BOTTLING DILEMMA

The superb 2002 vintage wines were finally bottled in early June, I say "finally" because it is the latest we have ever bottled, preferring usually to bottle in April. This year, however, there were difficulties in the supply of bottles and corks which had to be overcome first of all . Our spring bottling run consists of Fruit Wines (apple, plum, cherry), Blackberry Liqueur as well as red and white English Wine. Each of these wine types requires a different bottle style, size or colour. Then there are several different cork grades to choose from . Last year's cork supply company in Portugal had apparently ceased to exist so samples of and prices had to be obtained from alternative suppliers, all of which took several weeks.

One of the dilemmas we faced was which bottle size to fill the exceptional '02 vintage English wines into. The wine regulations states that wine may be filled in 37.5 cl, 50 cl or 75 cl size bottles. 1 Litre and 1.5 litre sizes are also permitted but these are for wines in the lower end of the market. 37.5 cl size is the half bottle size used mainly in restaurants. The 50 cl size we have used for retail sales ever since the disastrous frost of 1997 forced the use of a smaller bottle due to the pitifully low yield of that year. The 75 cl size is the standard wine bottle size and the size we use for restaurant customers. Complicating the decision was an e-mail from the buyer of Waitrose saying the would only be interested in the 75 cl size.

In the end we bottled all of the Dry white and some of the Reserve into 75 cl bottles and everything else into the tall elegant 50 cl bottles. Next, the bottle style had to be determined. In recent years you may have noticed a new style of bottle with a flat flange on the top being used for some wines. The flange prevents the use of the familiar plastic capsule. Instead a horizontal strip label is often used to mask the fill height and the bottom of the cork. The top of the cork is finished with a wax coating to prevent spoilage and to improve appearances. As it is 20 years since we produced England's first Organic wine from the vintage of 1982 we decided to celebrate the fact by bottling into this new style bottle known as the 'Bordelais Californian' and to place a special neck label on each bottle proclaiming '20 years organic English Wine 1982-2002".

A sample bottle of 75 cl Dry White was recently sent to Waitrose so you may soon be able to purchase a bottle anywhere in the country from your local Waitrose store. On the other hand, Waitrose may not decide to stock this wine, in which case you can continue to buy it direct from us or from a Farmers Market in Kent, Surrey or Sussex.

Our Dry Red from 2002 is 30% Regent variety from our new vineyard and is a dramatically improved product as a result.

We also have just over one hundred 50 cl bottles of 2002 from Gewürztraminer grapes grown part of the season under polythene. Rentavine members have first option to buy these bottles before they are due out on general sale in mid-August. Price £ 9.95 / bottle.

Today the weather has changed from glorious 30 C of the past few days to cool , clouds and windy with a top temperature of 20 C. As if to compound the fact we have had no Electricity all day! I am writing this in our new office situated in the large mobile home outside the house. With the electricity down, computers are down, pumps in the winery don't work, you cant even get a cup of tea! What to do? Answer: Pen the rentavine newsletter!

The prospects for the 2003 harvest look exceptionally promising at the moment. Because of the additional acreage coming into production from the new millennium vineyard combined with the fact that the Seyval Blanc variety at Bodiam has lots of fruit this year means that we are potentially looking at a harvest twice the size of last years good result of approx. 8 tonnes. We will of course require extra help with the harvest which takes place in October.

If you are interested in taking part or have friends or family who are interested in this exciting event - the culmination of the vineyard year please contact us soon. We will then keep you posted nearer the time when we finalise dates.

Look out for the results of the following press release to be published in 'The Vegan Society' magazine due out in August and 'Woman and Home' magazine due out in September.

PRESS RELEASE

1. Sedlescombe Dry White 2002 (Bacchus - Reichensteiner)

(From notes supplied by Roy Cook – Proprietor and winemaker)

Grapes for this wine were grown at our Bodiam Castle vineyard. This six acre vineyard was converted to organic methods by us when we took over the tenancy from another local vineyard in 1993. The outstanding fine warm weather from mid-July through to mid-October when the grapes were harvested produced well above average natural sugar levels in the fruit. All the grapes were picked by hand and transported to the Winery at Sedlescombe for

processing.

Wine making method

The secret technique referred to on the wine label relates to a method

that I first discovered while reading a book on wine-making while working in Germany as an English teacher in the early 1980's. The book was written in Karlsruhe in 1884 and published in 1885 and titled "Die Bereitung, Pflege und untersuchung des Weines" (The Preparation, Care and analysis of Wine) written by Dr Julius Nessler. What drew my attention was the technique described for the purpose of adding more body and improving both acid balance and bouquet. I was aware that English wines were often criticised for lack of body and being too acidic at that time. The technique involves a radical departure from today's conventional winemaking

wisdom with its emphasis on elimination of phenolics (tannins). The method involves the addition of de-stemmed, crushed ripe berries to the cuvée during fermentation, whereas most modern winemakers prefer to minimise skin contact by not even letting the crushed grapes stand prior to pressing for fear of introducing too many phenolics.

Here at Sedlescombe we have been experimenting with this ancient technique for 20 years and are very pleased with the results - particularly the improved bouquet and body. In this wine we used crushed grapes of the Bacchus variety which were added to a cuvée of mostly Reichensteiner a neutral variety with high natural sugar but little bouquet. By allowing the Bacchus grapes to ferment with the cuvée their potential to increase the bouquet is maximised to the full. I believe this has been achieved with this wine. Furthermore the acid balance is just about right for this delicate fruity style of wine with no raw undertones evident. I am fairly confident that I am the only modern winemaker using this ancient technique nowadays. It came about because, as an organic grower, I am prepared to revisit the past to learn about less fashionable and more natural methods for not only growing but also for winemaking. Not that organics is about going back to the past but rather it represents an alternative more environmentally friendly way of going forwards. As a winemaker I strive to create the best wines possible with the minimum amount of interference by the winemaker.

