Woodchester Valley Vineyard Tour
The fabulously warm and charismatic Simon from Woodchester Valley Vineyard asked if we’d join his next tour and tasting. We of course raised a glass to that offer and would love to share with you our experience.
You’ll find Woodchester Valley Vineyard in the leafy, Cotswold stone village of Woodchester, halfway between Nailsworth and Stroud. They nurture three vineyard sites in the neighbourhoods of Amberley, Stonehouse and Woodchester (home of their HQ). The quality of the soil, the climate and the geography of the valley all makes for favourable vine growing conditions. Lucky us!
When visiting, make sure you don’t get confused with the Cellar Door shop and on the A46. The HQ, where all the tours take place, is up a windy road off the A46. If you did decide to walk it, you’d earn yourself a glass and a half by the time you reach the top! The views are spectacular and you can see the Amberley vineyard across the valley and from the onsite accommodation. Weekend at a vineyard? Yes please a million times!
Our tour took just over two hours and they run throughout the year here. Even though we knew we wouldn’t see grapes growing or be able to frolic through the vines (well, we could have done but it was a grim day), we were keen to find out if there would be enough to see. Vineyard guests are encouraged to explore the grounds if they desire.
Upon arrival, a full glass of Cotswold Classic Sparking Wine swiftly met our hands. Once everyone else had arrived, Simon began a presentation which touched on the surprising history of the valley as a wine producing region. Early records confirm vineyards existed here in the 1800s! Simon also taught us about the types of grapes suited to our climate and shared with us some interesting facts about the English wine industry, which made for very positive reading.
2018’s harvest, in terms of quantity and quality, has been the best year for Woodchester Valley. All 176 tons of grapes were harvested by hand over 32 days. To give you an idea of scale, 1 ton of grapes will produce 650 litres of wine on average.
After the presentation, we scarfed up and ventured outside to see the sleeping vines. As soon as Simon told us we might hear some noise from Forest Green Rovers’ stadium, to everyone’s amazement, a huge roar from the fans echoed across the valley as Rovers scored. Sadly, they went on to lose 2:1 to Bury.
Once the chanting had died down, Simon continued to describe how the vines are prepared in winter to ensure they’re in prime condition when they start growing in Spring. It was interesting to see they’ve plumbed in a watering system for future proofing, but so far, including the hot summer we had in 2018, they still haven’t needed it. As the vines begin to grow again, the nutrients from the ground are replenished with organic matter and any spindly stalks are regularly cut back to ensure the vines focus all their energy to the main stems that will carry the most bountiful bunches.
Moving on from the vines, Simon took us to the grape squishing station (apologies for our not very technical term for it). The grapes are pressed, and skins removed in the process, then they make their way to the vast, high tech storage tanks or oak barrels for fermentation and maturing.
The third and final section of our experience was the sampling!
On the menu was:
Cotswold Classic 2016 Sparkling
Light floral aromas and flavours of citrus and brioche. 100% Seyval Blanc grapes which grow well in England, but not a traditional choice of grape.
Bacchus 2017
Dry white wine with a hint of elderflower. South West Vineyard Association Gold Medal & Trophy winner 2018.
Orpheus Bacchus 2016
Full bodied and aromatic with intense elderflower and lychee notes. Bronze at International Wine and Spirit Competition 2018.
Culver Hull 2017
A moreish, easy drinking dry white with delicate flavours of stone fruits and minerality. Gold winner of the Wines of Great Britain Awards 2018.
Rosé 2017
Refreshing and full bodied with strong aromas of juicy red fruits. Gold at the Wines of Great Britain Awards 2018.
Rosé Brut 2016
A classy, subtle shade of golden blush, this stunning Brut has delicate flavours of strawberry and raspberry. 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Meunier.
The bottles that really excited us were the Cotswold Classic, Culver Hill and Rosé Brut. Bacchus has similar characteristics as Sauvignon Blanc (we’re not usually fans of that citrus/gooseberry dominant flavour), but we found the Bacchus to be less acidic and less zesty.
It was so rewarding to try all these beautiful wines together. Breathing in the aromas and really getting to know all the characterises through as many senses as possible. We can’t wait to taste the 2018 crop!
Woodchester Vineyard is a fabulous asset to the Cotswolds and – unexpected opinion of the day – also the neatest vineyard we’ve ever been too! You can tell a heck of a lot of care goes into the maintenance. For Christmas we were gifted a tour voucher, so we’ll be back in summer to see the contrast between seasons and explore some more! To book a tour or find out more, visit Woodchester Valley’s website »
Tours cost £15 per person
When:
November 2018 to March 2019, Wednesday afternoons, Friday afternoons, selected evenings and Saturday mornings and afternoons.
Spring and Summer dates available soon.
Know the difference between English and British wine!
One piece of advice we’d like to pass onto our readers is the importance of knowing the difference between English wine and British wine. English wine has been made from grapes grown in England from vineyards like Woodchester Valley, but British wine is only bottled in this country but made from a grape concentrate shipped in from overseas and is inferior and cheaper price than English wine. Ensure you check the labels and look for English.
Three Mills is a bottle we always see in Home Bargains. It’s produced by Broadland Wineries who are a bottler and importer only. British wine plays on the fact that consumers don’t know the difference between English and British and think they’re buying something exclusively made in this country. We noticed this bottle in particular because of its similarity to Three Choirs Vineyard (a Gloucestershire English wine producer). Possibly a deliberate coincidence???
Drink wise and learn how to choose responsibly and with awareness.
