Winter pruning commences. A grueling month of removing last year’s canopy, selecting this year’s fruiting cane and spur (next year’s cane).

This is the month where the vineyard rests but there is plenty of work to be done in the winery plus lots of planning for the coming season. 

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.

Daniel is seen here siphoning samples from our barrels of the 2022 juice for us to taste.  These four oak barrels shown in the photo hold some of the cuvée and the taille (the second pressing) from both our chardonnay and pinot noir.  

We pressed the button early in the middle of October: the grapes came off in a total of 6 hours after 7 months of close attention and nurture

If you look carefully you will see some blue bird netting on the outside row of the chardonnay field. As the bunches get riper, birds such as blackbirds start to peck away. This year we are trialling netting to the outside rows in a bid to deter them.

A balloon drifts over the vineyard early one morning, with that tell-tail whoosh of the burners as it lifts over the woods nearby…

It aint half hot Mum!

We are at Cobbs just outside Hungerford for this year’s English Wine & Food Festival run by Thames & Chilterns Vineyards Association…

11th May, we have 3 leaves out and all is looking even and healthy. We suffered a severe night frost on 25 April and the heated wires came on.

Having evicted our sheep in 2012 in order to plant a vineyard, we had a reunion of sorts in February when we invited a few ewes back for a mini-break to do a bit of grass nibbling, courtesy of local farmer Trevor Gore…

The first couple of weeks are warm but distinctly autumnal. We wait and watch; watch and wait.

Wow, an Indian summer with 4 weeks of lovely sunshine around 20 degrees during the day and high night time temps with almost no rain.

Pretty miserable weather all month. Bunches are small and not much ripening…

A busy month with various tours and tastings in the barn with a makeshift tasting room…

One of our wine club members, Andy from Kintbury, cheered our spirits by sending this photo of his sipping WWV fizz on the Island of Mull…

For the rain, it raineth every day (WS). I know because I recorded it with despair.

April can be the cruellest month of the year in the vigneron’s calendar: all that preparation of winter pruning and vine laying can be all for nought.

Dora, our gang leader, ties down vines onto the fruiting wire and uses 3 ties to keep the cane in close contact with the heated wire…

Under leaden skies, Ed Micham, our viticulturist, shows Robert how he goes about gentle pruning…