ICCWS 2016, Tirage, Apprentices, Export and Harvest Prep

We are all recovering from the fantastic few days we spent at the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium held in Brighton at the end of May. Nearly 600 delegates and speakers from across the cool and not-so-cool winemaking regions of the world descended on the seaside city more renowned for its vibrant nightlife than winemaking. 

We all took advantage of the nightlife and enjoyed some fantastic evening events in the Brighton Museum and the Sealife Centre. For many of the visitors the opening reception was the first time they had tried English wine and we were pouring our Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvee 2013 which went down a storm. 

The information and research presented was invaluable to us as an emerging cool climate wine region. Some dry topics such as 'Combating Botrytis' and 'Protected and Semi-Protected Viticulture' were balanced with rather more pleasant tastings of English Sparkling Wines presented by Essi Avellan MW and English Still Wines presented by the indomitable Oz Clarke (chaired by yours truly).

Emma Rice with Oz Clarke - English Still Wine Tasting

Back to the real world and the task in hand this week is getting the winery and wines ready for bottling. Cold stabilisation and filtering is done, the bottles are arriving 26,000 at a time. The crown caps, yeast, adjuvants and stillage cages are here. The winery is being cleaned down to the last drain cover and the sugar is being prepared to be mixed into the base wines.

Fondoirs, ready for the sugar

Bottling is a real marker in the winery year. It is when we put one vintage to bed and start thinking about the next harvest. Not having our own bottling line we rely on the mobile lines that spend the summer  months roving around the south of England, having bottled most of Champagne earlier in the year. The arrival of the trucks with their French engineers means we have a short window in which to bottle, The flurry of activity flies by in a whirl of noise, lots of gesticulation in French, English and Franglais, and clinking glass. The feat of getting 200,000 litres, taking in 35 different cuvees, ready for the two week period is a daunting task, handled admirably by the winery team on a relentless schedule of racking, blending, tasting, cold-stabilising and filtering.  

Bottles, cages and more bottles

Looking forward to October (which seems frighteningly close), walking the vineyards with Jim and Rom, we are already revising down our estimations on the potential yield thanks to the infamous frost of 27th April. We saw some serious damage to our Chardonnay as the buds were just peaking out, whilst the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier escaped the worst of the cold by being slightly behind their white cousin. Some of the vines pushed through their second buds but others were completely decimated. To add insult to injury the buds that did survive were then battered by five episodes of hail in one day, thankfully isolated to a few small patches but galling nonetheless. 

What is left (by far the majority) is now doing very well having had a couple of weeks of wonderful sunshine. Battening down the hatches this week though thanks to the rain showers so typical of an English June. 

Rabbit Bank Vineyard in the Test Valley

To keep us busy we are also interviewing the shortlisted candidates for the Winery Apprentice being sponsored by the Vintners Company, Liberty Wines and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Inundated with applications from candidates from all walks of life it has been a tough process to shortlist. Even tougher now we are meeting the candidates. Each has something to offer and deciding who will be the best fit and get the most out of the opportunity on offer is proving tough - we are about halfway through the process and we will no doubt announce next week. One question that is met with glee is 'can they drive a tractor/forklift?' if not, are they prepared to learn? I had to, and it was fun to start with but the gloss soon wears off, after being sat on one for days at a time or when the fourth bottle truck of the day arrives in the yard....

Telehandler action at harvest 

Samples of our wines have been sent to Australia with a view to export. Scandanavia can't get enough of our bubbles, Germany, Japan and the USA have all taken substantial deliveries with more on their way. Prowein Dusseldorf and ProWine Singapore have both reaped new export markets for us

Immediately after bottling we start interviewing the vintage cellar crew - done by Skype as most of them are finishing off vintage in the southern hemisphere or travelling somewhere exotic en route back to the North. Then we start preparing ourselves for the next onslaught of grapes - this time with the Champenois looking over our shoulders....
Bring on VINTAGE 2016.

