A good word for Cork • diAry dAtes • AseV – eAstern seCtion ConferenCe • iPhone APP PreView • members’ surVey uPdAte • A VintAge in ChAmPAgne • new wine reseArCh Centre • soCiAl eVents • iCCws 2016 • lAtest news •

newsissue #03, noVember 2012

S O U T H E A S T V I N E YA R D S A S S O C I AT I O N

seVA stAnd At fruit show

Agm & member ConferenCe

Following on from the recent survey of SEVA members (see p4), we have decided to hold a members’ conference following the AGM, planned for 18th April. The format of the day will be a short formal AGM, followed by updates on SEVA’s latest projects and talks from industry professionals. We hope to follow this with a good lunch and extra networking opportunities, as well as providing time for activities suggested by members - so send us your thoughts!

For the first time, SEVA was represented at the National Fruit Show, at Detling in Kent. Our Association was offered a joint stand with Plumpton College, which was manned by Jo Cowderoy (WineSkills Coordinator), Don Cranfield (Head of Business Services, PC) and me, Chris Foss. The National Fruit Show is a major national event in the horticultural industry’s calendar, providing an ideal meeting place for professionals and exhibitors. Amongst those represented at the show were Agrii, Core Equipment, Fast, Vigo, Platipus Anchors and NP Seymour, all of whom also serve the English Wine Production Industry. Unfortunately, the timing of the show is directly after the major fruit harvests, which is a bit unfortunate for grapevine growers, but Biddenden Vineyards were there. The show is a really good means by which we can increase our interaction with the general horticulture industry, from which I’m sure that we can learn a great deal. For instance, it’s strengthened my links with the East Malling Research Centre and the Horticulture Development Board, which might come in very useful. It was also a good opportunity for SEVA to catch up with some of its members, and make some new ones.I look forward to next year’s event.Chris Foss, SEVA Chair

Farm Advisory Services Team LtdCrop Technology Centre | Brogdale Farm | Faversham Kent | ME13 8XZ | T: 01795 533225 | E: info@fastltd.co.uk | www.fastltd.co.uk

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members’ surVey uPdAte

In the last issue of SEVANews, we communicated a summary of the results of our recent membership survey (you can find a copy of results by following this link: http://bit.ly/S4ERhq). Based on your suggestions, the SEVA Committee has agreed the following responses and action points which will be carried out over the coming year:

SEVA AGM• – It was agreed to grow the AGM into a longer event and incorporate more speakers and networking opportunities - so a members’ conference will be added to the AGM scheduled for 18th April (see p2 for details). Please get in touch if you have any suggestions around the format of this event.

Learning Opportunities • - SEVA will more actively promote the learning opportunities available to all members (e.g. WineSkills, Plumpton) via emails, our upcoming new website, and this newsletter.

“Farm Walks”• – SEVA will incorporate a farm walk into the summer BBQ so members can see

other vineyards and learn about the experience of others.

Finding out local producer •statistics - it was agreed to issue another member survey next year, to find out more about the members themselves, for instance, what proportion of members have second jobs, and what might they be?

SE Wine PGI and branding• – it was felt this was an issue for the long term, rather than the present time.

Improving wine tourism • – SEVA are encouraging this with the forthcoming App release.

Representing members at the •UKVA – the Chair will feed back to members more frequently from UKVA meetings, and offer more questions for discussion via the upcoming new website and the SEVA email forum.

Calendar• – to publish event dates 1 year in advance, requesting hosts from all over the region in order to to expand event placing - please see p14.

Extra social events• – possibly

to hold a St Vincent’s day celebration each January 22nd - please see p10.

SEWOTY• Competition – a new name is required – and could link into a rebranding of the SE Regional Identity.

Restructure the SEVA - •Possibly to restructure the SEVA in coming years. Someone suggested paying the Chairman a retainer (who might that be?).

Healthy soil = productive vines = consistently higher yields

We know nutrition

whAt, no CAke?

