I had the pleasure of meeting Emma Rice, Head Winemaker at Hattingley Valley and Chair of the Winemaking Society for WineGB, at Hattingley Valley Vineyard in Hampshire recently. Simon Robinson, also Chairman of WineGB, is the proud owner of this ‘quintessentially English’ winery. The vineyard itself is situated on chalky, south-facing slopes 160m above sea level, and the first plantings were in 2008 with the first vintage bottled in 2010 and released in 2013. Simon knew he wanted to create a market leading business and brought in Emma in 2008 to expertly guide the design and build of the now 500 tonne eco-friendly winery. There are approximately 770 vineyards now in Great Britain and 165 wineries that actually create the wine, including Hattingley (source: WineGB 2020 industry report)
Emma recognised early on that the altitude and exposure of the Hattingley site would mean low yields. They have 9 hectares planted there but one of Emma’s key roles is to source grapes from a number of sites across the UK, which provides diversification benefits to protect against the English weather conditions. Emma buys grapes from all over the country where she contracts with grape growers, usually for a minimum of 10 years, to carefully curate the grapes she needs each year. She highlighted that ‘site selection is essential in Britain, we’re still so on the margin of having the right climate for grapes to ripen’. To find out more about their vineyard partners click here.
The winery they have built is a seriously impressive thing to behold – huge warehouses containing enormous sparkling stainless steel fermentation tanks, apparently they have over 100 tanks of various sizes on site, along with the latest pressing technology shipped in from Europe to turn the grapes from bunch to bottle. They have also built the winery with the latest eco technology including solar panels, a biodigester for the waste and they utilise lightweight bottles – they hope to expand their eco elements in the future too as technology improves. Hattingley offer a winery tour and tasting which includes an in-depth guided tour of the winery and the sparkling-wine making process and of course the tasting of their current range and/ or you can also choose the vineyard tour to include a trip by minibus to the nearby vineyards. All information on tours and tastings can be found on their website here.
Hattingley has been recognised for its innovative and dynamic approach to winemaking by winning over 100 medals, 13 trophies and three Best in Class for their English sparkling wines. Emma’s style certainly comes through in the wines, with a few ‘happy accidents’ along the way too creating some delicious results.
Their current ranges include:
- Sparkling:
- Classic reserve – a non-vintage blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier made using the traditional method. Around 60 – 150,000 bottles made per year.
- Rose – only made using Pinot’s and is one of their most popular and was certainly my favourite. They make around 25,000 bottles per year.
- Blanc de Blancs – a blend of their finest Chardonnay grapes, they are currently selling the 2014 vintage but this has great ageing potential
- Kings Cuvee – very limited release, this is their selection of the very best barrels.
- Still:
- Still Pinot Noir – only made in exceptional years as ripening Pinot Noir to make quality red wine in the UK isn’t easy!
- Still Rose – they made only 5,000 bottles in 2020 but expect this to be an area of growth
- Still White – a Chardonnay that is made in a Chablis style…fresh and crisp, delicious
- Other:
- Entice Dessert Wine – made from Bacchus, a German grape that suits the English climate
- The English Gent – a blend of Bacchus and Pinot Gris (white wine)
- The English Lady – a sparkling Pinot Noir aka a sparkling red wine yet it’s light and delicate with fresh red fruit flavours. A very limited edition!
I love the Hattingley brand…‘unapologetically British’ and their commercial director Gareth Maxwell has done an incredible job promoting Hattingley worldwide. Hattingley now exports a third of its wine around the globe to 16 countries including the US, Norway, Australia and Japan. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for it if I ever get over to Aus!
They are also keeping it British with their partnerships: they are the English sparkling served by British Airways in their first class and club flights and lounges as well as being the official sparkling for TeamGB at this summer’s Olympics…let’s hope the athletes come home with as many medals as Hattingley!
Hattingley Valley makes delicious award winning English sparkling and still wines and if you want to see a seriously impressive winery this is the place to be…