The French are invading (in the nicest possible way)

The first port of call for passengers of the Eurostar train arriving into London is no longer Waterloo, the station named for England's great defeat of the French in 1815, and London is often quoted as being the 6th largest French city in terms of population. One might surmise that we now welcome our neighbours from across La Manche. We certainly welcome their wines, in particular their bubbles from Champagne.

The UK is the second largest market for Champagne, beaten only by the French themselves. We can't get enough fizz of all qualities - Prosecco and Cava are also big in the UK - our thirst for bubbles is insatiable. But now we are making our own in ever-increasing volumes - still a blip on the chart compared to Champagne, but obviously enough to make the larger houses stand up and take notice.

Taittinger splashed onto the news recently with the announcement that they had bought land suitable for vines in Kent. This was followed a couple of weeks ago by Champagne Pommery and English Sparkling Winemaker Hattingley Valley (for whom yours truly is Head Winemaker) announcing a partnership starting with the upcoming 2016 harvest.

Contrary to some misreading of the announcement it does not mean that Pommery have bought Hattingley. As one of the largest contract winemaking facilities in the UK this deal just represents a very high profile, slightly-larger-than-normal winemaking contract for the team. It will bring scrutiny and a higher level of involvement from the client as for once they will have more experience than we do when it comes to making sparkling wine. It will not affect the way we make Hattingley wines and indeed, initial talks suggest their winemaking style is quite different to our own. For me and the team in the winery it is a chance to learn from winemakers who have been honing their skill for decades. We are toddlers by comparison in winemaking terms. We don't have to apply their methods to our own wines unless we decide we want to, but we will respect their decisions entirely when it comes to working on their wines.

Signature wines.

How important are they for an emerging wine region?

It is no coincidence that the most famous wines of a country or region are particularly suited to the climate and winemaking conditions of said region. Whether a signature wine is defined as an identifiable brand or a more general style is open to discussion. For the purposes of this essay it is assumed that a signature style of a region and individual signature brands are so intrinsically linked that one merely serves to illustrate the point of the other and vice versa.

Within the classic wine regions of Europe, wine styles are defined by the region within which they are grown and produced; indeed, the style, traditions and methods of production are often defined by law. In the newer and emerging regions of the wine world the limits on the vinegrower and winemaker are defined only by the geographical and climatic limitations of the vine varieties themselves. It has often been a happy accident or brave experimentation that has led to the development of a signature wine for a region.

A great example of an emerging region and a pioneering winegrower combining to produce what is now a signature wine is that of England and Nyetimber. The first English vineyard to plant the classic Champagne varieties with a view to making world class sparkling wine, the original owners of Nyetimber had a vision that was not shared by the small industry of the UK at the time. Sparkling wine is now the signature wine of England and Nyetimber is undoubtedly the flagship of the now numerous producers of that style. Until the release of the first Nyetimber sparkling wine (the 1992 vintage) England did not feature on the international wine scene - it is still small in terms of production but is arguably famous beyond its size for the quality of its sparkling wines.

The pioneers at Nyetimber shared a singlemindedness with other producers around the world producing very particular styles confident that what they were doing was the best reflection of their region/country. Also in the late 1980s and early 1990s there were pioneering winemakers in New Zealand going against the received wisdom of the time and rather than planting Muller-Thurgau (once the most widely planted variety in NZ), trying out Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay on the South Island in Marlborough. Former orchards and sheep stations were planted to these varieties and the results were so successful that the most famous, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, took on a cult-like status in some export markets. The marriage of the long, cool growing season of the Marlborough region and Sauvignon Blanc produced a super-fruity, grassy wine style that is now synonymous with NZ.

England is still experiencing an upswing in attention and sales for its sparkling wine, Marlborough on the other hand has seen a massive increase in production of Sauvignon Blanc and has risked damaging its own signature wine by creating a surplus. 2008 vintage saw wineries in Marlborough having to sell off the previous vintage stock in bulk to free up space for the new crop- the first time the price of NZ wine dropped significantly in the export markets. The UK, namely Waitrose supermarket, was able to market its own-label Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at a lesser price, with 'made by Villa Maria' on the label.