Forty SEVA members, family and guests attended the annual Summer BBQ hosted by Bluebell Vineyard Estates on a sunny evening on 1st September. The event has become a fixture in the SEVA calendar and attracts members from across the region. This year was no exception, with people attending from Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.

A generous reception was laid on by our hosts, Joyce and Barry Tay, who welcomed guests with lashings of Bluebell’s highly-praised sparkling wines. Entertainment and education were combined when Matthew Hudson of Plumpton College gave a bravura exposition on the wines of Alsace followed by a tutored tasting and some audience participation in the form of a quiz. A splendid BBQ had been prepared, catering for all tastes, including vegetarian, thanks to the skills of Lindfield Chef, Tony O’Brien. Kevin Sutherland, Bluebell’s winemaker, arranged an impromptu tour of the Bluebell estate for those who were new to the vineyard, proudly pointing out the ongoing improvements, stunning location and immaculate vines.

It was not long before the patio area was buzzing with animated conversation, as old friends renewed acquaintances and new friendships were struck up. As was to be expected, much of the chatter centred on the difficulties of the 2012 season and the prospects for the coming vintage. In fact,

SEVA wants to extend its gratitude to Bluebell Vineyard and its staff, and Luke Wolfe, SEVA Social Secretary, for their hard work put into making a great SEVA BBQ!

Photos by Christopher Sutherland

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the evening went so well that the cream sponge gateaux that had been safely put away in the freezer to keep fresh were completely forgotten, until it was too late! But no one seemed to mind.

Finally, a big THANK YOU is due to Luke Wolfe, late of Hobdens Vineyard and Plumpton College, who at short notice did all the spade work for the event. Ironically Luke had to set off on the morning of the BBQ for Kent to attend the wedding of some close friends and never got to enjoy the lovely food – or cake. Better luck next year Luke!

Article by Iain MacLean, Bluebell Vineyard

The fastest way to find a fabulous glass of English wine or the perfect tourist day out amongst the vines is almost here! The iPhone “App” developed by your SEVA Committee Team will be launched early in the new year.

We very much want it to be a success. It’s designed to help English wine enthusiasts and novices find you and your wines and it literally puts us all on the map - as it has national (mainland UK) coverage.

When we launch, we’ll send you the App logo and link; it would be great if you could put these on your own websites.

We want to generate enough sales of the App (from the Apple App Store) to cover the modest development costs so far and to fund further improvements such as a “wine searcher” feature when a user taps in the name of the wine they are interested in they are automatically taken to the producer: vineyard/winery/specialist retailer page. There’s a lot of truth in the advertising adage: the more you tell, the more you sell.

The App is not only designed to promote English vineyards, wineries and the growing number of specialist

retailers; it is hoped it will also generate surplus funds to benefit all SEVA members in lots of other ways, such as supporting generic wine marketing, research and educational tours.

There are separate categories for those vineyards, wineries and English Wine retailers who thrive on tourism; those who open occasionally, such as during English Wine Week; and those that don’t open at all. It’s up to you to decide which category suits you best. Being included within the App directory and locator is free for all English Wine producers and growers, and for selected retailers who significantly promote English Wines. We will be supporting the launch with a targeted media campaign and with a dedicated website giving more information about the App. Journalists are already expressing real interest.

If you haven’t already provided your photos and text for inclusion in the App, this is your last chance before it is launched: please email southeastvineyards@gmail.com - and we will send you the link to the easy-to-complete information questionnaire. It just takes a few minutes and it’s well worth it!

APP in the new yeAr!

Exclusive preview screenshots of the UK Vineyards iPhone app - top left to bottom right, in order: welcome screen and app logo, map image, vineyard listing screen, latest news feed tab, vineyard home page, further vineyard details page, retail business page and retailers’ details page.

AlsACe study tour 2013

The dates for our next exciting study tour to the Alsace region have now been set from the 2nd to 6th July 2013. This will be a four-night visit, and although the agenda has yet to be finalised, a draft itinerary is included below. Costs will be calculated in the next few months.

