting to buy PIWIs to make single varietal wines. “I have two PIWI varieties in my own South Bank vineyard in Essex, covering a third of the area, but I wish I had planted the whole 11 acres with PIWIs – I know I could have sold all the grapes. I have Pinotin, a red, and Sauvignac, a white. I think Sauvignac is such an exciting variety, it has good acidity and gets really good phenolic ripeness by leaving it on the vine for a while – which you can do because of its excellent disease resistance, and open bunches.

It can easily get to 95 to 100°Oe! It is resistant to Downy mildew and does not need a copper spray. However, it does need to be sprayed with sulphur twice a year, around flowering, and this is on advice of the breeder Valentin Blattner in Switzerland, in order to help it retain a good resistance to Powdery mildew. There must be an increasing demand as the nursery Freytag cannot keep up with orders – and I know that PIWI varieties are now making up a larger proportion of their overall production,” commented Duncan.

“The cost of production with PIWIs is massively

General:

89. n the its ek

out

The breeding between Cabernet Sauvignon and resistance cultivars was done by the Swiss vine breeder Valentin Blattner in 1989. The name refers to the Swiss Canton Jura, where the breeding was done. The annual precipitation in this area is over 1800mm. Therefore, the variety was selected on the condition of the prevailing extreme weather conditions and shows a reliable robustness against downy mildew.

Volker Freytag was responsible for the vineyard trials as well as microvinifications. > Riesel

> Cabernet Blanc

> Cabernet Jura

reduced, as inputs are lower, there is less tractor

I can reduce all inputs in both the vineyard and winery,” explained Guillaume. upright growth habit, so the cost of wire lifting “I have 12 PIWI varieties which I sourced directly cut. In fact, the+++ vine breeder, Valentin Blattner, from Switzerland after seeing the vineyards and downyis mildew in his own Swiss vineyard grows on a high wire, tasting both the grapes and the wines. The whites and he does not use a tractor – he has sheep all are Solaris, Sauvignac, Souvignier Gris, Muscaris, powdery mildew ++ year round to eat the greenery. There is a vineyard Sauvignon Sohyiere, and the table grape Muscat. in the UK about to use this high wire and sheep The reds are Pinotin, Cabernet Noir, Cabernet Jura, Botrytis +++ system – this could be a real alternative to VSP for Divico, Cal 1 – 28 and Muscat Bleu a table grape.

PIWIs,” added Duncan.

“I do anticipate that the marketing could be a challenge, but we don’t have to put the varieties on the labels, we have the advantage that we Bunch: “Without a doubt TheI think cluster isimportant cylindrical with fewhand shoulders. medium sized round berries PIWIs are will be mostly selling throughThe our cellar for the future of viticulture in the UK,” commented door – so people can taste first and find out the are coated by an elastic and even skin. Due to the thickened skin the berries Duncan. “There is a different type of consumer name of the grape later avoiding any negative show ina new high resilience against Botrytis. now, they are interested varieties and preconceptions,” Guillaume added. new winemaking techniques. I have tried some Sergio Verrillo of Blackbook Winery, and urban > Sauvignac great Pet Nat made PIWI varieties in winery in Battersea, a Cabernet Wine style: Thefrom wine is characterized by its dark London, ruby made colour.

The aroma of full matured > Pinotin Germany, and these varieties are also great for Noir in 2018. “The wine had great reviews and berries is reminiscent of Mediterranean or Cabernet type.

Typical for the low intervention and natural wines. We have had sold well – in restaurants, direct to the public and variety slight ofMuscat we taste and about hints rose The petal hybrids in the past, but this is newageneration also exported 20%of to Finland. style aromas. The varieties offer both easy viticulture and good wine is reminiscence of a good Loire Cabernet Franc characteristic and intensity of the aroma depends on duration and quality,” he added. and it was our best-selling wine in the first half of maceration.

“At Bee Treetemperature vineyard we are triallingof three PIWI 2020 – before all the lockdowns,” said Sergio. grape varieties; Caberet Noir, Cabernet Blanc, and “I think people may be less likely to buy a wine Sauvignac. These havepeak been sourced from the is about made with aweek variety thatto they have days not heardprior of, Cultivation: The maturity one ten to Pinot Noir. The Freytag Nursery in Germany, where Volker Freytag but the wine was either hand sold here, or tasted growth is upright and vigorous.

Therefore, depending on the site, bunch has done a lot of work in their development. The in restaurants by the glass, which helps. If fact, we hope is to havethinning varieties that are morebe resistant wouldThe get sales enquiries from people who had may necessary. physiological maturity is reached at about to fungal diseases and require fewer applications tried the wine in a restaurant and wanted to buy 90 °Oe (22,5 Brix). Then the berries begin to shrink and indicate the best of fungicides,” commented James Dodson, more. We have now sold out and I would definitely moment for co-owner of Vine-Works UK and Bee picking.

Tree Vineyard like to make more, but the grapes are currently in Sussex. so difficult to source, however I am pleased to be “There is aand demand for more environmentally hearing of more plantings of Cabernet Noir and Propagation Distribution: Volker Freytag friendly approaches to viticulture, and as these other PIWI varieties,” added Sergio. > Rinot varietals are more robust, they are potentially “We now live in times where it is beyond question suited forGeneral: our extremely challenging conditions in as to whether or not the UK should do some work the UK. Yields from Caberet Noir and Sauvignac in the direction of variety selection,” commented Aencouraging, recent crossing in –the Czech have been and there hasfrom been Doz. Ing. Sam.Milos “This is forMichlovsky chemical spray issues but also a markedRepublik, success in fungal resistance when for business, for a healthier future.

It is also for the Rinót is an offspring of Merzling x (Seyve Villard x Pinot compared to the classic varieties,” James added. individual act of creativity by trialling new varieties Gris). Rebschule Freytag is now conducting field trials in Pfalz Guillaume Lagger is a Swiss national and and naming them, registering those names to (Germany) inhectares conjunction with the local with research station. oenologist who planted two of PIWI be associated the UK – and to simply and varieties in Hampshire earlier this year. “I want to technically lift our game and make better wines grow organically and think it is a nonsense to try because the vines are more in keeping with the and grow classic varieties organically as they need climate,” commented Sam. Disease a lot of spraying.

I am resistance: interested in varieties that Footnote: Cabernet Noir and Caberet Noir are the have resistance and are low intervention, so that same variety and seem to be known by both terms.

Disease resistance: driving, and as many of the varieties have an

Consumer demand

ny shoulders. The round eir bright yellow colour.

nd can be similar to Mosel ossoms and apple and

beginning of September with a egarding frost damage during very suitable for northern

derate to high yield. Leaf ipening.

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downy mildew

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powdery mildew

+++

35

WINEMAKING

Charmat sparkles Recognising a potential market, two Charmat method wines made from British grown grapes, were launched in 2017. Leading the charge are Flint vineyard in Norfolk and Fitz, a brand based at a winery in West Sussex. Vineyard finds out why the success of these two products has tempted more brands – some with significant volumes – to explore this exciting sector increasing the footfall of English wine drinkers.

The Charmat method, also known as ‘cuve close’ or tank fermented, is widely associated with the production of Prosecco in Italy and Sekt in Germany. It is also used for sparkling wines in other countries around the world – and increasingly in England. The Charmat method dates back to the late 18th century when it was developed by an Italian, Federico Martinotti, but it was a Frenchman Eugene Charmat who refined the process and gave it its name.

Charmat is generally a quicker sparkling wine production method and usually undergoes less lees contact, resulting in wines that are fresh and aromatic, retaining their fruit flavours. It has been commented that Charmat wines are often suited to the varieties that are considered less popular nowadays – but have historically done well on UK soil, and these often produce better yields.

There is also a view that the new interspecific hybrids, or PIWI varieties, may be well suited to Charmat production. Charmat wines undergo a second fermentation and should not be confused with aerated wines where carbonation is done artificially from a cylinder.

The Charmat story so far

One of the first Charmat sparkling wines to be launched was by Flint Vineyard in Norfolk. “We wanted to test the market and it was a bit of an experiment using grape varieties that I wasn't familiar with but knew to be very aromatic and perhaps suited to a Charmat style. I thought that it would be a fun and interesting idea and allow me more flexibility with blending options for my more premium wines. Thankfully it worked very well. In 2017 we produced 4,000 bottles, we have now increased production to 9,000 bottles annually – but will be increasing this again,” commented Ben Witchell, Winemaker. “The base wine is made here at Flint Vineyard, using predominantly Rondo, Reichensteiner, Solaris and Cabernet Cortis. The secondary fermentation in tank and the bottling is done by BevTech in West Sussex,” Ben added.

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Divergent Drinks is the producer of Fitz, a white Charmat sparkling made by winemaker Gareth Davies using Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine. Also a rosé sparkling from Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine, Pinot Noir and Rondo. Fitz only retails in a few independents, normally around £19.99 as it's mostly distributed into on-trade. Prince Charmat is their new retail brand which sells from £12.99.

“Not only did we want to have a point of difference and unique offering to the consumer, but we were also determined to create a truly affordable wine, whilst not compromising on quality,” explained Gareth. “We are now producing over 100,000 bottles a year – and still trying to keep up with demand!” Gareth added.