Morrisons supermarket, also in the UK, has a range of own-label wines under the 'Signature' range. The wines are marketed as selected for their typicity and quality, examples within the range are Signature Barolo, Signature Chablis, etc. Well-known wine styles from certain classic regions as well as newer ones such as Signature Barossa Shiraz. From a consumer point of view, the signature wine is key to confidence in buying. Recognising a wine name or variety in conjunction with a region or country and feeling able to try a different brand in the knowledge that the style will be similar to others from the same place is important to the consumer.

It is, of course, vital that the wine bearing the signature of region, variety and style is of good quality for that signature to be a positive attribute. It could be argued that White Zinfandel made by Blossom Hill or E&J Gallo is a signature wine of the Central Valley in California. Whilst these are always correct and clean, well-made wines they are distinctive in their sweetness, soft fruit and easy-drinking style for a low price point. This signature style is important to the producers of these wines, but it may have a detrimental effect on other producers of the region who might be making a different style. The risk being that the consumer may not take any other style of wine produced from that region seriously, even if the quality is superior.

Pinot Noir from Burgundy, Central Otago, Carneros and Oregon; Chardonnay from California, Chablis, Meursault and Western Australia; Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, Bordeaux and Napa Valley; Riesling from the Mosel and Clare Valleys; bubbles from Prosecco, Franciacorta and Champagne. All these varieties and regions are immediately and intrinsically linked to one another. Champagne is arguably the ultimate signature wine; the name of the region is the name of the wine and vice versa and although brands are very important within the region with many being very famous in their own right across the world, not one of them is bigger than the brand of Champagne itself. The simplicity yet rigidity of its identity - one appellation and very strictly controlled production methods ensures a minimum quality in every bottle bearing the name. The consumer has little chance of confusion and also has great trust in the brand. This does not stop the consumer having favourite brands within Champagne, to wit the many millions of euros spent on sponsorship and glossy advertising by the grand marques such as Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Mumm.

Every wine producing region or country must have a signature style and that style is best served when reinforced by high profile key producers who are making classic, reliable and high quality examples of that style. It needn't prevent other wine types being produced but the consumer needs a peg on which to hang his or her hat and an easily identifiable wine makes it easy for them to then go on and explore the region and other producers further.

2013 Harvest for English Sparkling Wine

Well that was better than last year!

The aftermath of the hurricane - empty crates everywhere!



After the disaster that was the grape harvest in 2012 we were taken pleasantly by surprise this year with 20 times the volume of fruit coming into the winery over October and early November. It was hard work, especially with the hurricane that swept over southern England on the last weekend in October, meaning that every vineyard in the UK rushed to pick their grapes before the wind and rain came in. The sugars were generally lowish - about 16-16.5 brix - but the acidities and pHs were at great levels meaning the fruit and juice tasted ripe - and we prefer it that way round. We, like the champenois, can add sugar by chaptalizing while we hate de-acidification. The newly fermented wines are so varied and the different sites with the same vineyard managers, same winemaking techniques, only a few miles or even a few hundred metres apart have distinct characters. This gives us as the winemakers a fantastic palette of flavours to work with. Anyone who claims terroir does not exist should come and taste each tank and then think again. The fun of blending begins next week so that we can start cold-stabilising and filtering in the New Year.

With 16 partner vineyards and/or contract clients all bringing their fruit to us for processing it is a real juggling act to make sure we don't run out of tanks and barrels for everyone. On the last day of pressing we had just one empty tank left - absolutely vital to be able to move the wines after ferment. We had to turn some last-minute fruit down in the end because we simply didn't have the space (that, and I think there would have been a rebellion in the winery).




 There was a great team of young cellar-hands from all walks of life, some of whom actually took holiday from their proper jobs to be worked half to death in the winery for 4 weeks. Crazy, but brilliant to work with such enthusiastic people. We estimated we washed about 14,000 picking crates over the course of the harvest - and although the enthusiasm for that waned slightly by the end everyone still had smiles on their faces at the end.








Will it rain for Wimbledon?