Draft Itinerary:

Tuesday 2nd July - departure / evening: presentation of region by Alsace Wine Producers group

Weds 3rd July - a.m.: famous big producer, like Hugel / p.m.: small family producer

Thursday 4th July - a.m.: sparkling wine producer / p.m.: red wine producer

Friday 5th July - a.m.: INRA research station / p.m.: visit to a cooperative

Saturday 6th July - a.m.: shopping etc / p.m.: return

To provisionally register your interest, please contact us by email: southeastvineyards@gmail.com - we will let you know as soon as we have more details around price and itinerary.

english wine news twitter feed

Remember that SEVA has its own Twitter feed, found at @EnglishWineNews - where we’re posting the latest information relevant to the English Wine industry - so please follow us, and feel free to send us your news so we can tweet about it for you! This feed will be fed into the UK Vineyards App which is launching over the next few months, and so will reach a wide audience.

In July, I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest speaker to the 36th Annual ASEV (American Society of Enology and Viticulture) Eastern Section Conference in Traverse City, Michigan, USA (www.asev-es.org). The ASEV Eastern Section provides forums for the presentation, discussion and publication (through the official journal of the ASEV) of wine research and technology developments of specific interest to grape growers and winemakers in the Eastern United States and Canada. The geographical area encompassed by the Section includes all US states and Canadian provinces with territory east of the Continental Divide. There is a growing sparkling wine production industry in the Michigan area along with Cabernet franc, Riesling and some hybrid varietal and blended wines. There were many presentations during the conference (abstracts available on their website) of interest to UK vineyards and wineries so I have written this short report for SEVA members.

A popular training system in cold climates in the USA is VSP with double trunks (used on cane pruned vines). Larry Mawby from L. Mawby Wines (www.lmawby.com) who planted his sparkling wine vineyard with Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier in 1973, explained to me that “the idea is that the thinner trunks on mature vines are less susceptible to cold damage (and therefore grapevine trunk disease and crown gall) than older trunks. Additionally the second trunk acts as insurance if the vineyard is hit with frost rather like leaving four canes instead of two canes to insure against crop and vine loss”.

The larger or thicker a trunk is, the more susceptible it is to winter injury from frost and mechanical damage. Most of the reserves of a trunk are retained in the outer layer of the xylem and the phloem. The thicker this outside layer is, the more winter

AseV – eAstern seCtion 36th AnnuAl ConferenCeINTERNATIONAl WORkSHOp REpORT, jUlY 16TH - 19TH 2012, TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIgAN, USA

DR BElINDA kEMp, WINE lECTURER/WINE RESEARCH COORDINATOR, plUMpTON COllEgE

hardy the trunk is. Therefore, a young trunk (not young vine) that is only 2.5 cm in diameter will usually withstand colder temperatures more than an older trunk that is 5 cm in diameter because the same amount of wood is produced by each trunk, but on the thicker trunk, that wood is spread out over a larger area, making it thinner. Usually a grower in a cold climate region in the USA will attempt to maintain different ages of trunks on each vine. With varieties sensitive to winter injury, it is not uncommon to see three trunks on a grapevine. Low snow cover and low temperatures combined with cold or strong winds can wipe out Vitis vinifera to the roots. Deep snow in Michigan

is usually a good thing as the snow is piled up against the vine and acts as insulation to the vines. The damage is done when there is severe cold with no snow. Kevin Ker (Cool Climate Viticulture and Oenology Institute at Brock University, Ontario) referred to it as “spare parts viticulture”. Even on healthy vines we should build a replacement plan into the pruning schedule every few years.

One vineyard was pruned to multiple trunks (between 3 to 8 per vine) and when a very cold spell occurred most of the vines lost at least one trunk and 20% of the vines died.

FIgURE 1. DOUBlE TRUNk VINE WITH A THIRD SHOOT BEINg TRAINED AT THE SIDE, MICHIgAN, USA.