MDCV Ltd, who own Kingscote Vineyards, Sedlescombe Vineyards, and have extensive new plantings across the country which brings their total area under vine to around 700 acres. MDCV produce a Charmat wine under the Kingscote label. “We are always looking to experiment with different wine styles, including sparkling wine, to test the market and see what appetite there is from the consumer,” explained Emma Clark, Marketing Manager. “Our first vintage of Charmat was 2018, and we are producing 90,000 bottles of the 2020 vintage, which will be split between brut and rosé. Both the brut and rosé 2019 are made from Bacchus, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The brut retails for £18 and the rosé, £20,” Emma added.

“Following the very large 2018 harvest, when grapes were both plentiful and cheap, a brand called Angel & Four produced a tankmethod sparkler using 50% Reichensteiner, 25% Madeleine Angevine and 25% Seyval blanc grapes. This wine appeared under two labels: Angel & Four selling for around £14.99 and under the Masterstroke label, for one supermarket, selling at £10,” commented Stephen Skelton MW, viticulture consultant and author of Wine Growing in Great Britain.

WINEMAKING Other Charmat producers include Chet Valley Vineyard in Norfolk who include Phoenix, Seyval Blanc and Regent in their Skylark range, Wolstonbury Vineyards ‘Chalk’ from Reichensteiner and ‘Orchid’ from Bacchus, and the soon to be released ‘Boco by House Coren’, made from Reichensteiner, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

“It’s like a little bit of vineyard in the bottle,” describes Wolstonbury vineyard owner Ivan Weightman. “Charmat is so suited to our style of wine, its fresh, easy drinking and reflects the wonderful aromas. We currently produce 4,000 bottles which we retail at £24.95, but it’s very popular so we plan to increase production,” Ivan added.

William Coren, Managing Director of House Coren vineyard in Sussex was inspired to create his own Charmat method sparkling in the UK after spotting a gap in the English wine market both in terms of price point and branding. “The brand is vibrant and fresh just like the style of wine – it lends itself to UK viticulture, preserving the primary fruit and fresh acidity. Also, we wanted to do something new and a bit disruptive both in terms of the wine and how we are marketing it. We launch the wine early in July from our cellar door and online. It’s called Boco by House Coren - as we are a Sussex vineyard and it’s an old Sussex word meaning ‘lots of/much’. Our modern interpretation of this is how Boco is all about living

life to the fullest and a toast to adventure.

“We whole-bunch press the Chardonnay and crush and de-stem the Pinot Noir to capture the red fruit flavours, resulting in good complexity, body, and length – and plan to retail at £26.00.

We will also make a traditional method wine in the future,” added Will.

The Charmat production method

Unlike the 'traditional method', also known as ‘classic method’, where the second fermentation takes place in bottle, the Charmat method second fermentation takes place in a closed pressure tank. “The winemaking starts in a similar way, with a primary fermentation to create the base wine, but usually with the emphasis on retaining primary aromas and fruit flavours. The classic method of whole bunch pressing, and separation of juice fraction creates the potential for a very long ‘ageing curve’. However, for Charmat, the base wine is usually made from crushed fruit and so a different winemaking approach is needed,” explained David Cowderoy, consultant winemaker and owner of contract facility BevTech.

The Charmat base wine is then enriched with sugar and inoculated with yeast – as for traditional method wines – but the wine is not bottled at tirage and the second fermentation takes place in specially designed pressure tanks.

“In the tank method the winemaker has more control over the fermentation, unlike bottle fermentation. Fermentation usually takes a few weeks, and the sparkling wine can then be left in the tank on its yeast lees for maturation over several months. The winemaker also has the option to use ‘battonage’ or lees stirring. Dosage adjustment is also done in tank,” David added.

“Riddling and disgorging is not required for Charmat method as removal from the dead yeast after fermentation and maturation can be as simple as racking – or may involve sterile filtration, depending on winemaking and marketing decisions. Bottling is more challenging as the sparkling wine is under pressure in the tank and so must be carried out using a counterpressure filler, which is a costly and more complex piece of equipment, which is why most producers use a contract service,” said David.

Quality and style

The Charmat method usually creates wines that are more aromatic, fruity and often considered more approachable, and attractive to a younger market – especially with the lower price tag.

The English Charmat category is emerging and both WineGB Awards and the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships (CSWWC) are seeing entries. “We are open to and open-minded about English Charmat wines, and we have received entries in the past, but really just the odd one,” commented Tom Stevenson, Founder and Judge of the CSWWC. “It is not a matter of the process being inferior or superior, it’s a matter of what is put into a closed fermentation tank and how long it is kept on yeast,” added Tom. “If a wine tastes great I will write it up and the method of production doesn’t matter – it’s all about the wine,” is the view of Matthew Jukes, wine writer. “I’m not a snob and will not consider a wine negatively if I know it’s a Charmat.

Conversely, I don’t automatically think that a traditional method wine will be superior either.

Charmat has been around for years and this method makes great wines that are generally balanced, fruit-driven and fresh. They may be quicker to the market, but there is still a lot of skill needed in their production. It comes down to only two things – the quality of the grapes and the talent of the winemaker. The method of production is largely irrelevant.”

“It is a common misconception that the quality of Charmat sparkling wines is inferior to that of bottle fermented wines as for both, quality is dependent on the quality of the base wine. If you were to take a base wine and perform secondary fermentation by both methods, the quality of the final wine would be almost identical at any given point in time,” explained David. “The time on lees is where the two different methods differ most significantly. A pressure tank capable of five to >>

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37

WINEMAKING << six bar pressure is more expensive than a standard wine tank. So, keeping the wine on yeast lees in a pressure tank for more than a year – long enough for yeast autolysis to take place – would tie up an expensive tank. For this reason, most Charmat wines generally have less than three months in tank, to enable several production batches,” he added.

According to Stephen, “the question surely is - are Charmat wines value for money? In my limited tasting experience of them - I say they are. At up to 50% of the price of traditional method sparklers they offer value for money and many wine consumers don’t get the differences between traditional and non-traditional method anyway.”

The advantages

The Charmat method is generally a less expensive and quicker method of sparkling wine production. The technique is considered to retain more primary aromas and preserve the freshness from aromatic grape varieties - whereas the traditional method will tend to favour more autolytic complexity from lees ageing.

“Although Charmat is more economical when compared to traditional method on a large scale, this is not necessarily the case on a small scale because expensive tanks are required for the secondary fermentation. I don't necessarily think it's a case of advantages or disadvantages between the wines as they are very different and yield different results. But one significant advantage of Charmat is that it allows producers to reserve their cuvée press fractions for premium stills and traditional methods – and use the later pressings or taille blended with some cuvée for the Charmat itself. The taille fraction of the press is more aromatic and less acidic making it more suited to Charmat. So, in effect, for a producer making both Charmat and traditional method wines, the production of Charmat can actually contribute to a greater flexibility in holding back reserve wines and also directing other press fractions to the most appropriate blends,” commented Ben.

Advantages:

◆ It is simple to stir the lees with built in mixers to add texture during secondary fermentation ◆ Blending, adjustments and corrections can be done relatively simply to the tanks before bottling ◆ At bottling, the wine can be sterile filtered to ensure zero microbial count, which is next to impossible with bottle fermentation ◆ It is easy to change bottle formats and sizes and so rapidly respond to market demand ◆ Crushed fruit can be used, which can increase juice yields ◆ Machine harvested fruit can be used ◆ Lower wine losses – as each bottle disgorged in the traditional method needs the dosage also to replace lost volumes. ◆ Consistency of quality - every bottle from the tank batch will be the same ◆ Economies of scale ◆ Any problems during secondary fermentation can be easily addressed ◆ Cold/tartrate stabilisation can be done post-secondary fermentation, giving more reliable results

The market

Prosecco has shown dramatic growth and reports suggest that it is an easily quaffable, more approachable, affordable, fun drink and now a popular Friday night fizz, but will English Charmat wines capture a corner of the market?

“Sparkling wines made using the Charmat method currently represent only a very small percentage of total sparkling wine production in this country at present, with over 95% being made using the Classic Method. So, the market, to a large extent, is untested,” is the view of Simon Thorpe MW, WineGB Chief Executive. “But we certainly want to embrace producers of Charmat method wines and go along the journey with them,” Simon added.

In Tom Stevenson’s view, “the question is not about Charmat per se, but really concerns only the most popular expression of Charmat today: the quick in and out process of Prosecco and, yes, of course it is a different market. This shortened version of Charmat preserves the freshness of primary aromas, which Prosecco drinkers adore. Most Prosecco drinkers do not like yeastcomplexed aromas, the acidity or the structure of Champagne to the point that if you offered them, blind, a glass of DP, Cristal or Rare, and a glass of any Prosecco, they would prefer the Prosecco every time. This is not a case of who is right or wrong, any more than consumers who love parsnips, but dislike turnips. It’s a matter of personal taste.”

