The family-owned Rose Charity Estate, located north of Winchester in Stoke Charity, uses a practical, permaculture-inspired approach to winemaking, and is putting the work into the process.
Wildflowers and chickens are the secret to owner Thomas Wilkinson's success, allowing him to grow grapes without the use of pesticides or heavy machinery.
In fact, the 2,500 bottles of British wine he makes each year are all produced exclusively by hand, with the help of his wife and two teenage sons.
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Dogs in the vineyard (Photo: Thomas Wilkinson)
All this isn't just to save time – Thomas says the quality of the vines benefits as a result, which means better wine.
In addition to hard work, Thomas is also busy thinking about ways to take advantage of modern scientific knowledge about how grapes react to certain climates.
Rose Charity is the first vineyard in the UK to grow Calardis Blanc (white) and one of the first to grow Pinotin (red).
These vines are hybrid varieties from a nursery in Germany, which are ideally suited to the local climate and soil conditions.
This means less spraying or other unwanted interventions and better tasting wine, especially since the vines are tended by hand. To put this into perspective, growers typically expect up to 5% of newly planted vines to fail.
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While other UK vineyards spray fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides up to 16 times a season, the selected hybrid vines at Rose Charity Estate will not be sprayed at all this year.
Instead, Thomas uses chickens to reduce the number of pests.
Between each row of vines grow wildflowers (including oxeye flowers, field poppies, red campion and about 30 other species).
This actually leads to improvements in biodiversity, such as a marked increase in the number of bees and other insects, which also helps in pest control.
Those interested in learning more (or purchasing a bottle) can visit the vineyard's website at rosecharityestate.com.
