Harvest 2023: The Results Are In!

Starting a little later than usual, on the 26th September and finishing on the 31st October, it was our second biggest harvest after 2018 in some difficult wet and windy conditions. Coming after the almost perfect weather of 2022, it was a reminder of the challenges we can face growing grapes in a cool climate. A traditional English autumn is often wet and windy. This year's unpredictable weather patterns which varied from heat wave to heavy rain made picking days difficult to plan and when we were harvesting, we were picking a lot of grapes to get ahead of the next rain event. The press was going at full speed with four presses a day. It was intense. The battle with the usual wildlife and insects added to the pressure. The short heatwave in September and the few days of above average temperatures in October were invaluable and enabled our amazing vineyard and winery team to pick and press 173.4 tonnes of grapes. The ferments are ongoing but the juice and ferments are tasting good. Work doesn't stop in the vineyard just because harvest is over, the nets need to be collected in, the machinery cleaned and stored away for the 2024 season and trellis and maintenance work continues. 

The winners of our 2023 Harvest Sweepstake are announced below and keep an eye out for Fiona's full 2023 debrief coming later this year.

Thank you to everyone who entered our harvest sweepstake! We had hundreds of guesses, some of you incredibly close to the official total of 173.4 tonnes! The winning guesses ranging from 172.3 to 174.3. Congratulations to our winner Timothy S with a guess of 173.3,  as well as our five runners-up. Please look out for a separate email with details of your prize.

The 5 runners up are:

Clare W, Dorian J, Mel T, Lynn B and Neil M. Please look out for an email from Sarah with details of how to pick up your prizes!