“I think there is definitely a market for English Charmat wines, I also think there is a market for carbonated wines, especially in single serve formats for functions, events, picnics, parties. Charmat, carbonated and traditional method are right for different occasions – and not necessarily different customers,” commented Stephen Skelton MW. Flint Vineyard in Norfolk have found a local target market. “It is an even split of trade and direct customers within our region. We are finding a very positive response from restaurants who want to have an English wine on a pouring list.

We hope our Charmat is an approachable alternative to the traditional English sparkling wine, and we have deliberately packaged and marketed it to make it obvious that it is a different product.”

The regulations

As with all wines, there are regulations concerning the labelling, packaging and promotion of the wine and all producers are wise to undertake their own due diligence before bringing a product to market. “It is important to keep in mind all regulations, to provide clarity for the consumer,” commented David.

“It is advisable to have labels checked by the FSA (Wine Standards) to ensure they comply.” >>

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WINEMAKING The evolution

It is early days for English Charmat, so it will be interesting to watch their development in the market and how they are received by consumers and buyers alike - wines at different price points may well be a positive attribute for the industry.

“In some ways it is a natural progression for producers to explore the possibility of making sparkling wines using the Charmat method and is an example of the innovation and development taking place in the industry. If you think about the market for Charmat method wines, it’s a great deal larger than for premium sparkling at over £20. The UK consumes in the region of six times as much Prosecco as Champagne each year, and so Charmat wines could well provide an excellent entry into the English and Welsh sparkling wine categories,” commented Simon.

“What we need to do is ensure that we clearly differentiate them from the traditional, or Classic Method, wines upon which our industry has developed its burgeoning reputation and growing demand. It’s important to protect the very premium positioning of the Classic Method wines, hence the development of WineGB’s ‘Great British Classic Method Hallmark’, to establish and champion classic method sparkling wine as the hero style of our industry. The hallmark provides a tangible term and visual device to enable consumers to identify those wines produced using the Classic Method,” he continued.

Tom Stevenson’s view is that there could be a significant market for English Charmat, “but the product has two major hurdles to clear before that can be achieved,” he explained. “First, the wines are intrinsically too acidic and, from those tasted, I doubt the quality (real quality) of the base wine (who would sacrifice grapes good enough for a £20-£30 wine to make Charmat?).

As Charmat is a wine that has to be sold on style, not grape variety, I would seriously suggest looking at soft, low acid hybrids. Second is about marketing: how do you communicate what you are selling to consumers, especially when the target is a Prosecco drinker? Certainly not with “Charmat”. Even though Prosecco is produced by the Charmat (aka Martinotti) method, most Prosecco drinkers are completely oblivious to that. English sparkling wine does not need a name, but if you want to create a market, Charmat does. It needs to convey a clear impression of the Prosecco style, not its method of production,” he added.

“Grape prices have to fall given the recent plantings and I think that lots of producers, including some of the ‘only traditional method’ producers, will reduce stocks and create markets with these cheaper-to-produce wines,” commented Stephen. “For producers without vineyards, and therefore

> Tom Stevenson judging

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◆ Currently, Charmat produced sparkling wine cannot obtain PDO or PGI status in the UK. These schemes were established more than ten years ago when no one considered Charmat. So today the schemes continue as protected appellations only for traditional bottle fermented wines ◆ Charmat products can be certified as varietal wines, and producers of Charmat could seek to establish a PGI for Charmat in a similar way to the Sussex Wine Producers ◆ The term ‘English’ cannot be used for wine products unless they are PDO or PGI wines. There is a difference between rules for product category and protected geographical indications which can be confusing as regards the provenance of wines: Charmat can use the category of product (sparkling wine) but not the protected term (English) ◆ The term ‘Quality Sparkling Wine’ denotes a PDO wine and can be only used for wines meeting the PDO specified criteria, including method of production, pressure and alcohol ◆ The term ‘Regional Quality Sparkling Wine’ denotes a PGI wine and can only be used for wines meeting the PGI specified criteria, including method of production ◆ Product of England’ or ‘Wine of England’ can be used on the label.

dependent on buying their grapes from others, much will depend upon yields, availability and prices. With yields like those in 2018 and 2019, and with the large number of vines planted between 2017 and 2019, maybe these producers are just what the market needs?” Stephen added.

“I think Charmat has a place in English wine as it is unique. It is not a threat to quality as long as it is seen and respected as a separate product which can be of equal validity as traditional method. Customers absolutely love it and so we are having to increase production by about a third every year to meet demand,” said Ben. “Despite the misgivings of some producers and commentators, who view these non-traditional method wines as somehow debasing ‘proper’ sparkling wines, it would seem, judging by the rapidity with which they have appeared, that they are here to stay. Their future will surely depend on the availability of grapes at the right price, and how low prices on the high street for traditional method wines will fall,” said Stephen.

David

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A new way to handle your bottoms

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Tank bottoms from juice settling can represent a major financial loss for any winery. With whole bunch pressed fruit, the lees after settling will be typically around 2%. This may not seem a lot but with grape prices of £2000 per tonne, this represents a loss of £40 per tonne. With crushed fruit this loss can rise to 5% and will be even higher with machine harvested fruit. The losses soon mount up. Traditionally, various methods have been employed to recover juice from lees to reduce this loss.

Rotary Vacuum Filters

This is a technology that was originally developed for sewerage treatment. The recovery rate is good and equipment cost is within the reach of a medium winery. However, the handling and disposal issues associated with perlite are problematic and operation labour intensive. In addition, the process is very oxidative and so the juice recovered is of limited quality.

Pressure Leaf Filters

This is the budget option and one which does not result in oxidation, but throughput is slow and cleaning a highly labour intensive and messy process.

Decanting Centrifuges

These are really only an option for very large wineries, due to the extremely high capital cost.

Operating cost can also be high, especially service charges. The results are of good quality and the clarity can be controlled by regulating the product flow speed.

Crossflow Filters (hollow fibre)

Adapted units to treat wine, these typically have

P h o t o: To

spaghetti like hollow fibre membranes of 5mm diameter, to allow for high solids. The results are excellent with no oxidation products. However, throughput drops rapidly as the percentage solids rise. Above 20% solids, you quickly you get a situation where the juice recovered does not justify energy consumed – or the time.

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Rotary Crossflow Filters – enter stage left

Christened Dynamos, this new technology from TMCI Padovan solves the above problems with an innovative design. Discs of a ceramic membrane rotate inside a housing through which the lees are re-circulated. A light transmembrane pressure creates a flow of some filtered juice across the membrane to the outlet whilst the balance of the lees returns to tank.

As with conventional crossflow filters, this sweeping motion helps to slow the fouling of the membrane surface. In addition, the rotation of the discs throws off solids and increases performance. Solids levels in the retentate of 70% are easily achievable with the ‘economic’ maximum at 80%.

During the 2020 harvest, trials were conducted at three English wineries with a small Dynamos unit. At two, the juice recovered was fermented separately and evaluated after fermentation.

The results were excellent with very good fruit expression. In fact, the process achieves a type of ‘stabulation’ effect due to contact on the solids and the wine produced is of very high quality; proving that you can indeed make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

In addition to representing TMCI Padovan, BevTech has now purchased their own Dynamos unit and will be offering a contract service from harvest 2021. Both as a mobile service, and for lees brought to the BevTech premises.

> Photo ceramic disc

> Lees at end of run

> Finished lees in tank

> After filtration and before

> Dynamos

 www.bevtech.co.uk  David Cowderoy 01444 411141 / 07400 208205 paper-plane david@bevtech.co.uk

41

WINEMAKING

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Sulphite reduction strategy during pressing

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Reducing the S02 doses

Socio-cultural developments have led to changes in wine consumption.

Consumers are increasingly concerned by the composition of what they drink and in particular in the presence or absence of allergens, including sulphites.

Listed since 2012 on the list of allergens mentioned on the label (EU regulation 579/2012), sulphites have become widely stigmatised by the public.

Although exactly equivalent alternatives do not exist, research has made it possible to isolate non-allergenic products that can be used to protect against oxidation. Vegetal proteins, authorized by the OIV since 2004 (from peas or potatoes), are now used as finings for musts and wines. Targeting oxidised and oxidisable polyphenols, they have become a good alternative to finings of animal origin (gelatines, etc.).

42

> Pellenc Smart Press range

A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

The mechanism of must/juice oxidation

Oxidation reactions occur at the point of harvest, once the grapes’ skin is broken, this juice becomes the target of oxygen. Phenol acids, naturally present in the must, increase in concentration as pressing continues. Enzymatic reactions then occur, such as polyphenol oxidase or laccase, in the presence of oxygen, caftaric acid oxidises to a quinone of caftaric acid. As pressing continues flavanols are increasingly extracted and a cross-reaction between the quinones of caftaric acid and the flavanols will regenerate the latter and lead to the formation of quinones of flavanols.

Two consequences then become evident: ◆ The caftaric acid, thus regenerated, becomes a large consumer of oxygen

> Open Cage: pierced vat

> Fast Press grid opening

again, the cyclic oxidation reaction continues as long as there is oxygen present; quinones of flavanols turn brown, causing the juice to brown. ◆ As a result, the must will inexorably become enriched with quinones of flavanols or caftaric acid. These molecules are not neutral, since they can subsequently react with the sulphide groups of thiols (RSH), causing irreversible aromatic losses.

