Harvest at Woolton Farm (credit Saltwick Media)
Woolton Farm, Bekesbourne, Kent | October 2021
Harvest is complete at Woolton Wines Estate. The home of the Mount family in Bekesbourne near Canterbury, Kent and the 2.5 acres of vines growing Chardonnay, Bacchus and Pinot Noir, Woolton Wines have had an extraordinary year.
The Woolton estate Bacchus grapes, always the first to be picked, have produced a good harvest of quality fruit, with the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir left a few days longer to maximise sugar content levels. The balancing act required between monitoring the weather and maintaining premium quality fruit will be just one of the factors influencing the wine making team’s decisions. Plans for the 2021 vintage include a Pink Pet Net made from Pinot Noir with light skin contact and a small percentage of Chardonnay, alongside a still rose wine and a still Bacchus.
Launching in early 2021, the wines from the single estate Woolton Wines vineyard have PDO status from Wine GB producing still and sparkling white and rose wines, including Pet Nat Chardonnay and Sparkling Bacchus Charmat. The wines are garnering acclaimed industry support with high tasting scores from Clive Barlow MW and are already winning awards including the highly covetable Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge and Gold from Wine GB.
Despite the multitude of challenges English wine producers have had this year, notably adverse weather and climate changes, Sam Mount, MD of Woolton Wines is optimistic and excited about the future of his own estate wines, and of the English wine industry. He comments, “We’ve made a very conscious decision at Woolton Wines not to be comparable. As a family we have a natural inclination towards experimentation and learning along the way and our wines have a unique flavour profile with no pretentiousness. They have a playfulness and are made in the spirit of innovation. English wine needs to have its own story, we’re not interested in mimicking French styles or even following market trends. Our wines reflect that.”
As a small, family run estate all the wines made at Woolton Farm are small batch and experimental with a display of nimble playfulness that larger, more commercial vineyards can’t compete with.
About Woolton Wines
Woolton Wines are small batch and experimental with all the fruit coming from a single vineyard on the farm, planted in 2011. At first only enough wine was made for the family, and then for family weddings, before launching in 2021.
The vineyard is set in a sheltered site on the east side of the estate and is sheltered by a wood, which helps to protect the grapes from the cold easterly winds usually experienced in East Kent during spring time. Being on the east side also means that there is no shading from the trees, providing an exceptionally warm spot which allows for a longer ripening period.
The soil on the ridges of the farm is gravelly with a mixture of sand and clay beneath. This combination of slightly acid, free draining, gravel soil, with a nutrient rich water retaining base of sand and clay, give a unique complexity and character to the wines.
-ends-