insideKENT Magazine Issue 84 - March 2019 | Page 60

FOOD+DRINK
a toast TO KENT CONT.
Chapel Down
From its roots in 22 acres of vineyard, just outside
of the market town of Tenterden, Chapel Down
is no w r ecognised as Eng land’s leading wine
producer as well as one of the UK’s most exciting
drinks brands, with awards not just for their world-
class wines, beers and ciders, but also achieving
“cool brand” sta tus for the last thr ee years and
having been identified as one of
the UK
government’s 50 F ood and Drink her oes to
represent the British f ood and drink scene
internationally.
Established in 2001, Chapel Do wn is no w the
market leader in Eng lish wines. Their sparkling
wines are created using the same traditional method
as Champagne with fruit sourced from its Kentish
vineyards as well as its other South East England
locations. It is the official supplier to No 10 Downing
Street, the official sparkling wine of the Oxford &
Cambridge Boat Race and the first English Wine
to be serv ed at Ascot. As w ell as wine , Chapel
Down also pr oduces the highly acclaimed and
award-winning range of Curious beers and cider,
with their new £1.3million Curious Br ewery set
to open in Ashford this month.
www.chapeldown.com
Chartham Vineyard
Copper Rivet Distillery
Situated at Burnt House Farm
in Chartham, just belo w
the North Downs Way and close
to the historic City of
C a n t e r b u r y, C h a r t h a m
Vineyard is one of East Kent’s
newest vineyards having planted
its fir st vines on o ver tw o
hectares in 2012. T he family
enterprise is owned by Dr Roz
Waller, husband Ric hard
Goodenough and managed by
their son Andy, who are all keen
to harness traditional farming
values with a moder n eco-
friendly approach.
Within weeks of the grains arriving by boat (which are
all g rown and harv ested on the Isle of She ppey or
Canterbury by Kentish farmers the Burdens), they will
have been ground, mashed, distilled and introduced to
their chosen botanicals before being bottled as Copper
Rivet Dockyard Gin.
The family view the cultivation of wines and winemaking as a journey of discovery with an aim to produce
high-quality fruit and top-quality wines w hich reflect their distinctive Kentish Downs location, with a
long-term plan to build their own winery. From their initial dream to establish their own distillery
in the Chatham area, the Russells renovated Pumphouse
5 to cr eate a stunning distiller y with thr ee stills, all
designed in-house and locally crafted: ‘Janet’, the Gin
still; a column still called ‘J oyce’; and the whisky still,
‘Sandy’ – all named after the boys’ grandparents. These
stills are used to produce their award-winning range,
crafted in small ba tches of 900 bottles , which now
extends beyond their r enowned Dockyard Gin fir st
distilled in 2016, to include their V ela Vodka, which
achieved Double-Gold at the San Francisco World Spirit
Awards, and a cask-finished grain spirit, Son of a Gun.
Joining the range in 2020, as soon as they have matured
in the bar rel, will be the Malthouse Whiskies .
www.charthamvineyard.co.uk www.copperrivetdistillery.com
From those initial vines, which were machine planted in just one da y, through two years of dedicated
cultivation, and an additional planting of Pinot Noir vines in 2014, the family yielded their first 1/2 tonne
harvest in 2015. 2016 saw that rise to nearly 8 tonnes of grapes and a Bronze Award for the first Dovecote
White 2015 vintage. In 2017, it jumped to 11 tonnes and saw the opening of the wine store and shop at
Burnt House Farm in time for their second vintage of over 4,000 bottles of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and
Bacchus. Last year saw the launch of their first sparkling white wine, a newly renovated cow barn opening
as a tasting room and gallery, and a collective effort from family and friends to harvest 23 tonnes of grapes!
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Located on the banks of the River Medway in Chatham’s
Historic Dockyard, Copper Rivet Distillery, set up by
Bob Russell and his sons Ma tthew and Stephen, and
named after a copper rivet found in the building, is one
of only six UK distilleries to control the whole distribution
process from grain to glass.