Grapes comprise several natural antioxidant compounds. Among these are glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid. The latter being in very small quantities, it is quickly degraded. Its dosage in the must is delicate as the molecule is fleeting. Glutathione will react with the quinones of caftaric acid to form GRP (Grape Reaction Product) blocking the cyclic reaction with flavanols. This plays an important role in the natural protection of juices. Sulphur dioxide is used by oenologists in the fight against oxidation. In its role as an antioxidant, it minimizes the formation of quinones.

Sulphur dioxide during pressing

Usually sulphur dioxide is added to the receiving vat in tandem with the pumping of the harvest. The dosages vary from 3 to 6 g/hl depending of the sanitary state of the harvest. The processing journey of the grape, from harvesting, transport to cellar, destemming and pumping results in a significant release of the juices from the pulp. The grape cells are large with a thin wall, so when the grapes arrive in the press, between 50% to 70% of the juice can be released from the grape on loading. This draining part has often been overlooked but is in fact essential to quality work and correct processing of the must. This significant draining of juice results in draining away from the press the additives that were introduced at the receiving vat. This is the case for SO2, that is released in the first flow of juices, consequently the pressing continues in the quasi-absence of any protection.

Study 1

One of the strategies that can be adopted to remedy this loss of protection consists in fractionating the S02 during pressing. This can be done manually, by adding solid metabisulphite in the press during a final pressing. Pera-Pellenc has developed the Enoxy Plus system, to perform this operation automatically.

Studies were conducted on the Enoxy Plus System to verify the benefits. The study was conducted with IFV Midi-Pyrénées with results verifired by Nyséos.

Colombard grape varieties from the same harvest were loaded into two 150 hl presses in the same manner. The pressing was carried out without protection for one, and with fractional injection of SO2 for the other.

The fractionation of SO2 showed increased volatile thiols 3-mercaptohexanol (3MH) and its 3-mercaptohexanol acetate (3MHA) in finished wines, clearly demonstrating a significant aromatic loss in the absence of protection in this study. In this study there was a significant improvement in juice quality by preservation of aromatic compounds. Glutathione (GSH) was also measured in the finished wines, in the absence of protection during pressing, the endogenous GSH is completely consumed, while it is preserved with the fractionation of SO2.

> Easy to use PLC Touch Press

early fining happening at the very start of the press where the juices are just being released and will increase during the first pressing. Another study took place in Languedoc, on Syrah grapes. In the same manner two presses were loaded and the Enoxy Plus system with early juice fining compared to no fining juice, it was noted as a net benefit from early juice fining on the Syrah grape variety in Languedoc.

Tests, conducted in 2018 on Syrah in Languedoc with the early treatment of the juice, made it possible to obtain a wine with tristimulus coordinates : L* : 90.2 a* : 18.3 and b* : 2.5, similar to that obtained conventionally by fining at 40 g/hl of PVPP. Analyses of aromatic compounds show concentrations of thiols well above the thresholds – 3 Mercapto-hexanol: (grapefruit) 3.75 x perception threshold, 78% of the potential preserved – 3 Mercapto-hexyl acetate: (tropical fruits) 15 x perception threshold, 76% of the potential preserved.

Finally, the analyses show a residual concentration of GSH on must before alcoholic fermentation of 40 mg/l, so that more than 65% of the concentration has been preserved. The injection of antioxidant solution as soon as possible into the press allowed a reduction in the amount of SO2 without loss of glutathione.

The aromatic potential is therefore preserved and the browning of musts avoided. This results in a reduction of 2.5 g/hl of SO2 . The results obtained are very satisfactory, both from an analytical and organoleptic point of view. They demonstrate the real relevance of this new use of plants’ proteins at an early stage such as the pressing stage.

The Enoxy Plus system, now adapted to the higher viscosity of this product compared to SO2, is a reliable technical solution – thanks to the ease of its fully automated implementation – by its early use, in that the juices are treated as soon as they leave the cells of the grape – by in-line fining, which lightens the tasks of operators in those critical phases of great sensitivity of the juices.

Conclusions and perspectives

These very conclusive tests, carried out over four years ago, offer an alternative solution to limiting the doses of SO2. The use of plant protein helps preserve the aromatic potential of the grapes and also helps preserve glutathione.

Due to the early use, the doses of fining products are reduced, contributing to a reduction in costs, with a reduction of inputs quantity and SO2 doses, the new plant protein injection system meets the demands of the most exigent winemakers and in line with the organic processes.

Study 2 – SO2 reduction strategy

The Enoxy Plus System was also explored to handle the vegetal protein fining agents to replace SO2 use during pressing. The real innovation is based on very

 www.BruniErben.co.uk  07805 081677 paper-plane Mark.Crumpton@BruniErben.co.uk A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

43

AGRONOMY DIARY

Rob S

ders un

Stay ahead of mildew and Botrytis

a

Ch

r

is

per Coo

Good canopy management and a targeted fungicide programme are vital to reduce mildew and Botrytis risks over the next few weeks, as Hutchinsons’ Rob Saunders and Chris Cooper explain.

With flowering well underway this is the time to prevent infections from settling in and spoiling the harvest.

Although there are frost affected blind buds on many cordons, on most sites there are enough healthy, large primary bunches (and on some cultivars good second bunches) to give growers a reason to be optimistic for another good harvest, provided grapes are clean from disease and pests.

This year Thrip numbers have been low so treatment is generally not required, although Light Brown Apple Moth numbers have been increasing and your local trap catches will dictate if an intervention is required; we are available to help with the decision if you are not sure.

Dense leaf canopies and soft fresh growth during summer months can provide an ideal environment for mildew and Botrytis to take hold given the right conditions, but preventative action should keep growers one step ahead.

Key to this is controlling foliage to maximise

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the “solar panel” effects of the leaves for optimum light interception, allowing the bunches to be exposed for spray penetration and air movement, and allowing a decent amount of UV light exposure to help control Powdery mildew.

There should be no more than three leaf layers in the canopy and generally growers stand to lose more from poor disease control than they do from increasing the potential sunburn risk to developing bunches.

Saying that, sunburn can be an issue in some cultivars, especially Bacchus. A compromise approach is to de-leaf on the side that gets the morning sun, and retain more foliage on the side exposed to intense afternoon sunlight, to provide some dappled shade.

Flowers provide a key entry point for Botrytis infection, and if wet over flowering a “chicks & hens” fruit set can result. Risk of this can be partially reduced by encouraging pollination, for example, by feeding to avoid the risk of boron deficiency (which leads to weak pollen tube growth); adding biostimulants such as

Vineous Pro-Flowering or Kelpak; and finally, consider using mechanical methods to dislodge the caps such as increasing fan speeds.

Depending on conditions over flowering growers can opt for the soft approach starting with the use of elicitor products such as Fytosave and Romeo for mildew and Botrytis control, integrated with a good quality phosphite, such as Phorce for Downy mildew inhibition and Botector for Botrytis control.

Under harsher conditions, a more robust approach would be appropriate, deploying materials like Stroby (kresoxim-methyl) for added Phomopsis control and its leaf greening effect. If Powdery mildew is established, use Bicarbonate (the Commodity substance approval currently expires at the end of August).

If it is very wet during flowering Botrytis is best controlled with a robust, three-spray strategy beginning at early flowering, then mid-flowering and a final spray at petal fall.

We know Downy mildew can take hold very quickly given suitable conditions, sometimes spreading up the vine from an initial infection that began where basal shoot growth was not properly controlled, allowing overwintered inoculum to splash onto the vine from the soil.

Downy mildew is particularly challenging to control given the limited chemistry available and presence of metalaxyl resistance, so growers need to set out their strategy in consultation with their advisor early on or the options rapidly disappear.

As mentioned, good spray coverage is vital for effective disease control, so remember to use an appropriate water volume for the product and sprayer you are using. For many products this means at least 300 L/ha, although may be up to 600 L/ha, but check label recommendations and talk to your agronomist.

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

Ma

If you are looking to buy or rent ground, your search will have the best chance of success if you are aware of all the influences on the land market, not solely the agronomic aspects determining land’s desirability.

Understanding the mindset of the farmers and landowners who you might be dealing with enables you to take a more informed approach, potentially putting you in a stronger position. Here are a few of the issues that will be on their minds:

1. Uncertainty

Subsidy reform, Brexit and the Government’s proposed retirement scheme offering farmers a lump-sum to retire to create opportunities for new entrants means farmers are at a crossroads.

Many don’t know whether to continue with agricultural production, sell up or pursue the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.

Faced with so many unknowns, some might see an offer from a viticulturalist as ‘a bird in the hand’, but others are defaulting to the old adage ‘if in doubt, do nowt.’

Many are waiting to see what their options will be in, say, two years’ time, which is why the supply of land coming to the market is limited.

2. Think like a farmer

If the field or fields you have identified are on the edge of the land a farmer owns, they may be more willing to sell because it’s less likely to have a detrimental impact on the operational aspects of their business and, therefore, the holding’s value.

