Conversations with Land

Vibrational quivers of spring begin to emanate from the land.

Snowdrops, milky white.

Crocuses, violet, saffron, pearl blue.

Daffodils contemplate awakening from their winter repose.

Avian flights anew. Cormorants, kites, buzzards.

Nature murmurs discreetly at this time of year, and what a delight it is. These harbingers delicately and quietly inform us of changes afoot.

Daylight hours become noticeably longer, if only by the minute.

Apertures of light periodically puncture clouded skies.

Wildlife curiously peeks over the parapet of winter, to vistas both familiar and afresh.

Vines, however, still slumber and for a little longer yet.

Pruning

Mornings have been crisp on the farm, the mercury tickling -7*C on consecutive days in February. The cold snap lasted 10 days and at those temperatures the vines will have enjoyed a well-earned period of dormancy.

Pruning is well underway, aided by occasional crystal-clear blue skies overhead. Daytime temperatures have fleetingly reached 16*C, thawing out some grateful hands, as the sound of pruning secateurs cuts the air. Bees have also taken their first exploratory flights from our vineyard hives that overlook our premium Broady South Pinot Noir.

It’s a wonderful part of the season, as we architecturally help guide the vines on their journey ahead. Pruning decisions are made with utmost respect to sapflow in the vine and next year’s positioning paramount.

Our 40-hectare Pinglestone vineyard, comprising 20 individual blocks, is planted on a 360° compass.

We started pruning on the Plateau, the highest part of the vineyard, with vantage points over Alresford and the beautiful, rolling South Downs. Casting your gaze out during these nascent phases of the year, puddles of pillowy fog nestle into furrows on the landscape yonder.

The 3 blocks on the Plateau run East-West in orientation. Soil sits a little heavier here, a clay cap running across the top of the vineyard, felt by the weight of boots becoming more laden as the day draws on.

Fork Road, at the eastern point of the estate, is home to Chardonnay on a SE aspect, and brings a significant shift in profile; the chalk bedrock sitting contently at a mere shovel head’s depth. Soil, almost mottled ashen in colour due to fragmented flint, sings at a different octave here. Single Guyot, one fruiting cane and spurs for next year, is the vine pruning architecture of choice in the formative years of development in this block.

Badger Point, a more recent, West-facing, planting of Meunier, will largely be trained on the wire this year, its first crop expected come harvesttime. Feeling the afternoon sun in this block, even at this time of year, adds more pixelation to the imagery of how this site may showcase itself when in full production.

Broady North, our 2021, North-facing, planting of Pinot Noir Précoce, is to be taken back to 2 buds. Not forcing young vines too early can help in their establishment and longevity. Patience is a virtue, after all, and no teacher better than nature; the antidotal sobriety in a world inebriated by immediacy.

With daylight lengthening and Spring unfurling, we hope to have all blocks pruned in the coming weeks.

New Perspectives

Four seasons are what we’re used to: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, yet they seem far too broad a brush stroke for the nuances of nature’s year.

The Ancient Japanese calendar, as presented in Lev Parikian’s enchanting book Light Rains Sometimes Fall, offers an alternative perspective, looking at the year through the lens of 72 micro-seasons, roughly 5 days each. Each of these is fondly given a haiku-like name: ‘crocuses emerge from damp soil’, ‘butterflies bask in heat’, ‘conkers begin to fall’, evocative micro-seasons rooted in the rhythm of land, reflecting the visceral and incremental changes; a doffing of the hat to the sanctity and subtleties of each moment.

Whilst nature dances to its own tune, untrammelled by our perception of time, this approach does encourage us to become more aware, attuned, and attentive to the land around us. To be present and perceptive.

And so, we ask, what conversation is land having with you at this time, wherever you find yourself?

Dialling into the play of nature, the idiosyncrasies of blocks and micro-pockets of soil is the underpinning intrigue of this project. Affectionate curiosity, the driver of all areas of exploration; our Louis Pommery sparkling wines strive to embody these nuances.

Nature’s Lawnmower

Sheep are currently grazing in the vineyard, as we look to continue the integration of livestock into our farming practices. As nature’s lawnmower they do a fantastic job of keeping the mid-rows and under-vine in check over winter and help us reduce the number of tractor passes at these early stages. An “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine” with nature, if you will. Not too dextrous though sheep, mind.

The gift from sheep, however, comes in a different form. As a ruminant animal, sheep have one stomach with 4 compartments, and digestion is predominantly a microbial fermentation in their gut. Their manure teems with microbial diversity, enriching soil networks below ground.

Grasses, or plants for that matter, grazed by livestock photosynthesise more and release more root exudates into the rhizosphere, the root zone. These root exudates, ‘liquid carbon’ in essence, are critical mediators in the interaction between plants and soil microbes, positively enhancing these relationships. Add to that the myriad of insects, birds and wildlife that benefit from these exchanges; life and the balance between all living entities is what we seek to embrace.

The sheep continue to be an integral thread to the textured tapestry of ecology, adding another important trophic level to the system.

Not a single herbicide or synthetic fertiliser has ever been used under our stewardship of land and the vitality of the soil is testament to that ethos. A focus on input and intention, rather than outcome and output.

Purpose

The aim since planting five years ago has been to balance our vines with the existing natural habitat, to encourage insect, bird and invertebrate life with trees, native grass and wildflower margins spread across the vineyards; an interconnected agroecological web. We believe that this approach serves as a more holistic way to engender a symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

To work in agriculture is a privilege and with that comes responsibility.

That is to leave the environment that we have the great fortune to encounter in a richer and more wholesome state through our interaction, to give more than we take, to help reveal untapped potential, and to leave an indelible etching of increase.

To be custodians of this land, in this community, is an enormous privilege. We take immense pride in doing so.

Our commitment is to farm through respect, humility, integrity, service, and love.

We extend a heartfelt invitation to share in that adventure of exploration with us and to come and feel that energetic vibrancy yourselves.

We look forward to having you on that journey and may these ‘Field Notes’ serve as a portal into our little pocket of paradise in Hampshire.

Stay curious.

Go well.