As we head into The Easter Weekend, we thought it was about time for a vineyard update!
We’re not sure how it’s the Easter Weekend already – it’s as though we blinked at Christmas and suddenly the sun is starting to feel warmer, the daffodils are out and we’re feeling rather excited for a (fingers crossed) glorious summer.
So, what have we been up to? Catch up with our winemaker Tom in his video update or read the full details below.
We’ve been delighted to see the café so busy over the long, and ridiculously wet, winter. And whilst it’s great to see the rain, as the fields certainly needed it, we are now keeping our fingers firmly crossed for some nicer, drier weather to take us into summer. Pruning is almost finished and as the weather warms slightly, the vines become more flexible, ready for us to position the vines ready to see spring, and more importantly buds start growing on the vines.
Mike has been out in the cold, wet and windy weather all winter ensuring the vines are happy and healthy ready for another season. He’s been ticking off maintenance jobs such as replacing posts and trellising as well as planning preparations for our latest expansion of the vineyard. In late May we are expecting 1700 new vines to be planted at the very top end of the vineyard, looking down across the valley. The new vines will be more Rondo, which by the time they are established and ready to produce a crop, will be a welcome addition in helping us create more of our rosé.
Mike and Sarah have also recently moved to the vineyard itself from their old house just a few minutes up the road. Being on site is going to be hugely important as they will be on hand immediately when it comes to frosty nights. With the warmest February on record being earlier this year, and the wet, warm ground, it seems as though our vines are on the edge of bursting into life. This means for the next six weeks or so, we are going to be on high alert, ready to act if the temperatures drop below freezing. Vines are more than happy being in sub-zero conditions during the winter when they are dormant. However, once they start producing buds or leaves they are extremely vulnerable to cold temperatures. If you’ve been on a tour with us before, you will remember finding out about how we protect the vines with ‘Bougies’ – giant candles that stir the air and prevent air frosts, in order to protect the vines. You can read more about that here. We are keeping our fingers crossed that mother nature is in a good mood and looks after us this year!
In the winery, I have been busy nurturing our latest vintage, harvested in 2023. With such a large, record-breaking crop, the winery is full to the brim and we expect around 15,000 bottles to be produced. Orders are being placed for bottles and caps, and final filtering is expected to begin very soon, ready for bottling as the warmer weather approaches.
In the café things are getting very exciting ahead of the summer! We’ve had the first two of a fantastic line-up of ‘Live in the Vines’ acts already and can’t wait to see more as the year goes on. We have Alex Hart joining us this weekend to perform for a fully booked audience.
We have been blessed with some amazing awards recently too, for which we are incredibly grateful. We are still in shock to have received a gold for café/tearoom of the year in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards a few weeks ago. Thank you to everyone who emailed, messaged or commented on a social post, we are really feeling the love!
We are also busy upgrading our terrace area, in the hope that this summer is going to be beautifully sunny so we can take full advantage of the weather. We have replaced our old picnic benches with fantastic, super comfortable new ones, complete with back rests. Adam, Lauryn and Heather, our amazing kitchen team are busy finalising the new menu as we speak, which is sounding fantastic and making us all very hungry, all the time.
We have lots more exciting things under our hat to be announced very soon as we head into summer. To keep up to date with news, events and to receive discounts, don’t forget to join our mailing list below.
