Finally, we have some exciting news - we planted a new vineyard this May. Part of our shared farming partnership with Birling Estate, we put down 31,404 vines: a mix of Ortega, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.
The Birling site shares many similarities with Westwell - it has same aspect and soil types and is also flanked by the ancient Pilgrims Way.
Next up, we'll be adding a mixture of indigenous hedgerow plants - hawthorn, dog rose, spindle, vibernum and cotoneaster. This will both serve as a windbreak and act as a decoy for our unwelcome guest, the spotted wing drosophila.
We've used most of the same clones that we have at Westwell with a few extra additions for making a red wine. 2025 will be the first small harvest from last year's 2023 planting.
This is the last of the planting at Birling and with it, we've doubled the number of vines we have at our disposal... more wine incoming!
