insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 19 - September 2016 | Page 44

FOOD+DRINK
BOTTOMS UP! The incredible rise of Sussex wine cont.

SUSSEX VINEYARD SPOTLIGHT
We spoke to three successful Sussex vineyards to find out a bit more about
them and why they think Sussex has risen to the fore as a hotbed of wine
production.

Bluebell Vineyard Estates, Uckfield

Breaky Bottom Vineyards, Lewes
© Axel Hesslenberg

Bolney Wine Estate, Bolney

Bluebell Vineyard Estates, Uckfield
www.bluebellvineyard.org

Bolney Wine Estate, Bolney
www.bolneywineestate.com

Breaky Bottom Vineyards, Lewes
www.breakybottom.co.uk

Bluebell Vineyard Estates is a family-run estate
spread across East and West Sussex. Home to
the award-winning range of Hindleap sparkling
wines, the estate specialises in the production
of English sparkling wines using the classic
Champagne grape varieties Chardonnay, Pinot
Noir and Pinot Meunier, as well as Seyval
Blanc. Since establishment in 2005, the estate
has grown from 15 to 70 acres under vine.

The Bolney Wine Estate is one of the longest
established English vineyards and has been
making award-winning English wines at its
Sussex estate near Haywards Heath since
1972.

Breaky Bottom sits in a beautiful secluded fold
in the chalk downs. Wonderfully remote, and
with free-draining chalk soils matching those
found in France’s Champagne region, it is an
ideal site for the production of stylish fizz and
the wine is made in a fine flint-built, Sussex
Barn da ted 1827.

“When we first started planting at Bluebell
Vineyard Estates in 2005, the industry was
already fairly well established, but in the last
decade we have seen production and interest
sky rocket,” says Kevin Sutherland, winemaker
at Bluebell Vineyard Estates. “Land planted
under vine in the UK has doubled in the last
seven years, quality continues to improve and
sales are buoyant; it’s the most exciting time
for English wine that I can remember in over 20
years of working in the industry.”
“Conditions are improving too; warmer
temperatures and sunny autumns enable
longer hang time for the fruit on the vine,
allowing riper fruit flavours and aromas to
develop in the berries before harvest. This
results in typically fruit-forward sparkling wines
with a lively, refreshing acidity that marks
English wines apart from other wine producing
regions.”

The sandstone soils at the Bolney estate are
some of the best in the country, providing
the ideal setting to grow vines, and Bolney
produce a selection of white, red and sparkling
wines, which have won some of the wine
industry’s most coveted awards. The sparkling
wine is produced following the same traditional
method as is used to produce Champagne,
providing luxurious wines packed with flavour.
The award-winning, 39-acre, family-owned
vineyard aims to produce top quality red, white
and sparkling English wines. From the vineyard
to the winery, all Bolney wines are handmade
with care by a passionate team who help
maintain the highest level of grape and wine
quality. Two of Bolney’s most popular wines
include Blanc de Blancs 2010, and Bolney
Bubbly. Blanc de Blancs is a smooth English
sparkling Chardonnay with floral notes and
a fruity character, and Bolney Bubbly is a
light and refreshing vintage sparkling wine
that’s very easy to drink and has a charming
elderflower creaminess.

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Peter Hall planted the vineyard in 1974 making
still, dry Loire-style wines. He started producing
‘Méthode Champenoise’ sparkling wines over
20 years ago with his original Seyval Blanc, and
more recently, the classic Champagne varieties
of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier
have also been planted.
Breaky Bottom is regularly chosen to serve
at government functions, and the Lancaster
House cellars recently selected the Seyval
Blanc 2010 ‘Cuvée Koizumi Yakumo’ - a
gold medal winner in the 2014 International
Wine Challenge - to serve during the Queen’s
birthday celebrations.
British wine writer, Oz Clarke, has said of the
vineyards: “There’s no more beautiful vineyard
in Britain than Breaky Bottom; the wine I’m
fondest of and feel emotionally closest to
is Breaky Bottom. It’s a lovely, maverick,
emotional, romantic, joyous, individual original;
just a one-off”.