The Queen's Club tennis tournament is under way - this is the precursor to the Wimbledon tournament and, more importantly (in my humble opinion), to flowering in UK vineyards. If it rains in the second week of Wimbledon pity the vinegrower who has his or her fingers crossed for calm, sunny and dry weather. I've not posted for a few weeks thanks to a protracted house move, bottling in the winery and furious bud-rubbing in the small vineyard of which a colleague and I have taken over the management.

An under-row herbicide was applied well before budburst, to complement the black plastic mulching already in place. Mowing has been done, and we are about 3/4 of the way through the 41 rows removing the watershoots from the trunks and thinning the heads of unwanted shoots. Doing it after a full day's work in the winery or laboratory and working around family commitments, including a house move is tiring, but it is a joy to be in the vineyard during these long June evenings. An advantage of being so far north is that the sun doesn't go down until nearly 10pm at this time of year, giving us extra time to get on with the job.

Cuba watching me doing all the work

It gets harder and takes longer to do each row as we get further into June. The shoots are growing at an alarming (but welcome) rate. I reckon if you sat in the vineyard for a day you'd see them grow before your eyes. Cuba the Westie has tested the perimeter of the vineyard - if there was a small dog-sized hole he would have found it by now. This means we won't be troubled by rabbits or badgers. On his arrival at the vineyard each time he makes at least three full patrols of the fence-line. Before he settles down in either a shady or sunny spot depending on how warm the day is. It's a dog's life.

 

 

Off to patrol the perimeter once more

 

 

Budburst - come sunshine, hail, frost and rain

Is it worth the worry?

It has been a tense week; budburst is happening across the UK. Friends in Napa or southern Europe might be thinking about flowering already, but we have only just achieved full budburst. It is late even by our own standards. Last year, we had a warm March and saw budburst happen around 14th April - we are a month+ later in 2013 with the warmer weather not coming until well into April. The flipside is that we have a better chance of avoiding frost, although some areas saw some very site-specific frosts last Wednesday night. Hattingley Valley had its FrostGuards out in the vineyard but didn't have to use them. They are also trialling a few rows of temporary coverings for the vines, to be taken on and off at crucial times of the year. The cost of all of these systems is huge and very time-consuming to implement, but pales into insignificance compared to the cost of losing the entire crop so early in the season. It is also, in theory, fundamentally no different to the Kiwis and Aussies using bird nets to protect their crops at ripening.

Of course, protecting the early buds from frost does not mean that all will be plain sailing for the the English vinegrower; last week saw warm sunny days followed by frosty nights followed by sleet and rain. One vineyard I work with asked me to come and inspect the vines after they had an isolated hail storm with hailstones the size of golf balls. About half the buds were knocked clean off the vines whilst others escaped unscathed. I heard no reports of any other vineyards being hit by hail, it was an isolated event. Then, with rain forecast for the next week, temperatures above 10 degrees C, and the leaves of the vines just sprouting, we are already starting the fight against the mildews.

Some might ask why we bother, but anyone who has been bitten by the winegrowing bug will know that feeling of being out in the vineyard, doing some repetitive, boring job, but loving every minute. And the euphoria at harvest when the grapes arrive in the winery safe and sound is hard to beat. Of course, the best moment is popping the cork on a finished bottle of something you have made and sharing it with friends. Sparkling winemakers have to wait a bit longer than most to try the fruits of their labour - I've been tasting some 2010 wines with potential buyers this weekend - it is gratifying when other people obviously enjoy wine you have made. I can't imagine what else I would be doing and I'm privileged to be able to do it so close to home.

To Export or Not?

To export or not? Should UK winemakers bother?

I wrote this post this morning, then shelved it while I got on with my day. At lunchtime I listened to Jancis Robinson being interviewed on the BBC Food Programme on Radio 4 - talking about the evolution of the UK wine trade over her 40 year career. In particular some of the issues I raise below. 

