If there’s one positive thing that’s emerged from six weeks of lock-down it’s a greater appreciation of the natural world. On my daily walk in Windsor Great Park I wonder at mother nature’s awesome beauty, the sound of birds singing with no intrusive aircraft noise to block out their sweet choral chirping.

Wine is my life, my passion, my raison d’être, however when I meet people like Nick Wenman of Albury vineyards I feel like he is the master of this mantra!

A forty year passion to own a vineyard became a reality when he sold his tech business in 2006 and decided to invest in starting an English vineyard. Living near Shere in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that is the Surrey Hills (also the primary English location for Nancy Myers box office hit Rom-Com The Holiday) Nick found the perfect location which he leases from the Duke of Northumberland Estate who have owned the land since 1890. The vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of the North Downs (part of the beautiful Surrey Hills) between Guildford and Dorking.

The present-day Albury Vineyard was planted in 2009, although there is evidence of vines growing in the area as far back at the 17th century!

The vines  planted are the traditional Champagne varietals of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, as well as some Seyval Blanc and Pinot Gris.

As if starting a new English vineyard was not enough of a challenge for Nick he also decided from day one that he wanted to be certified organic and bio-dynamic (one of only 4 UK vineyards to hold this prestigious certification).

This means that they have to produce organic fruit without the use of chemicals such as herbicides and fungicides, to produce English still Rosé and sparkling wines of the highest quality while respecting nature.

This holistic style of viticulture uses natural preparations instead of chemicals to fertilise the soil. A key component of this is cow horns which are filled with manure and then buried in the ground where they become more concentrated over Winter.  When Spring comes the horns are dug up and the manure is used as the basis of a nutrient rich fertiliser which is sprayed on the vines.

The vineyard has a small team, it’s a family affair with Nick’s daughter Lucy Letley heading up marketing and the vineyard tourism side of the business.

Alex Valsecchi is the vineyard manager.  Following several years of practical experience working on vineyards in Italy and New Zealand, she joined RHS Wisley to run their Orchard, Nursery, Model Fruit Area and the Vineyard which she was responsible for planting.

Alex’s work in the vineyard is constant. Just this week she has been engaged in the back breaking but essential task of bud rubbing. At this time of year, one of the most important tasks is to help the vine focus on growing along the fruiting wire, so all other buds on trunk etc.. must go be rubbed off  by hand!

Alex is often accompanied by Attila and Ulisse  the Parson Russell Terriers. They are very important member of the Albury team, often chasing away pheasants and other  unwanted visitors to the vineyard! Attila even has a spirit named after him – Attila’s Bite, which is a fragrant Eau Vie de Vin made by Silent Pool distillery next door to the vineyard.

Dominic Travers  is the Assistant Vineyard Manager, he has completed a vintage at two of England’s most iconic estates, Nyetimber and Wiston Estate, before coming to learn viticulture at Albury.

Albury is a great place for to get involved in learning more about viticulture and has a team of volunteers who turn out when required to assist with tasks like Green Harvesting and the main Harvest in September/October. It’s also a valuable practical lesson for anyone studying the WSET Level 3 as it really brings to life the viticulture modules from the syllabus.

In mid August 2019 I volunteered for the green harvest, removing late flowers, clusters of grapes affected by millerandage or Hen and Chickens, where the berries have no seeds and are of different sizes due to cold, rainy or bad weather during flowering.

We also had to remove healthy bunches where there were either more than 2 shoulders per stem or the weight of the bunches could not be supported by a smaller or thinner stem or if the vine was suffering from any kind of nutrient deficiency.

At the beginning of October I volunteered once again, this time for the main harvest. You may remember we had quite a few days of rain after an initial dry start.

This causes much angst in the vineyard and difficult conversations between the winemaker Matthieu Elzinger, vineyard manager Alex and owner Nick about picking. Especially when it comes to grapes like the Seyval Blanc which are susceptible to bunch rot. The winemakers goal is to get as much ripeness as possible in the grapes while the vineyard manager is trying to get the grapes harvested before too many succumb to the botrytis cinerea 

Matthieu Elzinga is the winemaker at Litmus Wines, a premium contract winemaker located in Surrey. Matthieu’s aim is to work with the Albury team to help establish a distinct Albury house style. He was involved in running his own family vineyard in the Loire Valley for many years, but today prefers the challenge that making wine in England brings!

Another reason to buy wines from Albury Vineyard is that a large amount of their business come through the cellar door and visits to the vineyard. COVID-19 has put a stop to this but they are still delivering with free delivery on orders over £50.

Supporting our English winemakers at this difficult time helps them to sustain their businesses so we can continue to enjoy their wines in the future.

Lovers of still Rosé wines should definitely take advantage of the pre order of the new vintage of their Silent Pool Rosé. A wine that was served to HM The Queen on the Royal Barge Gloriana during the 2012 Jubilee celebrations.

The wine is a perfect balance of freshness and acidity with redcurrant and whitecurrant fruity aromas on both the nose and the palate, at 11% abv. it’s the perfect summer aperitif too and at £18.95 a great price for an organic and bio-dynamic Rosé.

They also have the Lansdowne vineyard sparkling Rosé  made from 100% Pinot Précoce, a variety of Pinot Noir that ripens early.

I love their Blanc de Blancs, its unusual in that it’s a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc which lends the wines a unique English character with a more marked acidity, freshness and notes of gooseberry.

Or there’s their award winning classic cuvèe  which has lovely notes of brioche, peach and strawberries on the nose with aromas of peach, raspberry, crème fraîche, citrus lemon and a biscuit note on the palate.

Judging by the excellent weather we’ve been enjoying over the last few weeks let’s hope 2020 is another great vintage for Nick and the Albury team, who really show that you can make great wines and be in harmony with nature.