About Bluebell Vineyard EstatesYou may have stumbled across our vineyard - hidden by bluebell-strewn woodland and hills, appearing in small parcels of land off narrow shady lanes, speckled in the summer months with dappled sunlight.We lovingly nurture Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grape vines throughout the year and with the approach of harvest, the grapes are tasted daily to determine the optimum moment for hand harvesting. Grapes varieties from the different areas of the vineyard are then pressed on site, tasted and stored separately, according to the characteristics of the juice. Each wine is tasted during and after fermentation and we note key characteristics such as floral or fruit notes, to enable us to determine suitable blends fitting with the style of wine we plan to make. Regular tasting ensures optimum ageing, which takes a minimum of nine months, but we like to leave it even longer to make it even more delicious and gives it that Champagne style flavour. A couple of years ago we were lucky enough to secure an adjacent parcel of land benefitting from gentle undulations and chalk soil, expanded our original 17,000 vines to over 23,000.. In addition to the classic Champagne varieties, we have added a small planting of Seyval Blanc. We planted out the Vineyard with the desire to produce high quality award-winning English sparkling wine, and through our winemakers and his teams passion we have succeeded in doing so! Now our long term aim is to build a community of vineyards within the area, contributing to establishing East Sussex as a quality sparkling wine producing region and to bring agriculture back into the spotlight of UK. We hope that all these activities will contribute to and help develop awareness of how each parcel of land with all its attributes or terroir, coupled with specific wine making techniques, can result in the creation of sparking wines with their own unique character. The ability to graft and propagate vines as well as having a planting machine, means vines and machinery do not need to be sourced from other countries. This reduces both costs and our carbon footprint, as well as making the area as self-supporting as possible. It also encourages the development of smaller producers, each with their own identity within the Bluebell Vineyard Estates brand. Bluebell Vineyard Estates has a fully equipped winery and is also able to offer contract winemaking services: Full service - Wine is made on behalf of the grape producer. Bespoke service - Buildings and equipment are provided for the grape grower to make their own wine. |
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