The winter months in the vineyard are largely dedicated to pruning our vines, carefully cutting away last years canes and leaving the vines in the best possible condition for a strong start to the new growing season. So what happens to the discarded prunings? Well, we certainly cant let them go to waste! They contain lots of nutrients and we want to return those precious nutrients back into the soil as woodchip. Its one of the best things you can use to protect and replenish your soil. It will gradually mulch down, slowly and naturally feeding and conditioning the earth while acting as cover, which will help to regulate ground temperatures during these colder months. Its simple, efficient and cost effective.

Pruning kickstarts the new vintage- which is really exciting and we are already thinking ahead to the wonderful wines we will make this year. We are expecting our first harvest from our Highfield Estate in Woodhcurch this year, which feels like a landmark event for us and we can’t wait to being making wines from the new estate.

Our two estates have different characteristics which will shape the wines produced at each. Highfield, in Woodchurch, is on a mixture of clay and sandy loom, while Pilgrims Way in Maidstone is on chalk. Highfield is also a lot lower in altitude, at just 20m above sea level it may have a slightly warmer microclimate, and it will be interesting to see what effect this will have on our crop! We think these small differences will impact the flavor of the wines, and we want to embrace those reflections of provenance. Our wines are an expression of time (vintage) and place, and we are so excited to discover what Highfield will produce.

We are participating in a special event at Macknades in Hoopers Tonbridge Wells on the 12th March, pouring samples of our two Rosé wines in celebration of Valentines day along with a few other local wine suppliers so please do come down and join us!!

www.macknade.com/hoopers

We are also open year round for tours so please do book in and visit us for a guided tour, wine tasting and cheeseboard