CONTINUED ON NExT pAgE

If each vine had only one trunk it is likely that over 50% of the vines would have died and crop loss would have been even more severe. Trunk loss often occurs in cold climates due to crown gall on trunks that were split by freezing so two trunks are used and the infected trunk is cut off near its base. Many of those infected vines continue to survive on the remaining trunk. With proper training, and leaving the appropriate number of buds per vine, the vigour level of a vine is controlled whether it has one, two or three trunks. Pruning of winter susceptible varieties is usually postponed until late winter in Michigan. Then this can be done accordingly i.e. if their vineyards had 50% bud kill (they check bud viability before pruning) then it would be appropriate to leave 60 buds instead of 30.

It may be worth considering double-trunking and even setting up a trial in your vineyard to see if it could help with reducing loss of crop to frost and grapevine trunk disease. If you do think about a trial to change some vines from single - to double - trunk vine training to decrease the risk of vine loss, then retaining suckers this year will be a

good chance to develop a second trunk. Remember that when using double trunks they should all arise from below or as near to the ground as possible on own-rooted vines. Grafted vines should have all trunks rising from the top of the graft union.

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The complete programme with abstracts is available online: http://asev-es.org/pdf/asev-es_2012_conference_and_symposium_program.pdf

If you require any further information on any of the subjects covered in the conference, please do not hesitate to contact me by email: belinda.kemp@plumpton.ac.uk

CONTINUED FROM pAgE 7

A typical St. Vincent’s celebration consists of a religious service, a blessing of the vineyards, lighting of bonfires, live folk music performances and dancing, regional culinary specialties cooked over open fires, and of course plenty of local wine! Every year, in villages in Burgundy, they elect a local grower as “The Vincent” for the season, whose task is to organise that year’s festivities. If you know someone who can organise a good party, and would like to nominate them to be the first ‘Vincent’ of English Wine, please send your suggestion to southeastvineyards@gmail.com.

St.Vincent was born in Huesca, Northern Spain, in the 3rd Century AD and became the Deacon of Valerius of Saragossa (the city’s bishop). During the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Vincent and his Bishop were imprisoned and brought to trial in Valencia. Since Valerius had a speech impediment, Vincent spoke for both; but his outspoken and fearless manner so angered the local Governor that Vincent was tortured (some say using a wine press!) and martyred in 304, though his aged bishop was only exiled. Towards the end of his ordeal, Vincent was offered release if he would consign the Christian Scriptures to the fire. He refused, making him the Saint he is today.

According to legend, after being martyred, ravens protected St. Vincent’s body from being devoured by vultures until his followers could recover it. His corpse was taken to what is now known as Cape St. Vincent,

where a shrine was erected over his grave, which continued to be guarded by flocks of ravens. In the time of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi noted this constant guard by ravens, after which the place was named by him “Kanīsah al-Ghurāb” (Church of the Raven). King Afonso Henriques (1139–1185) had the body of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by boat to the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. This transfer of the relics is depicted on the coat of arms of Lisbon, a city to which he is also patron saint (along with Valencia).

Since St. Vincent’s martyrdom, the 22nd January has become a day when vinegrowers pause from their ceaseless toil to give thanks, pay homage to their vineyard and look forward to the coming season. For the vine, it’s roughly the mid-point between the entry into dormancy and budburst…

st VinCent - PAtron sAint of wine

EVERY YEAR ON THE 22ND OF jANUARY, THROUgHOUT THE WORlD OF WINE, FESTIVITIES ARE HElD IN HONOUR OF THE pATRON SAINT OF “WINE MAkERS, VINE DRESSERS AND VINEgAR MAkERS”: VINCENT OF SARAgOSSA. HOW ABOUT THE SOUTH-EAST OF ENglAND?

If anyone has any other suggestions around a SEVA St Vincent’s day celebration for 22nd January 2013, please get in touch - southeastvineyards@gmail.com - let’s celebrate our vocation!