Having worked in the London wine trade as well as the provincial retail trade of the UK I have been at the sharp end of selling imported wine into the UK market. A notoriously competitive and cut-throat (as far as the wine trade goes) market to break into, as any producer from France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, etc. will tell you, it is also THE market in which to have an international presence. Maybe the London trade is kidding itself that its importance is still top-ranked. Maybe the UK is waning in importance, as the price wars and dominance of an ever-dwindling number of national retailers takes hold. Even if we are on the wane, the UK consumer still gets through a huge volume of wine each year from all over the world. We are used to a massive choice of wines and we are fickle with our affections. One year Australia is the darling, only to be replaced by Chile or Argentina the next. As a whole we are not fussy either, White Zinfandel and other sickly sweet roses from warmer climes are ever popular and are bought on price rather than taste. We expect our local corner shop or "Offie" (retail shop for alcohol to be bought and consumed “off” the premises) to have everything from Blossom Hill to Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc to cheap claret, even a dusty bottle or two of Moet & Chandon, on the shelves. When we do our supermarket shopping we want good deals on our favourite wines and we expect the same wide range of choice.

Majestic have maintained their position in the face of competition
from the supermarkets, but at what cost to the range on offer?

This is the key difference between the UK market and that of countries producing high volumes of their own wine. Go to a wine shop or restaurant in Auckland and you will find the list dominated by domestically produced products. Eat out in Napa Valley and you will be hard pushed to find much choice beyond California; a list with wines from Sonoma Valley or even Oregon is adventurous. In France you will not find much available from outside the region you are in. The possible exception being Champagne, where even the Champenois will concede that bubbles cannot be drunk with everything.*

Supermarkets and their stranglehold on the UK trade

So, in the UK we have this luxury of choice, but it can turn around and bite us on the bum. The relentless discounting sees the smaller producers pushed out by the big guys who can use their economies of scale and large volumes to take a smaller margin to fund the ubiquitous “deals”. Don't be fooled into thinking that the retailer is cutting their margin to fund these great prices. Oh, no. It is the producer who takes the hit in the hope that once people have tried the wine at a discount they will come back and buy more at full price. It works on some people – those who actually have taste-buds and choose based on what they like. But the vast majority of the UK wine-buying public will simply move on to the next deal being offered. It is a never ending cycle of discounting that leads to a ever-decreasing number of wines able to fit into the pricing model.

One of the national chains that is no more

So, how does this affect the domestic wine production industry? We are currently in a luxurious position. There is a limited supply (note the 2012 vintage production figures at about 10% of normal) and a growing demand. We can practically name our price and then have to allocate stock to satisfy the different sales streams. This scenario cannot last forever. The planting of the classic three sparkling varieties continues each year and, although there is a delay before these vines produce any wine ready for sale, we do need to think about what we do once we have saturated the UK domestic market for English Sparkling Wine.

Who funds this massive discount? And who benefits in the long-run?

Five intrepid producers recently got back from Prowein, the international wine fair held in Dusseldorf each year. English Wine Producers, the marketing organisation for English wine took a stand and called for its members to take the plunge. I was there with Hattingley Valley and can report that it was a huge success for all involved. Starting at 9am on the Sunday morning we did not stop entertaining visitors to our stand until close of play on the Tuesday afternoon. The Scandinavians, Germans, Chinese, Italians, Dutch, Texans and Canadians were all beating a path to our door. German national television interviewed the owner of the winery for the equivalent of the BBC Breakfast Show. 

This is, as far as I can see, the solution for ESW – to prevent ourselves falling victim to the price wars of the UK market once supply exceeds demand – we can develop export markets to help sustain demand and therefore prices. It takes more work – delivering pallets 60 miles up the motorway to London is easier and cheaper than shipping wine to Toronto or Stockholm but relying on the fickle British consumer is short-sighted.

It is not often I agree with Stephen Skelton MW but his dire warnings about sustaining demand do not ring hollow. Rather than accepting it as an inevitability, however, there is a big wide world out there just waiting to be introduced to the deliciousness that is English Sparkling Wine.

*There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, I know that there are shops and restaurants the world over who do offer a wide choice, but it is definitely not the norm, in my albeit limited experience.