(A copy of the old gothic text that describes this technique is available on request but be warned – it is difficult to read even if you are proficient in German).

2. Sedlescombe Pinot Noir 2002

Grapes for this wine were grown at Meopham Valley Vineyards in North Kent run by Mr David Grey (tel 01474 812727) who converted his vineyard to organic methods around 1997. I have been advising him throughout.

Wine making method

Grapes were delivered to Sedlescombe's organically certified winery for processing. The grapes were allowed to ferment 'on the pulp' for 8 days. In order to boost colour the skins of our new Regent grapes which have high pigment colour content were added to the fermenting pulp. As alcoholic fermentation was ending the wine was moved to a warmer location to encourage the malo-lactic fermentation process whereby the harsh malic acid gets changed into the much softer lactic acid. Following 6 months maturation in vat, the wine was bottled in mid-June and will be released end July along with the other 2002 vintage wines.

The Bottles

Both of the above wines have been bottled into the new Bordelais California bottle with the flange at the top. They will have wax put on top of the cork to protect it and a neck label stating "20 years Organic English Wine 1982-2002". Like other organic growers we are moving away from the use of plastic capsules in order to minimise the use of plastic material.

Availability

Sedlescombe Organic wines may be ordered on-line by visiting its web site - www.englishorganicwine.co.uk , by calling Freefone 0800 980 2884 or personal visit to the vineyard shop near Cripp's Corner, Sedlescombe, E. Sussex.

Sedlescombe wines may also be purchased at Farmer's Markets throughout Kent, Sussex and Surrey as well as in London at the organic farmers market at Stoke

Newington (Saturdays), the Organic Market held Old Spitalfields (Sundays) and the Hammersmith Farmers Market. They are also available at top Vegetarian Restaurants such as Riverside Vegetaria in Kingston-upon-Thames, Terre a Terre in Brighton, Manna in Chalk Farm NW3 and Carnavale in EC1 as well as through the occasional licensed wholefood or farm shop. In addition a major supermarket chain has expressed interest in retailing our wine on a regional basis – please check for more information.

END

VINEYARD MANAGERS REPORT.

Since April everything has moved along quite nicely in all the vineyards. All the pruning had been finished quite early so the next task was the tying down. This is where we use plastic coated wire ties to fix the canes we left at pruning onto the wires. Quite a straight forward task but if you are able to look closely there is an optimum pattern. In essence, if you imagine looking onto the wires from above, it is the shape of interlocking tuning forks. This formation helps to ensure that there is minimum interference from one to the next and so allows each vine its own space to grow. We also welcomed the return of Eric, an American woofer who had left in early January to visit Romania but come back because he loved the place so much! There is always plenty of peripheral work to be done such as repairing and broken trellis as we found it, removing last years clips from the foliage wires to allow the new shoots to grow up through and perhaps most importantly, servicing the tractor, mower, sprayer and any other machinery due to be used in the coming all important summer months.

May saw the arrival of another old hand, Alasdair, who used to be Vineyard Manager in 1998, I believe. May also brought 100% bud burst and it was pleasing to see that all the vines in all of the vineyard sites looked promising. The tractor was rolled out and work began on the mowing, hoeing and ground work in preparation for the tourist season!

With the help of two wwoofers, Alex & Robbie, we also planted 1000 new vines in our Millennium vineyard. Started in 2000 with Regent, a red variety, this vineyard was expanded in 2001/2002. This year with the planting of Solaris, a German variety, the vineyard now covers about 4 acres. When everything starts producing in a couple of years, production will be dramatically increased. Last year the harvest of Regent was quite small due to poor flowering but this year with the good weather it is looking very promising for a bumper crop.

Early June saw the first spray applied before the vines flowered - a sulphur compound to protect against the biggest risk, powdery mildew which takes the form of a white powdery coating stopping the berries from developing, causing them to split and turn black. Being organic we are limited to what we can use for disease control.

Every thing had to be put on hold for a week or two while we bottled last years vintage and very good it is too - see Roy's winemaking notes!

During this 'down time' the vines raced along growing what seemed like centimetres every day. The flowering finished in late June and I was right about the Regent. We should get 10 times the harvest of last year. Amazing how a vine matures in the space of a year.

After the bottling and into July it was all hands to the vineyards again. More mowing finishing the under row strimming, more sprays, every 10 days or so, but now with the addition of copper to help protect against another fungal disease, downy mildew. This one shows itself in the form of small 'oil spots' on the leaves. It is not easy to get rid of but can be kept in check. Luckily, so far this year we have had only isolated spots.

Hand work now is going through the vines, repositioning the shoots to where we want them - through the foliage wires and down under the side wires - re-clipping the wires, checking for disease and removing any unwanted shoots which can sap the vines energy. This also helps open up the canopy so that maximum sunlight can get to the fruit which is now pea-sized and looking good. The general prognosis is good with a larger crop than last year which we should be able to harvest a little earlier thanks to the great summer we've been having (remember last July? Rain and rain!).

Lets hope the weather keeps up into August for possibly an even better vintage than 2002.