Many thanks to all our sponsors for this issue: Core Equipment, FAST Viticulture, Vigo Ltd, Hattingley Valley, NP Seymour and Vine Works. We rely on sponsorship to help the association to keep up its work and keep you informed as to what is going on. If you are interested in placing a sponsored advertorial or advert, please get in touch with us: southeastvineyards@gmail.com

I confess to a sneaking liking for corks. For fresh young wines screwcaps are fine, but when I am spending my own money on a bottle of serious or ageworthy wine, I will avoid screwcaps in favour of natural cork. It may be my imagination, but some screwcapped reds feel confined, stunted or need some days breathing before they open properly. Some of the arguments against cork seem rather colourful: ‘why would anyone stuff a piece of dead tree bark into a bottle?’. But the same reductive argument isn’t used to attack

the winemaker who ages their wines amongst ‘dead oak planks’, or leather shoes for that matter. I’m confident though in saying that TCA taint is much rarer today than it was 20 years ago, when Steve Daniel would rail against high spoilage rates in the Oddbins tasting room in Wimbledon.

So, armed with some mild prejudice and a suspicion that cork quality might be improving, I was very happy to accept Amorim’s kind offer of a 48-hour visit to the cork harvest near Évora and to their

processing plants nearby and in Porto. Hot in my hand were questions penned by my brainy colleague Peter Morgan, who, by chance, had visited a cork forest near Barcelona the previous week.

Cork oaks grow naturally in the Mediterranean Basin, and the small part of Portugal’s 730,000 hectares that I saw grow with minimal intervention; unsprayed and unfertilised. The trees have developed resistance against various natural pests, although there are worms that burrow into the tree, reducing the utility of the eventual plank.

The trees grow slowly and will not yield a crop until they are over 50 years old, after which they will be harvested once every 9 years. The white number painted on the trunk indicates the year last harvested, so those harvested this year will be marked 2 for 2012 and will next be harvested in 2021. These trees are highly protected. You may not cut one down without a permit; you may not even cut down a dead cork oak without a permit. We saw the harvest at the farm owned by Pedro Infante de Câmara and his brothers. They have 1800 ha and this will yield them 3000 tonnes in the 9 year cycle. He will be paid €3-4 per kilo, so there is a living to be made. The harvesters work hard in great heat, but the €96 a day they earn is good money in Portugal now and the work is valued.

QUESTION: DO YOU EVER IDENTIFY HIgH TCA CORk FORESTS OR CORk SUpplIERS?

TCA is ubiquitous and occurs randomly, so whilst Amorim can choose who they buy from and do test TCA levels of incoming cork, it is their processing procedures that will reduce TCA levels in finished commercial corks to <1-2ng on leaving for market. Any planks showing over 10.5ng are rejected for cork use and are likely to be sent to make flooring or low level industrial applications. (Note: the threshold for TCA taint to become perceptible to a taster is around 6ng).

To see Amorim’s production is to witness a number of processes and cuts, after which corks will either take their place on the quality ladder or move on to be further processed and graded. The first cut is in the cork forest where planks are trimmed of the 15 cm nearest to soil level and then sorted into three categories, only the first of which goes to wine stopper manufacture. At the other end of their process, the very top corks, which will have been hand-drilled, are subjected to individual TCA screening in a purpose-built machine. This process is expensive, and Amorim has capacity only to handle 43,000 corks per day in the machine, out of a

a good word for cork

A REpORT BY MATTHEW HUDSON ON A BRIEF VISIT TO THE CORk HARVEST, COURTESY OF AMORIM & IRMãOS, S.A.

yearly production of 3.5 billion units. The point about this machine is that it can guarantee migratable* TCA levels in parts per trillion, at which level they are almost undetectable, and you might not be surprised that some of the finest wines in the world ask for corks at this high level of quality.

QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU BElIEVE TO BE THE pRIMARY SOURCES OF TCA?

There are various theories, but we know that TCP (trichlorophenol) is a man-made pesticide banned in the EU since 1995 but still present in groundwater. Moulds (filamentous fungi) are killed by TCP so protect themselves by altering the molecular structure creating TCA from which they are safe. It is found in vines, trees and many other plants.

*Migratable because (as I am told by Amorim’s head of Microbiology, Dr Miguel Ferreira Cabral) TCA spoilage in a natural cork will come from within 1mm of the cork surface. Ironically, cheaper composite corks may carry lower total levels of total TCA.