Farmers, for understandable reasons, may not like the thought of lots of people coming onto/ crossing their land. This highlights the importance of understanding how they think about their businesses, their heritage, their aspirations and

their identity if you are going to be negotiating with them.

It helps if you speak their language, too. This is part of my role when I’m involved in site searches and negotiations. I act as a ‘translator’ – finding a common language and common ground between buyer and seller, people who may have nothing in common, and who may struggle to communicate effectively directly.

3. Tax

Inheritance tax and capital gains tax are also never far from the minds of farmers and landowners. Bear in mind capital gains tax is, in fact, one of the reasons farmers ask what might seem high prices for relatively small acreages – because they know any such transaction could leave them with a hefty tax bill.

4. Leasing

Grape-growers and winemakers might prefer to buy rather than lease land because they don’t want to invest and then not have complete control.

But landowners who are unwilling to sell might consider leasing, therefore, such arrangements are set to become more common, especially given that most issues can be resolved by a carefully thought-out lease.

Provisions, for example, covering the extent to which the tenant can change or improve buildings (which can ultimately work to the benefit of both parties) or allowing the tenant to sell the lease if they wish to exit the business should be included.

Remember, landowners are used to operating in a world where the length of a farm business tenancy might only be five years, so they might initially be nervous of granting a 40-year lease – but in this era of uncertainty, the prospect of

Ber r y ma ew n tth

7 factors to consider if acquiring land

receiving a guaranteed rent of, say, £275/acre (moving upwards only with inflation), is appealing.

5. Optimism

The best viticultural land can still change hands for double the £10,000/acre that good agricultural land is making (the market has matured compared with two or three years ago when there were instances of three or four times that being paid).

There is still – with justification – much enthusiasm about the prospects for the wine sector generally.

6. Development

Landowners don’t want to miss out on any potential uplift in value of their land, so a big consideration will be what happens if the tenant or new owner gets planning consent for a winery, buildings or dwelling houses. Provisions for such so-called ‘overage’ are now commonplace, so don’t be surprised if a landowner expects to benefit from a share of any future development on the site.

7. The power of private

Ever-more viticulture land deals are likely to be done ‘off-market’. This can offer the seller privacy and save marketing costs and is sometimes triggered by a buyer identifying a desirable site and approaching the owner.

When land is sold openly on the market, the seller’s motivations are in many ways irrelevant.

But I‘d estimate at least 60% of viticultural land changing hands is sold privately and, if you’re approaching someone who has perhaps never previously considered selling, it’s even more essential to know what their drivers and concerns will be, so you can tailor your approach.

VINEYARD CONSULTANTS • • • • •

Planning Applications Site Finding Site Acquisition Leases Grants

Call Matthew Berryman on 07710 765323 or email matthew@c-l-m.co.uk www.c-l-m.co.uk 45 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

EDUCATION

Studying wine

> Lucy Sawyer Soon the final year students will be graduating from Plumpton College.

Hence, in this issue we focus on life after Plumpton for graduates and highlight this for BA (International Wine Business), BSc (Viticulture and Oenology) and MSc (Viticulture and Oenology) graduates.

Lucy Sawyer, BA (International Wine Business) – year 3 After completing my degree, I was very keen to join the burgeoning English wine industry and get involved in promoting our wonderful wines, both domestically and internationally.

I was lucky enough to secure part-time work whilst completing my course at an exciting new English wine producer, Artelium. Since finishing my course my role has grown and I now assist with many aspects of building the brand, such as marketing, product testing and development, packaging design, event planning as well as greeting customers and helping at tastings.

The course has given me some wonderful opportunities, my label designs are featured on the college’s single varietal wines, and I was lucky enough to do an internship in Georgia, as well as making some very useful contacts. I have learnt so much about both the domestic and international wine industry, from production

> Ben Tooley

methods to marketing, sales and distribution. I have also gained the skills needed to effectively analyse data and trends in the industry with confidence. Landing an exciting role before leaving college (especially in these challenging times) is beyond what I could have hoped when I initially enrolled in the course. I’m very excited to find out what my future holds in this fabulous industry.

Ben Tooley, BSc (Viticulture and Oenology) – year 3 After leaving Plumpton College I was lucky enough to secure a job working on the vineyard with Louis Pommery; the English branch of the Vranken Pommery Monopole Champagne house. Before the UK harvest this season, I will hopefully be travelling to Champagne to assist with their harvest and be trained in the use of the winery equipment.

Sustainability is important to me, and I’m proud to say that we have achieved Sustainable Wines of Great Britain accreditation. As part of my work with Louis Pommery I’m working with a student from the University of Reims Natural Sciences department on using wildflowers in the vineyard to reduce the need for chemicals, which ties in nicely with my dissertation studies at Plumpton College.

 www.plumpton.ac.uk

46 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

> Zoe Driver

Zoe Driver, MSc (Viticulture and Oenology) I was able to do the MSc in Viticulture and Oenology part-time, which was fantastic as it enabled me to work alongside my studies.

Now that I have completed the degree I will continue to work as Assistant Winemaker for Black Chalk Wine (without my experiments scattered around the winery), with my job encompassing all aspects of the business from grape growing and blending, to hosting tastings.

Going from somebody with no wine education at all (and believing that I was not particularly good at science), to completing the course has given me the confidence to take on more responsibility, ask more questions, suggest thoughts and ideas and implement what I have learnt in my place of work.

It has filled in the gaps in my knowledge that practical winemaking could not provide, and allowed me to explore new and different areas of an industry that I love. Now that I have finished, I can give 100% of my time and energy to creating the best wines I possibly can, applying all that I have learnt from Plumpton College. I have also made friends for life, who are all moving on to exciting ventures that I am looking forward to watching succeed.

CAREERS PROFILE

Ga ret h Dav

es

Meet the people behind the wines

i

, Fitz

Young and forward-thinking winemaker Gareth Davies has led the charge with English Charmat – creating the ‘slightly illegitimate’, but now well recognised brand, Fitz.

Gareth Davies started his career in hospitality but to avoid the unsociable hours he re-trained and became a winemaker. He now oversees all aspects of production at Divergent Drinks, from grape procurement through to loading trucks with the finished product, and everything in between – so finds he hasn’t escaped the unsociable hours!

Why did you become a winemaker?

I have been working in wine production for over 11 years now. I’m now the head winemaker at Divergent Drinks where I am responsible for the production of our three brands – Fitz, Prince Charmat and Sov’ran.

Having worked in hospitality from a young age, I became fascinated by the relationship between food and drink, wine in particular. After I left school I spent a couple of seasons working restaurant kitchens in the French alps. Although I had a great passion for cooking, I couldn’t hack the unsociable working hours.

So, when I started to draw comparisons between crafting a plate of food and the winemaking process, I discovered the wine production course at Plumpton college and got myself signed up. And that was it – I never looked back.

Why Charmat method sparkling wine?

We created a Charmat as not only did we want to have a point of difference and unique offering to the consumer, but we were also determined to create a truly affordable wine - whilst not compromising on quality. There was a lot of R&D that preceded the creation of Fitz – prototype products produced in my parent’s garage, focus groups to determine how the product should be presented and branded – I even managed to convince the boss to stump up for a trip to Valdobbiadene in the prosecco region of Italy. We had to be sure that there was going to be a market for our product before we took the plunge.

One of the common misconceptions about Charmat is that it’s inferior to traditional method fizz. Really the only thing they have in common is that they’re fizzy, but stylistically they’re worlds apart.

At Divergent Drinks we have set ourselves up to have extremely efficient production – we’re now producing over 100,000 bottles a year with only two full-time production staff. Our main challenge is trying to keep up with demand.

Your winemaking philosophy?

In wine production quality should remain at the forefront of everything that you do, along with a strategy for how, where, and who you’re going to sell your wine to – you can have all the best intentions in the world, but if your plan lacks execution, you could find yourself in a spot of bother.

Sustainability is very important, and Divergent Drinks are a member of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain and through this scheme we will endeavour to keep our overall carbon footprint to a minimum.

How do you see the future of English and Welsh wine production?

It’s very exciting to see the diversity of products being produced from UK wineries and hopefully we’ll continue to see innovation and experimentation in the sector. We have to ensure we put the consumer first, and a big part of that is offering a wide range of styles, formats and price points.

What are your top tips for a career in winemaking?

If you have the opportunity, go and get some work experience abroad.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite as easy to do in Europe now as it was when I started out in my career – but the wealth of experience you gain from working in long-established winemaking regions is truly invaluable. That and the weather is guaranteed to be better than the UK, too.

Which was the last English wine you drank (other than your own)?

It was the Nyetimber Classic Cuvee a couple of weeks ago. The winemakers Cherie and Brad craft their wines with such precision and poise, they’re really something to be admired.

What do you do if you have any spare time?

After all we’ve been through in the past 16 months – I value good food and wine with friends and family!

The brand Fitz

Historically, Fitz has sometimes been used to denote progeny born out of wedlock, aka, a bastard. That’s how we see ourselves, being made to feel slightly illegitimate when we were first established. Anyway, that was a few years ago and Fitz is now a well-recognised, strong brand in its own right. The brand coupled with the quality of our wine means that our customer base is broad and diverse – you’ll find it in fine dining establishments and your local boozer.

