Aller Hill


In May 2008 we planted 2700 Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines which we will make into sparkling wine. In 2009 we planted an additional 500 Pinot Meunier and a few Bachus.Our first real harvest will be in 2010 and the first wines should be ready a year and a half later.


Why Aller Hill? - most importantly it is south facing so that you get the maximum benefit of the sun late in the summer. It is also Calcerous Clay on a Limestone base which happens to be the same as the best white wine producing parts of burgundy. Lots of people speculate about minerals in soils affecting wine taste and quality - what the French call Terroir. I think that the most important thing is actually how the soil drains as this affects whether the vines produce wood or grapes. What we are trying to do is to keep the soil as alive as possible by keeping herbicide use to a minimum and encouraging diversity by planting a range of grasses similar to those that we have on the rest of the land. Rainfall also seems relatively light here which is important so that the grapes aren't diluted at harvest time. We are taking measurements and it will be interesting to see whether this is true.

Comments

  1. Dear Vineyard Owner,

    My name is Carol Andrews. I am writing to let you know that I have written a web application showing all the UK vineyards on an online map.
    http://www.ukvineyards.co.uk/vineyards-map/

    You can find your vineyard by expanding the Google map or by selecting your region and county from the Vineyards page. In most cases I have identified your vineyard from the address and postcode. Where I have also found a website and twitter account I included those too.

    If you feel that you could supply me with some more information, I would be happy to receive your comments - just follow the link on the page for your vineyard - where you will find a questionnaire.

    I am particularly interested in collecting trends as wine production in the UK increases over the next few years. So I am keen to gather data on when vineyards were first planted, the varieties of grape, first harvest and first release of wines.

    I shall be adding more information over the next few months so please email me if you have any comments or suggestions or you can follow me on Facebook.

    See www.ukvineyards.co.uk

    Kind regards
    Carol

    ReplyDelete

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