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Since planting in 2008, our yields and fruit quality have continued to rise, even with hares and pheasants enjoying the odd nibble! The trend continued in 2017 and we couldn’t have hoped for a better harvest. Many elements contribute to annual fruit quality and this year, thanks to dry and gentle conditions during budburst and flowering (the pollination of the flowers dictates amount of fruit) we had an excellent start. Good summer temperatures and strong sunshine contributed to help the grapes ripen beautifully, with high sugars and low acids meaning we needed to do very little in the winery other...

We started our 2017 Ortega harvest on Tuesday 19th September.  As the sun gained height over the horizon, the picking team was already hard at work. Mist rolled off the edge of the North Downs and formed patches of low cloud, as dew still clung to the leaves. Photographer Ady Kerry joined us to capture the moment on film.

  The Kent-based winery has made a very small batch of wine using the amphora, just 685 bottles, and using the Ortega variety, which is at the heart of its still wines.John Rowe, winemaker at the estate, commissioned the amphora from Artenova near Florence, a potter that has also made amphorae for numerous high profile wineries such as Champagne Jacques Selosse.As well as wanting to experiment with the fashionable winemaking vessel, Rowe explained that he was also inspired the strong use of amphora among Italian winemakers, which was all the more important to him because he grew up in Montalcino...

“Westwell Special Cuvée winning the IWC English Classic Blend Trophy and English Sparkling Trophy is a special moment for us”, says winemaker John Rowe. “It is great recognition of our hard work creating the vineyard from scratch, that in such a short space of time we have achieved this! It is also another stamp of approval for the North Downs as one of the new exciting areas in English wine, with well known names investing in this strip of Downland either side of us.”Westwell Wines was first planted in 2008 after a three year hunt for the perfect spot. It...