Pruning (Dec 2011)

We had to wait until December for the leaves to fall off the vines so we could start pruning. The vineyard did look pretty with all its autumnal colours.

Harvest (Oct 2011)

A challenging year meant we lost half the flowers (grapes) to heavy rain in June. Low yields though, whilst bad for the bank balance, are good for harvest ripeness and quality spurred on by the late hot spell.

Bottling (July 2011)

We bottled all our 2010 wines in our new bottler. All wines are bottled in inert gas and screwcapped using Stelvin Lux closures.

Winemaking (Oct 2010)

Fermentations are made in stainless steel. Fermentation rates are carefully controlled automatically in a closed loop control system using carbon dioxide sensors and temperature.

Harvest (October 2010)

A late sunny and warm surge ripened our grapes just before the frosts.

Winery (2010)

The Victorian Grade II listed barn built in 1860 at Stopham was renovated for the winery. It was out of use for a few decades and the project was supported by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)

Deleafing (August 2010)

We borrowed a deleafer to remove leaves shading the emerging grape bunches. Sun exposure is important in the development of grape flavour.

Canopy Management (July 2010)

The growing shoots have to be tucked in, positioned vertically and thinned where appropriate to reduce fungal disease risk.

Weeding (June 2010)

The weeds are growing almost as fast as the vines. We deal with this by mowing the rows and strimming round the vines. We plan to get a tractor mounted hoe to get the nettle roots up under the vines.

Tying Down (Mar 2010)

We tied down all the vines to the fruiting wire to give the fruiting canes a firm base to grow from. We then had to go round again to remove any canes that were growing from the trunk (bud rubbing)

Pruning (Jan 2010)

We pruned the 21,000 vines, which was tough through the very cold winter we had.

Sub Soiling (Oct 2009)

We sub soiled each alternate row. This cuts the vine roots, removes soil compaction and aerates the soil, which stimulates the vine to develop a deeper and denser root structure.

Harvest (October 2009)

We decided to take a small harvest this year (1500L) and picking was on 2nd and 8th October. The grapes were perfect thanks to the warm dry September.

Deleafing (Aug - Sept 2009)

We are removing leaves that shade the fruiting zone to improve the phenolic characteristics (i.e. flavours) in the grapes.

Nutrient Additions (2009)

The sandy free draining soils are poor at retaining nutrients. This is being corrected through summer nutrient sprays, fertiliser and manure.

Tucking In (June - 2009)

The vines are growing fast so we're tucking the vines into the foliage wires to stop the canes flopping over into the rows for the rabbits to enjoy.

Shoot Selection (May - 2009)

The toughest job so far involves removing all the shoots and buds from each vine, bar the top 2 shoots to create the trunk and fruiting canes.

Weeding (All Summer from Apr)

The weeds are a constant battle which we fight with the mower, strimmer and weedkiller.

Tying Vines to Trellis (July 08)

We attached the support bamboo cane to the trellis "fruiting" wire with these trellis clips (shown below)..

Tying Vines to Canes (June 08)

All the vines had to be tied to the bamboo cane so as they grow upright (as Simon's parents are doing here).

Trellising (Apr-June 2008)

It took us 2 months to install 5400 trellising posts (0.9m in the ground). That was a job!

Winter Pruning (Dec 07-Mar 08)

We pruned all the vines back to 2 buds in Winter. We prune every winter to create the shape and size of vine to encourage the best fruiting.

1st yr Shoot Selection (May 07)

Many shoots sprout off new vines. However, we need the vine's energy to be funneled into one central shoot so we cut off all excess buds. This is an annual job.