Welsh minister for natural resources and food Alun Davies launches Welsh Wine Week and the new Wine Trail Wales leaflet

Alun Davies, the Welsh minister for natural resources and food, has spearheaded efforts to promote a programme of activities and special promotions, including tours and wine tastings, planned by the vineyards to celebrate Welsh Wine Week from Saturday, May 25.

Supported by the Welsh Government, vineyard owners have produced a Wine Trail Wales leaflet to encourage wine tourism and launched a new website – – and social media pages on Facebook  and Twitter (@WinetrailWales) to raise the profile of the blossoming industry.

Wales now has vineyards spanning from Anglesey in the north to Monmouthshire and Pembrokeshire in the south, as the country is fast gaining international recognition for the quality of its wines. Wales produces around 100,000 bottles of wine a year.

Welsh Vineyard Association

To maintain the growing momentum behind the industry and increase consumer awareness, the wine producers are now banding together to re-form a Welsh Vineyards Association.

Davies says: “It is encouraging to see producers working together collectively to form a Welsh Vineyard Association. In terms of quality and potential, Welsh wine is certainly making a name for itself at home and abroad. I would encourage consumers to visit their local Vineyard during Welsh Wine Week and enjoy the fantastic produce they have to offer.”

Events and vineyard tours in Welsh Wine Week are available here.

One of the standard bearers for the industry is the multi-award winning Ancre Hill Estates at Monmouth, which is owned by Richard and Joy Morris. Last November, the vineyard won the coveted award for best white sparkling wine in the world at the Bollicine del Mondo International competition in Italy, where they were up against the best champagnes.

“It was a massive plus for Wales and the Welsh wine industry to win the award,” said Morris. “It proves that quality vineyards exist in Wales capable of growing the best quality fruit, which can be made in to world class wine.”

Decanter World Wine Awards

In this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine and Spirit Competition, announced at the London International Wine Fair on Tuesday, the vineyard also won four silver and two bronze medals.

Morris says: “We are particularly pleased with the performance of our Pinot Noir, with these results making it the best performing red wine from England and Wales in 2013. This was our first accredited biodynamic wine.”

The Morris family planted the first phase of the vineyard in April 2006, with a further plantation in April 2007 and this year. Ancre Hill Estates, which produces 15,000 bottles of wine annually, is the only UK vineyard to grow Albariño, which originate in Galicia, Northern Spain, and further planting this month extends the vines to three acres.

Work is also due to start this summer on a commercial winery, which will be fully sustainable, as it will have straw bale walls, a sedum grass roof and an ecological water treatment system.

Ancre Hill Estate visits

Ancre Hill Estates, which produces sparkling whites blanc de blanc and blanc de noir, sparkling rose, still white and rosé and Pinot Noir red, will be holding vineyard tours twice daily at 11.30am and 3pm and, during Welsh Wine Week, is offering free wine tastings.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Wales, preparations are being made for the first wine making crop of grapes at the only vineyard in Carmarthenshire. Vines were planted at Jabajak Vineyard near Llanboidy in 2008 but the grape crop has yet to be harvested for wine.

“We’re hoping that 2013 will be the year and we are going for it,” said Amanda Stuart-Robson, who owns the vineyard and a five star restaurant with 10 en-suite rooms in partnership with her sister Lorraine Lloyd and their husbands, Julian and John respectively. They have appointed viticulturist Alex Wilson to run the one hectare vineyard with its 2,000 Seyval, Phoenix, Pinot Noir, Rondo, Huxlebe and Reichensteiner vines, from which they aim to produce still white and sparkling white and rosé wines.

Stuart-Robson says: “It was my husband, Julian, who came up with the idea of a vineyard to give the business a unique selling point here in rural Carmarthenshire. We have potential to expand the vineyard in the future.

“I am told that sparkling wine originally came from this region but the Normans drove out the monks that were producing it. It would be great to bring sparkling wine back here. Our first wine will be still white and we are hoping to produce a small amount of sparkling, but it will be a while before that’s available to drink.”

The Jabajak restaurant and rooms, which overlooks the vineyard, have been converted from a traditional smallholding farmhouse and outbuildings. Originally named Banc y Llain, the smallholding was part of an estate owned by the grandparents of sixth American president John Quincy Adams and remained in the family’s ownership until 1997.

Other new vineyards under development include Llaethliw close to the National Trust’s Llanerchaeron Estate near Aberaeron and Kerry Vale Vineyard near the Welsh border at Churchstoke.

Picture: Minister for Natural Resources and Food Alun Davies launches Welsh Wine Week and the new Wine Trail Wales leaflet with Judith and Colin Dudley from Parva Farm Vineyard, Nicola and Robb Merchant from Whitecastle Vineyard, Joy and Richard Morris, from Ancre Hill Estates and Louise Ryan and Simon Bloor from Sugarloaf Vineyard.

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Vines to Wines, partnered by English Wine Producers (EWP) and the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA), will host a seminar looking at planning for a profitable vineyard operation with well-known Australian viticulturalist Dr Richard Smart at Fruit Focus 2013 on July 24.

The session is aimed at new growers looking to join this fast-growing and exciting sector, says a spokesperson.

In addition, Fruit Focus has again teamed up with Wine Skills, Plumpton College’s knowledge transfer initiative, to provide two practical workshops to help growers manage their vines to best advantage.