All full corks have a 4-hour steam bath at 610C (TCA volatilises at 600C) – an expensive procedure prior to being finished and released to market. Then each batch of corks is sampled and

tested by steeping the cork in a 12% ethyl alcohol solution after which each goes to analysis by gas chromatography.

Finally, and in praise of whole corks, Miguel shows me the phenolic compounds that occur both in cork and in oak (barrels). He argues that these compounds reduce both oxidative and reductive pathways in wine development. This might also account for some of the sheen and polish I perceive in good cork-stoppered reds.

This brief duffer’s guide to corks skims over the detail and totality of the stopper processing employed by Amorim and their on-going fight against TCA.

What I came away with was that:

TCA is a ubiquitous foe, but it can be •managed in stopper manufacture. TCA is a modern problem; the fight against it is young and advances are quick and significant.

Choose your cork supplier wisely. •Shoddy corks will be around as long as there are shoddy suppliers.

A good cork stopper maker can •send clean corks to market which can then be tainted by TCA from other sources.

Cork forests once gone are likely to •be gone for good.

Cork is a miraculous natural product. NASA uses it in spacecraft, it is used in Bentley cars and hi-tech wind turbines. Each cork with its 800m cells is, according to Carlos de Jesus (Director of Marketing and Communication at Amorim), “a valve not a stopper” and has a delicate interaction with the wine as it develops. While out there we read a clipping that Rusden Wines of the Barossa were returning to cork closures, evidence that there are winemakers prepared to listen afresh to the case for cork.

The author would like to thank Carlos de Jesus and Dr Miguel Ferreira Cabral for their time and attention.

Matthew Hudson is the Course Leader for the FdA in Wine Business at Plumpton College.

A diagonal section through the trunk of a cork oak, Quercus suber

Suddenly, the builders arrived and fenced off the area behind the Plumpton Wine Centre. A huge mobile crane moved two prefabricated classrooms off to the other side of the cement road and the diggers started on the foundations. The construction of the Plumpton Wine Research Centre had begun. It will become the only dedicated Wine Research Centre in Britain, providing an invaluable problem-solving facility for both the English and Welsh wine production industries and the English Wine Trade.

The Plumpton Wine Research Centre will form a hub for enquiry, through trials and experimentation, into fields including viticulture; winemaking; and wine sensory evaluation, chemical

analysis and quality assurance. It will consist of the Jack Ward Laboratory (where a host of analytical techniques such as UV spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography will be employed), offices for the research team and PhD students, and the Rathfinny experimental winery, where micro-vinificatons of trial wines will be carried out under controlled conditions.

The first to benefit from the realisation of this project will be all the Wine students at Plumpton College, of which there are currently around 140 full time and 250 part-time. The next generations of wine producers will have greatly improved facilities for developing their research skills, and will

be able to progress from undergraduate degrees to Masters, PhD and eventually post-doctoral research. English and Welsh wine producers will also derive a substantial benefit by addressing the industry’s challenges to the research centre; an active research facility is critical to the success of developing wine industries. Companies in the UK wine trade could also use the facility if they wish to have their products and procedures (such as bottling) tested and improved in a convenient and totally independent location.

The project is pretty much on schedule: architect’s plans were drafted and submitted for planning permission in March 2011, and the drive to raise funding was launched in May 2011. Thanks to support from the Rathfinny Wine Company, the Merrydown Trust and many others, sufficient funding was secured by March 2012 to go ahead with the building. Construction started in July 2012, but, as the building project also includes other facilities (such as a winery equipment store), it is unlikely to be completed and fully operational until July 2013.

The Plumpton Wine Research Centre will be unique, as Britain’s first and only dedicated wine research centre, focusing on cool-climate wine production, particularly sparkling wine. In these challenging times for state education, its construction has only

been possible due to support from members of the UK wine production, trade and associated industries. Donors to this project will gain recognition for their contribution by acknowledgement on the Donor’s Wall within the Research Centre. Although the funds generated so far have covered the cost of the building itself, the project could still benefit from further finance in order to purchase more lab and winery equipment. I’d be delighted to hear from anyone who may wish to make a contribution to a unique and dynamic development destined to support the production and business of wine in the United Kingdom and generate research findings of international significance.

