A Biodynamic quartz tonic for the vineyard

Alex dynamising 501

We were up very early today preparing biodynamic preparation 501 to spray on the vineyard.

Biodynamics is based on organic practices but also uses natural energy forces (like those generated by the moon), medicinal plants (such as yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle and dandelion), as well as mineral and natural cow manure composts. This strengthens the vines and produces healthier, more vital wines, reflecting the character of the vineyard.

501 is made using crushed powdered quartz which has been stuffed into a horn of a cow, buried in the ground in spring and dug up in the autumn. Like horn manure (preparation 500) it is dynamised in rain water and then sprayed over the vines. Preparation 501 is used to enhance growth and to help prevent fungal diseases. At this time of year it needs to be sprayed as near to sunrise as possible for maximum effect and to prevent burning of the leaves.

Alex thinks that I'm completely bonkers but we will see! Some of the best wines in the world practice biodynamic farming, including  Coulee de Serrant, Domaine de Romanee Conti, Domaine Laflaive, Beaux Freres in Oragon and Henschke in Australia. In Burgandy alone there are more than forty biodynamic estates.

Leaf Removal

Leaf Removal using a Collard machine

Around this time of year it is important to remove some of the foliage around the forming bunches of grapes. This opens up the canopy which improves airflow and reduces the risk of disease. It also allows the grapes to be exposed to more sunlight which improves flavour characteristics. Those of you interested in more detail should read Dr Richard Smart's excellent book Sunlight in Wine.

Last year we removed the leaves by hand but now that we have 21,000 vines it's too much work to do manually and so this year we decided to use the services of Andy from Upperton Vineyards who has a machine made by Collard to do the job.

Rapid pulses of relatively low pressure air literally shake the leaves to pieces and blows the debris out of the canopy leaving the grapes more exposed to the sunlight. The process only took about a day and a half for the whole vineyard.

Bunches exposed after leaf removal

35.8C on the Vineyard!

A Sunny Albury Organic Vineyard in the Surrey Hills

The temperature on the vineyard reached 35.8C yesterday at around 2.00pm as we completed the wire lifting on Block B. We were wilting but the vines are very happy with flowering, and now fruit set, throughout the vineyard.

Now that I'm a farmer I find that I'm generally always complaining about the weather, but the current sunny warm spell couldn't be better for the vines. This hopefully bodes well for a good harvest later in the year. If the warm weather continues we could pick around 20-25 tonnes of fruit which would be around seven times more than last year!

Still I mustn't get too excited as much still needs to be done (more wire lifting, tipping of the vines, leaf plucking and weeding) and we will also need to avoid disease and the birds when the fruit begins to ripen. And then there is Alex to contend with who will be keen to pull off some of the bunches so as not to stress the vines!

Flowering and Fruit set

The beginning of flowering (Seyval)

Flowering has at last started on the vineyard, with most of the Chardonnay and Seyval showing around 25% flowers. The Pinots are a bit behind but with the current warm weather we hope that most of the vineyard will be in full flower the end of the weekend. The vines are several weeks behind their normal growth cycle because of the cold weather earlier in the year.

This is a critical time on the vineyard; immediately after flowering comes pollination and fruit set which is a major factor in determining how much how much fruit we will harvest later in the year. Vines pollinate themselves and for this to happen effectively we need a period of warm dry weather. For the last two years our summers have been wet and windy which meant that many of the grapes weren't fertilised properly. This resulted in straggly bunches which the French call Coulour or Millerandage.

Fingers and everything else crossed for the hot weather to last for a few more weeks.

Silent Pool Rosé and the Albury Wine Club

Our Silent Pool Rosé 2012 was released for sale last Saturday 1^st June 2013. Stockist include:

Kingfisher Farm Shop, Abinger Hammer       Sold Out already!     

Taurus Wines, Bramley                              Sold Out already!                   

The Guildford Wine Company, Shalford

The Vineyard, Dorking

Vintage Roots www.vintageroots.co.uk

Albury Wine Club

Nick Wenman, Alex Valsecchi and Stephen Skelton MW
at the inaugural meeting of the Albury Wine Club

As part of the release the Albury Wine Club held it’s inaugural event at the vineyard, attended by some 50 founder members. http://www.alburyvineyard.com/content/albury-wine-club

As well as tasting Silent Pool Rosé 2012 members were also able to sample the bubbly recently released by High Clandon vineyard and beer from the local Tillingbourne brewery. Great fun but completely shattered at the end of the day!

Our first Bubbly is Bottled

John Worontschak of Litmus Wines and Marcus Sharp
 supervise the bottling of our first bubbly

Earlier this week I watched our first sparkling wine being bottled.

Since we planted our vines in 2009 and 2010, the weather has been against us and harvests have been extremely difficult. Non the less we have produced some excellent base wine which will hopefully result in a first class English bubbly.

The first Albury Estate Sparkling is a blend of juice from the grapes harvested in 2011 and 2012 and includes all the varietals grown on the vineyard including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and some Seyval. Only 1524 bottles have been produced which should be available for sale in time for Christmas 2014.

It only took around 30 minutes to bottle the wine using specialist equipment from France. Some yeast and sugar is added to start secondary fermentation in the bottle which gives the wine it's fizz, following which the wine will be left to develop it's character in the bottle for at least 18 months. This process is known as Method Traditionale or Methode Champenoise in France.

Can't wait!

Silent Pool Rosé 2012 to be released on 1st June

Silent Pool Rosé 2012 will be released for sale on the 1st June 2013, the beginning of English Wine Week.  It is one of the first English certified Organic wines and will be available at the following outlets:

Retail outlets
Alnwick Castle Gift Shop, Alnwick
The Guildford Wine Company, Shalford
Kingfisher's Farm Shop, Abinger Hammer
Secretts Farm Shop, Milford
Taurus Wines, Bramley
The Vineyard, Dorking
Vintage Roots www.vintageroots.co.uk

Pubs/Restaurants
Black Swan, Ockham
Drummond Arms, Albury
Kinghams Restaurant, Shere
RHS Wisley Restaurants, Wisley
Royal Opera House Restaurants, London
The Percy Arms, Chilworth
The William Bray, Shere
William IV, Little London

We'll be holding the first meeting of the Albury Wine Club at the vineyard on the 1st June (for members only). The Guildford Wine Company in Shalford will be hosting a tasting between 11.00am and 5.00pm. 

We are delighted with the quality of the wine which has been produced from hand picked biodynamic grapes from our own vineyard. Stephen Skelton MW, who is an expert on English wines, commented:

"Good fruit, nice balance with good acidity but not too aggressive. A worthy successor to the 2011. Amazing considering what the year was like."

Tasting Notes
"Silent Pool Rosé is an elegant, fresh, salmon coloured still Rosé wine made predominantly from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. On the nose, strawberry and cream, juice tangerine and cherry blossom aromas meld with layers of clean minerality. The wine displays enticing flavours of orange peel and bright citrus on the mid-palate, with balanced acidity and a long finish."

Winemaker, Ulrich Hoffmann