Our vineyard is located on the main farm on the Estate, Birketts Farm.

The land here slopes gently southwards and the underlying geology changes from the greensand of Leith Hill, to the clay of The Weald. 

We planted 1.8 hectares of Pinot Noir in spring 2020, and in May 2021 we planted a further 11,000 vines which include clones of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir Précoce. 

Photos on this page show the vines being planted by British and European crews, using specialist machinery with GPS navigation. The work too one day to complete.

The owners and staff then spent several days adding the stakes and tubes to each vine to protect and encourage growth. All work was then throughly inspected by the youngest member of the family!

For the first three years the vines are nurtured to build a strong supporting trunk and root structure. After this period the first grapes will be harvested and we intend to produce our own wine onsite. Our intention is to produce a selection of Sparkling, still Red and Rosé

wines.

Please feel free to view the vineyard from the public footpath which runs alongside the planted fields.

VINEYARD ESTABLISHMENT

The first job was to plough the three fields in order to kill off the grass and prepare the soil for planting.

Over the course of winter 2020 the fields were ploughed on three occasions and then power harrowed twice.

Power harrows finely break up the soil, refining and evenly distributing it over the entire working width to create a perfect soil for planting the vines.

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The second job was to clean out the existing ditches around each field in order to maximise drainage.

This job is important as the vines are reasonably tolerant to wet ground but prefer well drained soil. This is also preferable for working in the vineyard with the machinery.

The third job was to erect the deer fencing around the perimeter of all three fields. This is primarily to keep local wildlife out, specifically Badger, Rabbits and Roe Deer.

We choose locally sourced Sweet Chestnut timber posts and the stock fencing is reinforced with rabbit netting which is partially buried in the ground to stop them from digging under it.

The fencing was installed manually by the employees of the vineyard.

The planting commences !

The day before planting, a team from Germany arrived with their machinery. Accommodation for them was provided on site. Due to the Covid situation, the German team had already quarantined prior to their arrival at the vineyard.

The planting machine involves a tractor with a specially designed attachment where the planting team sit.

The two man planting team feed the individual vines into the planting wheel which drops into the pre-drilled channel in the soil. There is a device which then back fills the soil around the vine to complete the planting process.

In order to ensure accurate planting in straight lines, the tractor is fitted with GPS navigation system which is essential to facilitate the process of adding the trellising at a later stage.  

Each vine is accurately planted 1.2 meters apart and each row 2.2 metres apart. This spacing is the optimum planting distance which is predetermined by the variety of vine being planted, type and condition of soil and the topography of the field being planted.