Chris Foss, Head of Wine Department, Plumpton College. chris.foss@plumpton.ac.uk

the builders hAVe ArriVed!

seVA diary dates

Post-harvest celebration meal 2012 - Thur 22nd November, 6.30pm onwards, The Swan Restaurant at Chapel Down (see right)

St Vincent’s Day celebration - Tue 22nd January 2013, time and venue TBC, see p10 for more details

AGM 2013, followed by members’ conference: Thurs 18th April 2013, time and venue TBC - provisionally 11am to 3pm

SEWOTY Awards Ceremony - Denbies Wine Estate, Thur 23rd May 2013 - 6.30pm onwards

Alsace Study Tour - 2nd to 6th July 2013, more details soon

Summer BBQ 2013, with Farm Walk - Sat 7th September 2013, 4pm onwards, venue TBC

Post Harvest 2013 - Weds 13th November, venue TBC, 6.30pm onwards

For more information about any of the above events, contact us by email: southeastvineyards@gmail.com. We are also looking for venues in

which to host our social events; if you have any suggestions, please let us know.

You are invited to attend the

SEVA POST-HARVEST CELEBRATION DINNER

on Thursday 22nd November 2012from 7.30pm at

THE SWAN, CHAPEL DOWNSmall Hythe Road, Tenterden

Join us for a special two course meal and wines to celebrate the end of a successful harvest

Cost (to include aperitif but not dinner wine):£25 (subsidised) - SEVA members, employees and family

Max 4 subsidised places per membership£35 - friends and potential new members

We hope producing members will bring a bottle or two of their wines for other members to taste and enjoy!

Full cost payable in advance by cheque made payable to SEVA and sent to:Chris Foss, Plumpton College, Ditchling Road, Plumpton, Nr Lewes, BN7 3AE

Maximum of 36 places. Please RSVP by email by Monday 9th November to the SEVA Administrator: southeastvineyards@gmail.com. Thanks.

In order to give you as much notice as possible, we have now set our diary dates up to this time next year. We’ll send out more details about all events as they approach, so don’t worry about booking places just yet, except for the 2012 Post Harvest meal (see right).

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iCCws 2016 uPdAte

The Planning Committee for the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, to be held in Brighton in May 2016, held their 3rd meeting on the 10th September. Steady progress is being made across all workstreams.

Current priorities include:

Identifying and confirming at least two high-profile speakers, with •international appeal, to help attract interest and support early PR and marketing activities.

Securing initial sponsorship. A range of sponsorship opportunities •are available; the three main levels being Lead, Principal and Major sponsors, each with different financial commitments and benefits packages. In addition, there will be opportunities to sponsor specific sessions and supporting events.

Working up a draft outline programme for the core symposium; the •target is to have a provisional structure by early January.

Finalising venues for both the symposium and its supporting events, •and driving hard bargains to secure the best deals! The Logistics Team have made good progress in working up an outline structure and in particular identifying an array of exciting events around the core “9 to 5 programme”, using a range of venues in the heart of Brighton.

We also agreed that the event should be renamed the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium (ICCWS), so as to make its core purpose absolutely clear.

Bruce Tindale, Chair of the ICCWS 2016 Planning Committee

During the last two weeks of September 2012, I travelled to Champagne to join a family-run producer for their annual harvest and vintage. Huré Frères, a relatively small Champagne-producing winery in Ludes, differs greatly from many of the more well-known giants like Moët et Chandon in some very purposefully engineered and intriguing ways. These differences for me were noticeable not only in the winery and the vineyard but also in the dining room. Being an American-bred lover of fast food, bladder-buster-sized soda and a dining etiquette that’s often been likened to some of our Neanderthalian ancestors, sharing every meal with my fellow co-workers and generations of family members was one of the

unexpected truly fantastic treats of my experience in Champagne. The feeling of family, camaraderie and a love of wine and humour was a constant thread that seemed to run through every winery process, harvest decision, and choice of cheese at dinner.

