PLANTING THE VINES
Our vines have been in the ground for nearly a year! Much has happened in that year and we are looking forward to another busy year this year, even though we do not expect our first proper harvest until next year, 2024.
Planting in May 2023 went smoothly, with only a few losses due to the new vines not taking. All the different varieties (chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier) budded successfully and a few even produced a few mini-grapes. They are protected by tubes, to try to ward off the deer, badgers and pheasants that like to eat the leaves – this generally has worked well, but the days of excessive heat last June cause a few vines to burn up inside their tubes and these will be replaced this year.
During the summer months the long work of trellising began, banging the 170 rows of poles into the flinty ground and then stringing wire along the rows, which will eventually help with the training and the harvesting of the vines. This work was carried out by a skilled team of Rumanians over the summer months.
Next came the deer fencing (necessary because of some regular visitors!). This is nearly complete but work has been halted while we wait to clear some diseased ash trees from the wood that separates Dean village from the vineyard. We have had two goes at doing this thwarted by wet weather. We have to coordinate the work with S&SE, since the trees are close to the electricity poles that supply Dean and The Deane House. Next opportunity will be in the summer this year.
The vineyard requires constant weeding from May to September and we managed to finish this back-breaking job in about three months, only to find the weeds re-growing at the other end of the vineyard! We hope to organise a weeding day later this year so that everyone in the village can help with – and learn about the vineyard at the same time!
Meanwhile, we keep our fingers crossed that April and May will not bring unseasonable frost – this year’s bud-burst has gone well and we hope to have something to show for all our labours as the summer progresses, even though this year’s grapes will not be mature enough to process.
We are beginning to investigate where we might get our wine made. We have settled on the vineyard branding as Woodman Wines (after Woodman Lane) and we are excited to learn that other Sparsholt vineyards are being planted!
Meanwhile our two longer term projects remain the planning for a pool to provide a water system that can act as a frost protection mechanism – and early plans for a tasting room, so that we can welcome all to come and sample our wine in comfort. We look forward to welcoming you. If anyone wants to visit us and/or learn more, please feel free to get in touch with Chrissie Morse. chrissiemorse7@gmail.com 07774 863004
WOODMAN WEED 2023 15th July
30 intrepid volunteers joined our inaugural Woodman Weed……. As a result, we managed to get 50% of the vineyard (80 rows out of 160) weeded by hand, with no chemicals or mechanical intervention involved. A tremendous result!
Many thanks to all who came - guests, friends, family and staff all contributed marvellously, resulting in a great “team effort” atmosphere. Even the grandchildren were seen out in their toy tractor……
The weather forecast was not propitious but we dodged two heavy showers and were otherwise treated to some decent conditions. The soil was moist from heavy overnight rain, making for relatively easy weeding. The bindweed remained a formidable opponent, but everything else pulled out without too much effort.
Every vine is in a tube, so weeding means lifting the tube, clearing out any weeds and replacing the tube – since we have 14,600 vines, this is a lot of squatting and lifting……. better than a workout!
Our weeders arrived from 9am, and weeded until 1pm, whereupon we all retreated to the house for some well-deserved lunch – enjoyed by all!
Please follow the website for details of next year’s Woodman Weed – and other exciting events coming soon!
