Nigel's retirement project
It all started on 12 July 2003 when we were discussing what to do with our fields. Uptill then the local farmer had used them to graze sheep, and take the hay, but he had had such difficulty with the last flock being spooked by walkers with their dogs on the footpath, that he decided it wasn't worth the effort for only twenty sheep. So there we were enjoying the hottest summer for ages with a hectare of land going to waste, when Ina says "Why don't you plant a vineyard?". Now wine has been in my blood since leaving school to work for a Sherry & Port Shippers in the City of London 40 years previously almost to the day. So having a vineyard has been a pipe dream for as long as I can remember. Within a fortnight I had signed on for a course at Plumpton College in the art and science of Vinegrowing, and bought a pile of books on vine growing and wine making.
The intention is to make a fine quality sparkling wine, on a commercial basis, not too dissimilar to Champagne. There are several succesful English vineyards that are already in this market, but it is still expanding. Being a hundred miles north of the South Downs there is a slight difference in climate (less rain and slightly wider range of temperatures), but we are hopeful that the micro climate we create within the vineyard will make it a success.
As sparkling wine takes a long time to come to fruitition, we have also planted two 'modern' varieties: Bacchus and Madeleine Angevine. These produce wines more in the French style than those grown in England in the past. Bacchus makes a fruity off dry white wine rather like those of the Loire using Chenin Blnce e.g. Vouvray. Madeleine Angevine is crisper, more like Muscadet. These may be available for drinking on Nigel's 60th birthday or the year after.
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