December 2022

Temperatures for the last week have been sub-zero.  This photo shows a hoar frost enveloping the vines which lasted throughout the day.   Good news for killing any nasty mildew spores hanging around the vineyard.

We held our first pre-Christmas ‘open’ weekend at the vineyard from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th to which we invited our local customers.  As the tasting barn registered minus 1 degree despite space heaters blasting, we decamped to The Dairy across the lawn.  This we got nice and toasty.  In addition to serving our fizz with mince pies, we assembled a few other local producers of ‘artisan’ food. These included organic meat from Grove Farm at Stitchcombe, fudge from Marsden Fudge, smoked trout from The Berkshire Trout Farm, honey from Berkshire Bees, gin from Hawkridge, and, last but not least, jams and chutneys from Annie of No-Addes-Tives. 

A steady dribble of people dropped in over the three days — some dressed up like Cossacks to ward off the cold — and we met some delightful new people who we hope will return in the summer. Even some visitors from The Retreat at Elcot Park who strode across the fields from the hotel in hired wellies…. and had to return with cars to load up their purchases.

I have spent the last few days packing boxes of wine for delivery locally and for further afield by courier. Always nervous despatching wine to addresses in The Smoke yet with modern tracking it all seems to work seamlessly. The trick is to use 3-part pulp to protect the boxes as ‘fragile’ does not seem to register with couriers who throw the boxes around the van with impunity.