Like the respect for every individual at dinner, each village, varietal and parcel at Huré Frères is given its own tank and space to express its individuality and potential. Because Huré Frères owns and operates both its vineyards and winery, a rarity in Champagne, they are able to pursue some very intricate controls over their wine-making processes. In addition to space, time is also given its own opportunity to express itself in that, again unlike most Champagne

houses, Hure Frères produces a vintage every year, believing that each year has something to show and can produce a wine of interest and quality.

There is a juxtaposed Yin to this Yang however at Huré Frères. When I was 16, I was convinced that I had found the most difficult job in the world, which was installing fence posts over the summer. If I had known how demanding and tiring a vintage could possibly be I would have thanked my fence post installation boss for such a fluffy job. At Huré Frères they use a vertical basket press, something very traditional and often acclaimed for producing juice in a way perfectly designed for Champagne. Whereas the juice produced is amazingly clean and exactly what a Champagne producer is looking for, the strain of maintaining a functioning press is extremely demanding on the people operating it. Loading the grapes, building, breaking down and performing a regular “retrousse”, something that seemed quite natural for the seasoned veterans of the procedure, ended up squeezing me pretty efficiently like a soft round grape into a deflated shell of my former self. Some days lasted up to 16 hours long at which point the winemaker let the “softy American” retire early. I often laid in bed listening to the continued working of my fellow coworkers carrying on into the night, wondering

how it was that Science hasn’t yet discovered these mutant beasts of the press. With time and some help, I was eventually able to hold my own, but it is important to note that this part of the vintage can be very physically demanding for someone interested in pursuing a vintage here.

My time there was short, only two weeks, but I was given the opportunity to experience days that felt like true work combined with some of the most amazing relaxing fun meals one could have. I was able to take measurements on most of the presses, make some additions and often given, when time allowed, a moment to bother the winemaker with my uneducated inquiries concerning just about every little thing I could think of. I had a fantastic experience that involved some very difficult manual labour but I learned a lot.

Alex snAPe, bsc (hons) VitiCulture & oenology student At PlumPton

A VintAge in ChAmPAgne

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southeastvineyards@gmail.com for more information and prices.

SEVA, c/o Plumpton College, Ditchling Road, Plumpton, Nr Lewes, BN7 3AE. Website: http://seva.uk.com

Chair: Chris Foss: chris.foss@plumpton.ac.uk / tel: 01273 892018Administrator: Belinda Mercer: southeastvineyards@gmail.com

Treasurer: Ben Walgate: benjaminwalgate@yahoo.co.ukNewsletter designed by Lila Hunnisett: email: lila@lilahunnisett.com

Front cover photograph by Richard Marchal.

new seVA AdministrAtor

sPonsor seVA news

Lila Hunnisett, SEVA Administrator, goes on maternity leave from 1st November 2012. The SEVA Committee have appointed Belinda Mercer, pictured below, as her replacement. Belinda sends the following introductory message to SEVA members:

“I’m currently in my second year at Plumpton studying Wine Business and the WSET Diploma. Thoroughly enjoying my time at Plumpton and a refreshing change from my previous life as an employment lawyer!

When not immersed in wine books, or scribbling down tasting notes, I enjoy being an unashamed foodie, mother to 5-year old twins, and walks around the Cuckmere Valley where I live.

I very much look forward to working for SEVA and learning more about the English wine trade. Hope to see many of you at the Post Harvest Celebration Dinner at Chapel Down in November. ”

Belinda will be reachable at the normal SEVA email address: southeastvineyards@gmail.com from 1st November. Please help us to welcome her to her new role.

If you are interested in sponsoring the SEVA by taking out an advertisement in our newsletter, or getting a link on our website, email: southeastvineyards@gmail.com. We offer an excellent opportunity to reach a wide target audience whilst supporting the work of the Association at the same time. Get in touch!