Ancre Hill Estates, a family vineyard and winnery
Ancre Hill Estates featured at Reading restaurant, a family owned vineyard and winnery in Monmouth, Wales, Richard and Joy and son David. Richard
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Our Head Sommelier, Guillaume Kaczmar
… has visited Ancre HillEstate vineyard located in Monmouth, Wales.
Restaurant Reading L’Ortolan Berkshire
Ancre Hill Estates is a family run business comprising husband and wife team, Richard and Joy and son David. Richard explains that Davei s the real driving force behind the business.
Armed with a BSc in Viticulture & Oenology gained at Plumpton College (part of Brighton University) in 2009, Dave then spent a couple of years working for Biodynamic wine producers in France (Champagne, Burgundy & Roussillon) and for JamesMillton in New Zealand. With this experience in his locker Dave joined the family wine business in 2011 and the rest is history as they say!
2015 has seen the business expand with the building of a new Winery (Wales’s first) and the acquisition of a second farm in Monmouth.
The current Vineyard site at Ancre Hill Vineyard is 4 hectares in size. The main grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir andAlbariño, the first planting being made in 2006. The Estate is certifiedBiodynamic and Organic and has won numerous International Awards, including the Bollicine del Mondo in 2012 when its Sparkling Wine was voted best in the worldat Verona in Italy. Current plans are to bottle and sell Organic SpringWater from this site from 2016.
The new Winery, completed in March 2015, has been built withsustainability as the main theme. It is constructed from straw bales tomaximise thermal and humidity controls and is believed to be one of the largestnon-prefabricated straw bale constructions ever undertaken in the world. It is also equipped with a sedum grass roof and Ecological Water Treatment ReedBed System.
Michelin Starred Restaurant Reading L’Ortolan
In June 2014 a second 48-hectare farm was acquired on theoutskirts of Monmouth. A further 10 hectares of Vineyard will be planted in2016 and 2017. Additional farming activities planned are organic ciderapple production and organic beef production.
Wine production will expand to circa 50,000 bottles per annum bythe end of the decade.
Ancre Hill Estates has a unique approach to biodynamicviticulture and wine making. Ancre Hill believe that great wine is made in thevineyard and that work done in the winery may only realise the potential atharvest, not increase it.
Inspected by DEMETER every year to insure all cultural practicesin the vineyard go above and beyond organic standards in line with the full Biodynamicaccreditation achieved in 2013.
Great care and attention is paid in applying the biodynamicpreparations to the vineyard. These are stirred by hand, in rain water andsprayed strictly under the correct conditions. Only with this level of detail andpersonal involvement can biodynamic practices allow our vines to find thebalance of life forces necessary for healthy growth and quality of production.
Choice of Wines at Restaurant Reading L’Ortolan
Ancre Hill employ a regular spray programme based on organic andbiodynamic principles. The use of sulphur, necessary in certain years, is keptto a minimum with the addition of wild plant tisanes made on the Estate. Insecticides and herbicides are not used at all, with weeds ploughed outfrom under the vines. There is a strong focus on canopy management,maximising air flow through the canopy and sun and light exposure to suit theseason. This is further assisted by our Geneva Double Curtain trellising systemdesigned for cooler climates.
A programme of cultivation provides the soil with aeration necessaryfor the development of a healthy micro-organism population, negating the needfor petro-chemical fertilisers. Co-plantation and the promotion of wildflora and fauna help maintain the balance of our eco-system and soils.
The style of Ancre Hill’s wines is constantly evolving withsmall batch fermentations occurring almost entirely in oak barrels and concretecuves. Fermentations are carried out by wild yeasts and bacteria with theavoidance of filtration and fining for the finished wines. Our wines, as withour grapes, are fully DEMETER certified, adhering to the strictest productioncriteria. We believe working in this way will not only create better winesqualitatively, but wines of greater integrity and sustainability. The Winery atAncre Hill will allow the full benefits of our experiences growing and making’natural’ wines in Burgundy, Roussillon, Champagne and New Zealand to bedisplayed.
Soon, the wines from Acnre Hill Estate will be available on our wine list.