East Malling Research centenary

The show’s host, East Malling Research (EMR) is celebrating its centenary this year. As well as the popular and highly informative fruit research tours, which highlight the latest trials work being undertaken at the venue, EMR will be re-creating a laboratory as it would have looked in 1913, complete with researchers in period dress.

“We hope it will be a bit of fun as well as being informative,” says Peter Gregory, chief executive of EMR. “We will be comparing this piece of history with today’s labs and the type of work we are doing in them. We will also be giving an account of the East Malling Collection – all the varieties of fruits and ornamentals that have been released from East Malling over the past 25 years.”

Visitors will also be able to view machinery and equipment being put through its paces in the centrally located demonstration arena.

The Fruit Focus forums, sponsored by NFU, include a session on labour and employment offering the latest updates and advice from specialist NFU advisers. In addition, Christine Tacon, Groceries Code Adjudicator and Guy Poskitt, NFU Horticulture Board acting chairman will be headlining a supply chain panel session.

The technical session will examine prospects for addressing the pollination issue – looking at the pressures that are affecting native pollinators and hives on which the UK’s fruit sector depends, and how these problems might be overcome.

More than 100 exhibitors have already signed up for stand space at Fruit Focus 2013, which returns to East Malling Research, Kent on 24^th July. Tickets for Fruit Focus 2013 cost £10 (inc VAT) and are available online or on the day.

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Despite the siren noises about a summer for English wine that had to be written off, Kent grower Hush Heath has polished up a silver lining that may surprise many observers, considers winemaker Owen Elias in his latest winemaker’s report.

He writes: “Last year’s harvest, written off and abandoned by some, has to be counted as a surprising success. Thanks to sterling work by the Turners in the vineyard and some shredded nerves of steel, Hush Heath actually harvested more grapes than in 2011. The quality of the Pinot Noir and Meunier was good while the acidity on the Chardonnay was a little on the high side. The wine in tank is quite pleasing at this stage with final blending and stabilization taking place over the next few weeks.”

The grower, based in Staplehurst, Kent has seen a “busy time in the winery” writes Elias. In Decembe,r the 2012 still ciders were bottled. These together with a range of bottle fermented ciders are marketed under the Jake’s Orchard label. Last year’s trials proved successful and production has been increased. The first of the bottle-fermented ciders have been disgorged with delicious Nettle or Strawberry & Blackcurrant variants being available.

Hush Heath Vineyard visits

Hush Heath opened its doors to visitors and wine lovers for the first time since planting our vineyard in 2002. Visitors are able to stroll through the Estates beautiful Vineyards, Apple Orchards and Ancient Oak Woodlands. Tastings and self-guided tours are free and are available without booking on Fridays and Saturdays between 11am and 5pm. 

We are also offering guided tours and tastings where visitors will learn about the viticultural aspects of grape growing followed by a tour of the Winery where the sparkling wine making process using traditional Champagne methods is explained. Finally there is a tutored tasting of the Estate’s delicious Sparkling and Still wines and new range of Ciders created by our winemakers.
Guided tours are for a minimum of six people and need to be pre-booked. The cost per person is £15 and tours can be arranged 7 days a week.

Decanter World Wine Awards

Hush Heath has picked up two awards at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2013. Balfour Brut Rosé 2009 collected its second consecutive Silver medal in this prestigious competition while the Balfour Brut Rosé 2010 has collected a Gold medal. The bottles that we sent to judges at Decanter were the first to be tasted away from the vineyard, and the vineyard is “delighted that they met with such a seal of approval,” notes Elias.

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An international forum for exploring innovation and sharing best practice in the production and sale of Champagnes and sparkling wines is to be staged at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey in early December.

The International Sparkling Wine Symposium (ISWS) will involve up to 180 oenologists, producers, marketers, buyers and journalists from across the world. Tickets are available now via the ISWS  website  at a cost of £345.00 per head, to include lunch and refreshments each day, the Grand Tasting and Dinner on Tuesday  December 3. Discounted early bird tickets, costing £295.00 per head, are available until June 30.

Speakers at the event are set to include Essi Avellan MW, editor of FINE Champagne magazine, Tom Stevenson, champagne and sparkling wine expert, Richard Smart, renowned Australian viticulturist, Maurizio Zanella, president of the Franciacorta Consorzio and Olly Wehring, managing editor of just-drinks.com and Jan Konetzki, head sommelier at 3* Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

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Surrey organic grower Albury Organic Vineyard will release its Silent Pool Rosé 2012 On June 1, during English Wine Week.

It is one of the first English certified Organic wines and will be available at a range of on-trade and off-trade locations, including Alnwick Castle Gift Shop, Alnwick some 350 miles from the vineyard.

Owner and producer Nick Wenman says: “We’ll be holding the first meeting of the Albury Wine Club at the vineyard on the 1st June for members only. The Guildford Wine Company in Shalford will be hosting a tasting between 11.00am and 5.00pm.

“We are delighted with the quality of the wine which has been produced from hand-picked bio-dynamic grapes from our own vineyard.”

Stephen Skelton MW says: “Good fruit, nice balance with good acidity but not too aggressive. A worthy successor to the 2011. Amazing considering what the year was like.”

Albury Organic Vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey Hills, just outside Guildford on the A25 towards Dorking. The vines are the traditional Champagne varietals of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier as well as some Seyval and Pinot Gris. A sparkling wine which should be available for sale in 2014.

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