47 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

GRAPE GROWING

Establishing a legacy of excellence The Wiston Estate has enjoyed considerable success in recent years.

Vineyard spoke to one of the founders to hear how it has achieved so much in such a short time.

Time is often a luxury that few can afford but for anyone contemplating viticulture as a business opportunity, it is the one requirement that dominates all others. Fortunately for Richard Goring, manager at the Wiston Estate near Worthing in West Sussex, his family has an established track record of thinking for the long term.

Having farmed the estate since 1743, the Goring family understands that decisions taken today will have consequences that endure far beyond tomorrow. An appreciation for future generations is, however, just as much of a reason to constantly evolve as it is to resist anything that might spoil either the landscape or jeopardise future opportunities, regardless of the shortterm returns that some activities may bring.

Over the centuries, Wiston has been through several evolutions of its own.

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Until the outbreak of the second world war, it was like many of the farms in the region, a typical lowland livestock farm with sheep and cattle. In the aftermath of the war, however, when successive governments encouraged activities that would improve self-sufficiency in basic food staples, it became a mixed enterprise comprising rotational arable crops, such as wheat and barley, a 120-cow dairy unit, a herd of suckler beef and a flock of sheep.

The era of maximum inputs for maximum output that characterised the post-war years, however, is over and low-impact farming that promotes the environment is the focus of the day. Today, Wiston is a decade-and-a-half into a new evolution. Faced with a dairy unit running at an unsustainable loss, the growing interest of French champagne houses in the south of England served as the catalyst for the diversification into vines.

GRAPE GROWING “My South African mother recognised that the soil and topography of the land was well-suited to vines and had for a long time promoted vines as a commercial idea. Some 30 years later when the French producers began to show an interest, my father began to take her seriously,” Richard remarks of the early years.

In 2005 the family decided to divest itself of dairy interests and the following year the herd was sold. The capital it provided funded roughly 6.5 hectares (16 acres) of vines comprising the ‘big three’ grapes of pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier.

“It was a risky decision to take but we did our homework and took confidence from the interest being shown in the region by the big French champagne brands. Mum was ecstatic and her commitment has since helped drive our success. Without mum’s enthusiasm and determination to make this a triumph, it is unlikely that we would have attracted the wine maker we have,” Richard says.

The choice of vines was also significant. The Germanic types that were once popular have been succeeded by more palate-friendly varieties from France.

These varieties are more familiar to consumers and tend to produce wines that are enjoyed around the world.

In 2006, having planted the first grapes, the family were approached by Dermot Sugrue, the resident wine maker at Nyetimber, who subsequently joined the Wiston business and established the estate’s own winery.

“Dermot is a brilliant wine maker, and we recognised the opportunity this presented to utilise the plant and equipment to contract process grapes for other growers in the area. We now process 100 tonnes of grapes annually for ourselves and roughly 450 tonnes for other growers,” Richard says.

The arrangement with clients differs from the model of the French grower co-operatives where the grapes are mixed, and the members receive an allocation of the wine produced. To preserve the integrity of each grower working with Wiston, the grapes are pressed separately, and the wine produced is unique to those vines.

“Everyone understands that the wine produced from one vineyard will be different to wine from another, so in some respects the consumer is already educated as to the differences that exist. It is this understanding that we are seeking to exploit as a business opportunity.”

In 2017 a further 5.6 hectares (14 acres) were planted as interest in the Wiston wines stimulated demand.

“Prosecco has made sparkling wine accessible to society and now we are seeing people trade up to the premium wines. While the UK market is still growing, there are also significant overseas markets such as Scandinavia and Japan that should not be overlooked,” stresses Richard.

The success of Wiston wines has understandably led to some introductions that would otherwise be beyond most small producers.

“I was fortunate to have a meeting with the CEO and owner of probably the world’s best-known champagne house Louis Roederer – producer of cuvée, Cristal – who gave me some excellent advice. ‘Grow small plots of vines across the estate and learn which terroirs produce the best wine and then expand outwards. You will learn over a 10-year period which vineyards produce the best wine.’ It was reassuring to be told to grow slowly and not rush into it.”

This philosophy supports the ambition to develop the business by working with other growers. >>

49

GRAPE GROWING << “We are farmers, not a hedge fund, so the expectations are different because we don’t have the cash to grow quickly. The market for English sparkling wine is still expanding and even at 30 acres we are only a medium size vineyard (for England). By working with others, we can continue to grow without over-exerting ourselves financially while supporting others with diversification.”

Wiston Estate sold its first bottle of sparkling wine in 2012, but it was not until 2014 when demand began to take-off. With eight years from production to sale, there is significant cash invested in stock, hence the desire to collaborate with others.

“The business case is long-term, even generational and the risk is undoubtedly higher than with commodity crops – in 2012 we didn’t harvest a grape due to the wet weather – and without the operating profit of the farm, we could not have funded this diversification. But the prospect of trying to compete with other commodity producing countries without the safety net provided by the government convinces me that this has to be a worthwhile and necessary enterprise.”

Richard is at pains to dismiss any suggestion that vines are a short path to great riches, hence his repeated assertion that the business case is long term, but there are other rewards.

In 2019, the Wiston Estate Blanc de Blancs 2011 – a 100% chardonnay sparkling wine – won the ‘best in show’ at the Decanter World Wine Awards making it only the second English sparkling wine to have won the award along with Chapel Down.

It was the third time in six years that a Wiston made wine had won a top award at the Decanter World Wine Awards and marks a remarkable achievement for Wiston and its wine maker Dermot Sugrue.

“It’s reassuring to know that we can produce some truly world-class wines and is an endorsement of the commitment that my family and our staff have shown since we embarked on this journey in 2006,” says Richard.

The success has continued with the ‘Wiston Estate 2015 Blanc de Blancs’ winning the trophy for best sparkling wine made in the traditional method in the Blanc de Blancs class at this year’s WineGB awards.

Expert advice

The economics of grape production are a world-away from most crops, but a long growing season and average temperatures close to that of Champagne 20 years ago, ensure that the south coast of England has a bright future as a region for sparkling wine. A warming climate means there are opportunities for those further north, but as with all new ventures, the devil is in the detail.

Fortunately, there are many good sources of advice available for those contemplating a vineyard.

One of those which has provided advice and guidance to Wiston since its foundations is Agrii, the agronomy and strategic advisers to agriculture, and in particular its viticulture specialist, Ben Brown who worked with the estate to develop a sustainable approach to grape production.

“The first step should be to source some objective advice about the suitability of the intended site and identify the appropriate root stock and scion clones.

Sparkling wine may dominate production in the south east, but there is a preference for Bacchus amongst other varieties for premium still wines.

"It is often overlooked but selecting the rootstock that best suits the site is paramount to creating a vineyard with longevity. Chalky sites tend to have higher active calcium which suits lime tolerant root stocks such as Fercal or 41-B while on more clay-rich sites, SO4 (Sélection Oppenheim 4) may be preferable. Time invested in digging soil pits and soil scanning is often critical to understanding the soil strata and texture to maximise vine longevity,” says Ben. Site suitability involves several factors with free-draining soils and a favourable mean air temperature essential. Field aspect is also important, but less so than soil type and overall air temperature.

“Good data is essential to site assessment, especially for temperatures.

It is often worthwhile placing a thermometer at a site to collect daily temperatures, preferably across two calendar years to establish the frost risk. This will help to determine variety choice, for example pinot noir is less susceptible to frost damage as it is later to come into bud. There are also some useful geographic information system (GIS) maps available with longterm data on frosts and other weather-related threats that will help to guide >> site selection,” says Ben.

> Wiston Estate's Richard Goring (left) with Agrii vine specialist Ben Brown (right)

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JOINED UP ACTION FOR FOOD AND FARMING SUSTAINABILITY Luke Spalding, Everflyht Vineyard

Green Horizons is Agrii’s action plan to prepare for and meet the challenges of tomorrow, whilst ensuring agriculture remains sustainable and profitable.

We understand these challenges and are working with our customers and our partners in the industry, towards achieving truly sustainable farming systems.

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWER MIXES Creating the perfect habitat is vitally important and will enable future generations to know that we played our part in securing our wildlife and plant populations.

This process begins by investing in the right seed mixture that will allow you to deliver environmental benefits to the highest level.

Agrii has carefully formulated wildflower mixtures to meet the requirements of a number of different habitats and soil types.

Low maintenance grass species are included in the mixtures to act as a nurse crop in the early years of establishment and growth.

The grasses help suppress weed invasion, whilst allowing the wildflowers to flourish.

We have now published Green Horizons Insight Report 2: Enhancing the Environment.

INSIGHT REPORT:2

ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENT

This is the second of five Insight Reports that we will be releasing over the course of the next year. To access your copy, scan the QR code.

