VINE TO WINE: JULY

Welcome to the Vine to Wine Series.

In this series, Alice sits down with winemaker Gavin Patterson monthly, to talk about what is happening in the Vineyard and Winery.

This month: July

THE VINEYARD:

July is the month within the vineyard seasonal cycle which is most important. It is the month in which all the preparation of the vine canopy comes into its own, where the vines begin to bloom and flower. Flowering normally coincides with Wimbledon, however this July, flowers started blooming before the tennis had even started, indicating chances of an early harvest.

With record breaking temperatures in May and June, July was set to have favourable weather, however, during the month the main characteristics within the vineyard was extensive thunderstorms, which Gavin says ‘has not effected the vineyard, however conditions like this do normally create diseases, but the preparation of the vine canopy has mitigated problems and instead has promoted healthy growth’.  Gavin goes on to say that the main focus for July and August is maintaining the open canopy and optimising the quality of grapes, preventing any further risks to the vines by damage caused by pests and diseases.

THE WINERY:

This month, Gavin is joined by the production team in the winery for all hands on deck. Almost every week, the team were disgorging the 2021 vintages. The 2022 Evolution vintage has now been through triage and is set to be maturing for the next 4 months and will be disgorged in November.  Gavin has said that he has also included a run of Magnum Bottles of the 2022 Evolution which will most likely be available to purchase in September 2024.

Gavin went onto say that the preparation and blending of the 2022 Isadora and LXX has been completed and those bottles are going through the tirage process which starts at the end of the month.

Stay tuned for next month; August!