We can hardly contain excitement that the eagerly anticipated Hendred Spring is being bottled and will be available very soon. The new rosé is almost ready too. The stocks of 2015 Cuvée are running low now, so if you like this make sure you get yours while it lasts. There will be a new release of this coming in the summer.
The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on that date in AD 269. One account tells how Saint Valentine of Rome ministered to imprisoned Christians in the third century. Legend claims he restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer and wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell before his execution. Saint Valentine is also thought to have performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Valentine comes from the Latin Valentinus, which derives from valens—“to be strong, powerful, mighty.” ❤️
We will be open this Saturday 18th December 2-5pm and all welcome to drop by. Tastings will NOT be available until levels of COVID in Oxfordshire start to reduce. We are operating a one way system with doors open and will minimize contact for everyone’s safety. For those with little time to organise Christmas presents we have boxes, bags and tags and a delivery service. Open for click and collect orders throughout the Christmas season. so wines can be purchased online and collected at your convenience. The sparklings are selling fast but there is plenty to last throughout the Christmas period (we think!). This years’ still wines have sold out (apart from a few last remaining rosé which are available to the first visiting customers this Saturday – one per customer). So far we have produced about half the quantity of still wines versus sparklings, but there is a large quantity in fermentation right now (as we planted more vines a few years ago and planted even more this year) so next spring we will be releasing a larger quantity of still wines made from this years abundant and juicy crop and we just can’t wait!
4.5 tonnes. A fabulous bunch picking fabulous bunches. Truly blessed and grateful.
Just looking at the grapes, ready to harvest, plump and sweet, it is a coincidence that a vine’s production of grapes is approximately also what is required for a single bottle. It gives harvesting bit by bit a little context. Just as Rumplestilskin spun straw into gold ‘”whir whir whir and another spool was full”, “snip, snip, snip that’s another bottle of wine”.
A little de-leafing and green-pruning for the Pinot noir to ensure the grapes at harvest time will have a consistent sugar level. Exposing the grapes and snipping off any tiny ones like this directs the nutrients to ripen the grapes. Not essential, or widely practiced but we believe makes a big difference to the taste. The Pinot noir goes into our Brut and Cuveé sparklings and makes up 100% of our Pinot noir rosé (and these have been awarded Best Sparkling wine and Best Rosé in recent years in our regional competition).
Philippe from the south of France has done the lions-share of looking after the vines this season. In this picture, which happened to be taken by a photographer on the day we came across Philippe a couple of years ago, he was captured in deep concentration sampling the Pinot noir rosé and then more recently is pictured green-pruning those very vines. The grapes are looking very promising this year and the vines in really good health – santé Philippe!
The start of veraison and time for the tricky task of estimating the crop size which has varied from two to five tonnes in recent years. This years crop is looking very healthy and we particularly can’t wait to pick the Madeleine Angevine which has bloomed this year and is ready first. We are excited to welcome those who have offered to help with the harvest in mid October and if you are interested, do visit to see what’s involved at our next open tasting afternoon on 25th September 2-4pm. Drop us a line at info@hendredvineyard.co.uk if you would like harvest updates or might like to be involved.
Come along for a free tasting session on Saturday 21st August.. We saved a few bottles of the 2014 and 2015 Brut vintages to taste as a comparison to the 2016. All of these are award winners. As part of the summer party case which features all the wines to ensure your party will fizz with excitement, you can choose if you would like a 2014, 2015 or 2016 vintage Brut (last few bottles of 2014 and 2015 Brut only available as part of this case). Tastings are informal and no booking is required for this session, just drop by and wander around the vines if you like.
Come and join Ollie and Natasha from ‘Berks Fizz’ for a very special Sunday afternoon wine tasting workshop! They will visit the vineyard and discuss the trials and tribulations of winemaking in England – before heading to the tasting room for a tasting session in which they will be looking specifically at the wonderful world of sparkling wine! You will blind taste your way through all of the most famous sparkling wines of the world, including comparing some of the locally-made sparkling wine against Champagne, as well as exploring Prosecco, Cava and more – discussing the different climates and production methods in play. A really fun way to spend an afternoon, and an opportunity to learn all about the wonderful world of sparkling wine with nibbles included. Visit the Berks Fizz web shop to purchase tickets https://berksfizz.co.uk/tours-%26-events/ola/services/2pm-sparkling-wines-of-the-world-tasting-workshop-hendred-vineyard-hendred
The festival was so enjoyable to take part in. There is something about people who are interested in wine that makes doing this such a pleasure – from all walks of life and all ages. The social distancing of bubbles was nicely done – with some very English orderly queues. Our summer party wine packs created specially for the festival were particularly popular, containing 3 sparkling and 3 still wines (including the award-winners). There is a 15% reduction off the individual price for the pack of 6 bottles: not available via the web shop but available if you visit on one of our open afternoons: 17th July or 21st August. No booking required, just drop in!
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