Find out more at www.agrii.co.uk/greenhorizons

GREEN HORIZ NS www.agrii.co.uk

Agrii is pleased to be working with Wiston Estate For more information, please contact your usual Agrii agronomist, our Customer Services Team on 0845 607 3322 or email fruit.solutions@agrii.co.uk

www.agrii.co.uk

GRAPE GROWING << Another question to be resolved in the early stages is ‘what’s your intended market?’. “This is a specialist crop, not a commodity such as wheat or barley. You can’t just expect to sell it to any old merchant,” he says.

Having found a site, identified the most appropriate root stock and scion combination, and a buyer, the rootstock should be ordered but do not expect next-day delivery.

“There can be a two-year lead time for less common rootstock combinations.

Roughly 1-1.5 million vines have been planted in England for the past four years and the market is still growing,” says Ben. There is also considerable investment. In a good year Wiston Estate would hope to harvest about 9.25 tonnes of grapes per hectare (3.75 t/acre) which at roughly £2,000 per tonne can seem an attractive return. There are also years when the yield will be a lot lower and, in the case of 2012, sometimes nothing.

“The capital investment would be £25,000 - £30,000/hectare which would cover vines, trellis and wires. To this you can add equipment and the labour costs of pruning, wire work, harvesting and site maintenance,” says Ben. Good pest and disease control are essential to harvesting a clean and ripe crop. Diseases such as downy mildew, powdery mildew and Botrytis are controlled with fungicides while moths and the vinegar fruit fly, spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) will require the occasional targeted insecticide.

"In addition, there will be weeds to be controlled. This is often achieved with glyphosate or a specialist inter-row cultivator. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, but most growers would opt for a combination of the two according to the time of the season and the weed burden to be controlled," says Ben.

Bright future

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Data gathered by Wines of Great Britain, the national body for grape growers and winemakers, charts the growth of the sector over the past 10 years and offers a forecast of future growth.

“There are currently around 2,500 ha (6,200 acres) of vineyards in the UK and this has increased by over 140% in the last 10 years. There are about 700 vineyards (about 540 are commercial) and around 160 wineries, producing an average of around 5 million bottles a year (5.9m in 2017). The styles produced are: 66% sparkling, 24% still white and 10% red/rosé,” notes WineGB. A combination of a more favourable climate and the increasing success of English wines in international competitions along with investment in vineyards and greater education and training for those working in the sector, promote a favourable assessment of the future for English wine.

Research published in 2018 suggested that roughly 35,000 hectares (86,450 acres) of land across the UK was suitable for growing grapes. At the time, roughly 2,500 hectares across England and Wales was planted with vines.

The report, which used geographical analysis to assess 50x50 metre plots, concluded that the best land was to be found in Kent, Sussex and East Anglia.

Alistair Nesbitt of Climate Wine Consulting and one of the three contributing authors of the paper published in Journal of Land Use Science, said the findings demonstrated that the vineyards outside the south east had a bright future.

“Some of the best areas that we found are where relatively few vineyards currently exist, such as in Essex and Suffolk – parts of the country that are drier, warmer and more stable year-to-year than some more established vineyard locations.

“The techniques we used enabled us to identify areas ripe for future vineyard investments, but they also showed that many existing vineyards are not that well located, so there is definitely room for improvement, and we hope our model can help boost future productivity,” said Dr Nesbitt.

The best English wines, be they still or sparkling, have transformed opinions of English wine. What was once considered laughable is now a source of pride and serious achievement. With continued investment and an attitude that aspires to perfection, the future is bright and one of which we can all be proud. ◆ Wiston Estate sparkling wines are exported to most developed countries, are served in many high-end restaurants and can be bought online at wistonestate.com

C harles

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The vine post

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Vine-Works management and technical scouting – A sum greater than its parts.

Nothing beats hands-on technical experience and physical presence in a vineyard when managing vines. Not yet anyway. Although the technology is out there, in the UK, it is unlikely that a single site is of a scale that would justify the expense of a lot of it. We’ll never say never, but our tried and trusted method of getting actual people among the vines continues to produce results and is something we will always promote. It’s a feeling and sensing thing too. We do incorporate some technology into our management service and it is an area we explore all the time with the intention of pushing the boundaries of what we can do.

So what does it entail? At Vine-Works, we visit a newly planted vineyard at least seven times a year, year-old vineyards 13 times and mature vineyards we visit 16 times. We have the benefit of not one, but four technical scouts, as mentioned in last month’s column. And we are growing! We partner with two tech companies: Vidacycle and Trak365 – specifically for our scouts in the vineyard to record data in real-time and interpret it back in the office, producing timely reports, and have them expertly translated into an action plan. Not only this, but the information is available via both tech platforms on your smartphone, anywhere you go.

Every vineyard is different and as such our management services are customised to each client – the different vineyard owners, managers or consultants. Our team of viticulturists and scouts are in constant communication with these relevant parties with a goal of never losing the feel for a place. Not unlike the holy trinity of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, we are greater than the sum of our parts with all of this in motion from pruning time to harvest. Our labour teams are an extension of this service, providing constant feedback via the supervisors managing the work they are doing in the vineyard.

A photographic diary of every vineyard is par for the course. It’s an essential requirement for the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain initiative and is something that we use to track the growth stages of the vines. We also track Growing Degree Days, (GDD) using Trak365’s real-time temperature and humidity data, plugging it directly into the Vidacycle hub Sectormentor, using a newly released link between the two apps. Once again, the combined skills of the three companies: Vine-Works, Trak365 and Vidacycle allows us an in-depth understanding of the development of the vines.

For example, at the time of writing this, the accumulation of GDD at Bee Tree Vineyard, (Vine-Works’ own site) is up to 120 and there are eight leaves separated on the vines with inflorescences beginning to elongate.

The increase in growth and GDD has been exponential – as you can see in the diagram below – and, as such, this gives us a better indication of when harvest will be. We know that we are not nearly as far behind at this time as we had previously thought. The next step, in line with what many agronomists offer, will be integrating disease modelling – whereby we will predict disease events such as Botrytis, Powdery mildew and Downy mildew and act to prevent them using less and less pesticides.

With us as your vineyard managers and technical scouts, there is a reassurance that there are no flaws in your grape production. We are a welloiled machine and would be happy to put our technical skills to use in more and more vineyards going forward.

10

Apr 12

120

9 8

100

80

GDD

6 5

60

4 40

3 2

Cumulative GDD

7

20

1

9 0

0 Jan 03

Jan 10

Jan 17

Jan 24

Jan 31

Feb 07

Feb 14

Feb 21

Feb 28

Mar 07

Mar 14

Mar 21

Mar 28

Apr 04

Apr 11

0 Apr 18

Apr 25

May 02 May 09 May 16

May 23 May 30

Jun 06

Jun 13

Date

 www.vine-works.com paper-plane sales@vine-works.com  01273 891777 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

53

Representing you 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

A winning English Wine Week

At the time of writing, English Wine Week 2021 has just come to a close and what a monumental week it has been.

The Week saw an enormous amount of inspirational press and media activity together with events taking place both online and in person over the last nine days. Vineyards, wineries, retailers, wine writers and influencers and of course the wine drinking public all got behind this celebration.

On Thursday 24 June the results of our annual national competition, The WineGB Awards, were revealed, including the medal winning wines and category trophies. You can read more about the award-winning wines on page 16 of Vineyard Magazine.

English Wine Week and countless English wines and their producers were featured on television programmes such as BBC Saturday Kitchen and C4 Sunday Brunch, in national newspapers including, The Times, The Daily Mail, The FT, The Guardian, CityAM, The Metro and The Telegraph, and also across other media including jancisrobinson.com, BBC Good Food, and Decanter. EWW was mentioned in Parliament in a special adjournment debate (see the APPG update opposite), and there have been plenty of online articles and some fantastic Instagram Lives too.

We would like to thank all the retailers who really got behind EWW this year. Aldi, Majestic, M&S have all featured in the press talking about the increase in their sales of English wine, while Waitrose hosted special offers and put information on their website, and The Wine Society put out a great video about the English wines they stock and did an Instagram Live as well.

The potential reach of all these activities has stretched to millions. Looking at early media reports we are conservatively estimating that the potential media reach this year has been 900 million, which is truly remarkable and just shows how the industry continues to go from strength to strength.

This press coverage was further boosted by the Instagram Live hosted

by WineGB Awards co-chairs Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke OBE which further spread the word and engaged the wider wine-drinking public.

54

instagram

TWITTER-SQUARE

Linkedin

Reached 518% more accounts compared to previous period.

Interactions: +40.3% New followers: +319

Impressions: +48.6% Profile visits: +192.6% Mentions: +69.4% New followers: +68

Impressions: +86% (+7k) New followers: +59 Unique visitors: +7%

A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

DATES FOR THE DIARY We have another great line up of webinars over the coming months: JULY

Thursday 15 July Thursday 22 July Thursday 29 July

6:00pm The business benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 6:00pm Contract Winemaking - How to choose and how to be a good client 6:00pm Rosé Colour Management

AUGUST

Thursday 5 August 6:00pm Working with Social Media Influencers Thursday 12 August 6:00pm Preparing the winery for harvest

All Party Parliamentary Group update

It’s been a busy period in our dialogue with Westminster, which culminated in an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 23 June, led by WineGB’s APPG Chair Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs.

