The success of a vineyard relies heavily on its location and ‘terroir’ – the earth in which it grows. With the help Vinescapes we identified a spot fit for our vines:
✔️a south westerly slope
✔️stones to reflect sun light
✔️free-draining mixed soil with a chalk base
✔️wind protection from trees in the west
✔️beautiful views!
Vines are very sensitive to their surrounding environment and as such it was important to get expert advise on whether our farm would be suitable. Dr Alistair Nesbitt of Vinescapes came on a site visit and identified a 6 hectare site for us to start our vineyard.
The free-draining nature of the soil is very important to prevent rot and drowning. The trees help to prevent temperatures in the vineyard ducking too low, particularly after bud burst. A cold spell after blooming could spell the end of the entire crop for that year.
When Dr Nesbitt was thrilled about the stones in our field we were shocked! For arable farmers stones are a disaster and we have had to battle them for years. However, for vineyards they are ideal as they reflect sunlight and heat onto the growing vines. At the same time the south-westerly slope maximises sunlight hours on the vines. In this way we make the land more productive and sustainable as we hope the vines will be more suitable than our traditional crops for this soil.
With 6 hectares to plant it will be a big project, but we are excited to learn about growing a new crop at the farm!