The intention of the debate was to raise awareness of the success story of our industry and to celebrate English Wine Week in the House of Commons.

In the past few weeks, we have responded to the DEFRA Deposit Return Scheme consultation, with particular emphasis placed on keeping the financial and administrative impact of the scheme to an absolute minimum for small businesses.

Details of our response can be found on the WineGB website This is a far-reaching proposal which will form part of the implementation of the Government’s Environment Bill and will soon be followed by potential labelling changes resulting from the Obesity Strategy review.

We are still awaiting news from the Excise Duty Review and continue to press for support for our Exports and Tourism strategic pillars.

The AGM of the WineGB All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) was held on 22 June, at which we gave an update on the state of the industry. We highlighted our key objectives within each department; DEFRA, DIT, Treasury, BEIS and DCMS, as well as flagging the likelihood of labour shortages in the vineyards this harvest time. The support and advice we receive from our APPG is invaluable, especially as our industry and organisation grow.

Registration now open

Planning is well underway for the 2021 WineGB Trade and Press Tasting which, subject to any possible Covid-19 restrictions, will still be taking place on Tuesday 7 September at the RHS Lindley Hall, London SW1.

Last year was the first time that we were unable to host this annual event and it was sorely missed by producers, trade and press visitors alike.

We are delighted to be back with a bang for 2021 for a truly amazing industry celebration and are anticipating a great number of exhibiting producers from across Britain.

In the last two years, so much variety and range has been released, and everyone is eager to discover more, taste the new releases and of course meet with the producers themselves.

This year we will also be exhibiting the WineGB Awards’ trophy winning wines on a free pour table together with the regional champions in the awards.

We will also be using the event to announce the winners of the Winery of the Year category as well as the crowning of Supreme Champion.

Exhibiting at the Trade Tasting is open to WineGB members only. Please visit the members’ section of the website to find out more and to register. Trade or press visitors can register to attend via the website: www.winegb.co.uk/trade

JOIN WINEGB

 01858 467792 paper-plane office@winegb.co.uk  www.WineGB.co.uk 55 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

For all your viticultural needs

Avon •

Works,

Cranbrook,

TN17

sales@npseymour.co.uk

•

2PT

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Your specialist tractor and machinery dealership

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Vitifruit Equipment Sales and Hire

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www.vitifruitequipment.co.uk 56

/vitifruitequipment A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

 vitifruitequipment@sky.com

 01732 866567

MACHINERY

Grape expectations If the Romans are deemed to have introduced Britons to grape growing, knapsack sprayer manufacturer Berthoud can lay claim to be a pioneer in controlling vine pests and diseases.

Since 1895, the brand of precision engineered diaphragm sprayers has brought relief to vineyards across Europe, especially France, where Hozelock-Exel make them – raising expectations of a bountiful harvest in the process.

Berthoud's Vermorel professional range includes models tailored to the needs of the smaller grower – all designed to ensure operators work in optimal comfort, safety and convenience.

Fitted with a 12V lithium ion battery and working to a 2.5hr charging cycle, the Vermorel 3000 Electric comes with a fully specified harness, complete with waist, chest and shoulder padding.

The traffic light battery charge level indicator gives ample notice for operators to schedule work, while the three pressure settings (1, 1.5 and 3 Bar) allow three to six-hour spray sessions.

With telescopic (0.6 to 1m) composite lance as standard, the `3000` is available with cone 15/10, blue flat fan and brown anvil nozzles to cover a spread of spray applications.

The 2000 Pro Comfort also features a fully specified padded harness, composite telescopic lance as well as 15/10 plate swirl, blue flat fan and blue anvil multi-purpose adjustable nozzles.

Meanwhile, the Vermorel 1800 offers ergonomic back frame and padded harness to limit operational stresses on the body .

The full range of spares and accessories includes telescopic lances stretching to 3.6m, enabling operators to reach all vine foliage conveniently.

Easy to use and dismantle, all Vermorel knapsacks are suitable for applying sanitisers and disinfectants, with spray shield, seal and nozzle kit and multi- nozzle spray boom accessories delivering added flexibility.

A new twist to the market Entering production in June 2021, the Mistral2 will be taking and updating the name of the outstanding Landini series of compact tractors. The new range features an extensive revolution engine wise, moving from the Yanmar Tier 3 to the Kohler Stage V compliant engine.

The 1.9 litre, 3-cylinder, turbo aftercooled engine delivers, for the Mistral 2-055 and 2-060 models, maximum outputs of 49 and 57 Hp (ISO) respectively with a maximum torque of 180 and 200 Nm already available at 1,200 rpm, which places Mistral2 as the Best in Class in its category.

A transition made possible by the design skills and expertise of Argo Tractors engineers, who have managed to maintain the height of the bonnet from the ground, by adopting an exhaust gas treatment system at the side of the bonnet, whilst guaranteeing the operator excellent visibility. This solution represents an irrefutable competitive advantage for Landini Mistral2.

The new range benefits from the renewed Landini family feeling, already introduced in the high and medium power ranges, whilst providing effective solutions in terms of agility, compactness and environmental sustainability. An important new feature is the availability of the Engine Memo Switch that allows you to save engine rpms and to quickly retrieve them with a practical button on the right-hand console.

Landini Mistral2 is available in two configurations: Standard, available for the platform or cab versions, and GE (Ground Effect), only for the platform version which, with a “lowered” set-up achieved thanks to the use of dedicated rear reduction gears and a front axle, further reduces the overall height from the ground of the bonnet and mudguards.

The mechanical power shuttle transmission is available in 12/12 or 16/16 versions if equipped with creeper, with a minimum speed of 220 metres/hour.

The FOPS cab boasts a modern and functional design, and is mounted on silent blocks that isolate it from noise and vibration. Comfort features also include air conditioning, flip-up front window and a radio.

The main features of the series are completed by a 40 litre fuel tank capacity, an increased hydraulic flow rate of 35 litres/minute for the rear lift and services and the dedicated 20 litre/minute steering pump.

The category one three-point hitch rear lift system can lift up to 1,200kg and the front lift system, optional with or without a 1,000 rpm PTO, up to 400kg, while there are three additional spool valves available (two standard valves and one optional floating valve). The controls are installed on the new right-hand console. The rear mechanical PTO is available in two different speeds 540 and 540E rpm and synchronised forward speed. The dual traction front axle has an electro-hydraulic engaging “Hydralock” differential lock in both the STD and GE versions.

Landini Mistral2 Stage V presents a new electronic instrument panel, derived from the Landini Rex4 family and includes useful digital information such as diagnostics and signals, maintenance intervals, data on the work carried out and fuel consumption.

It is also possible to add one of the extended warranty options (up to 48 months or 5,000 hours) to the package, as well as the scheduled maintenance option, which can be tailored to meet the customer's needs.

Landini Mistral2 can be equipped with the “Landini Fleet Management” telematics monitoring system, designed to monitor the efficiency of the work site in terms of fuel consumption, working hours and scheduled maintenance.

57

FRUIT AND VINE TRACTORS IN STOCK AND READY TO GO!

COVERING KENT, SUSSEX AND SURREY

Haynes Agri

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TRANSPORTS 6 FULL bINS

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A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

vid Sayell & a D

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rd Witt

VITIFRUIT EQUIPMENT

Wiston total weed control Wiston Wine Estate on the Sussex South Downs has used a Boisselet under vine hoe since 2011 and over those 10 years gained experience in how best to deal with the weeds and grass under the vines by using a variety of end tools on their original single sided frame.

The recent investment in a new double sided Boisselet has provided a huge boost to productivity averaging three hectares cleaned per day.

The machine is equipped with two new model Evo 4 Servo Motors which power the Cutmatic knife blade around the vine stem and two single cutaway 350 mm discs in the front mounting bracket of the Servo Motors to cut away any long grass and also provide a neat line between the grass alley and cultivated strip.

Vineyard manager James McLean can now deal with the weed problem as fast as he would as if it had been treated with Roundup but more effectively with no danger of harming the vines. Additionally the frame of the machine is designed to be multi purpose enabling other tools to be fitted and swapped around such as rollhacks, petalmatic, finger weeder, discs and tines as well as the bud rubber and also "in row" tools such as subsoiler legs, full width discs and soil lifting tines.

> James McLean

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

59 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | V I N E YA R D

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DISGORGING LINE Itasca Wines is delighted to announce our new custom designed and fully automated Disgorging Line.

Designed by TDD, our line is expected for delivery and installation in February 2021, with high end technology including - laser guided vision control and jetting.

We are now talking with customers for 2021.

So, if you are starting to think of your disgorging requirements, call Itasca Wines!

Our team is now taking bookings.

Disgorging, Storage, Labelling and Packaging, Dosage Advise and Consulting.

Full label and design services also available, come and talk with our Graphic Designers and let Itasca Wines turn your ideas into that special and distinctive label.

Contact us to find out more Itascawines.com | info@itascawines.com | 01252 279 830

Itasca Wines, Penn Croft Winery, Clifton Farm, Croft Lane, Crondall, Hampshire, GU10 5QD