Who are we?
A small family, trying to juggle regular (ish) jobs and run a vineyard. Sophie is a manager for a charity, Ryan is an ex-Formula 1 engineer turned academic. Neither of these jobs has anything to do with wine. Since taking over the running of the vineyard everyday (as they say) has been a school day. We like to think we know what we are doing now. Sort of. The wine is tasty anyway (and did we mention award winning?).
Wait, you make wine in England?
A question we, thankfully, get asked less these days. Yes! And its good. Don’t just take our word for it - Taittinger have even started producing sparkling wine here. We currently focus on white wines and sparkling styles - typical of English wine, but with the occasional fun twist and unusual variety (we have one of the largest plots of Schonburger left in the world - 1 acre). See the shop for our current stock.
Who drinks it?
We have a bit of history here at Bow in the Cloud. The late Queen Elizabeth II had it, as has King Charles. We have stocked Michelin-starred and other high-end restaurants. We have also supplied celebrity parties (no telling who). You don’t have to be rich or famous to enjoy it - we have a convenient web shop.
How much?!
“But I can get a bottle of wine in the local shop for £3.15!”. Well, yes, you can. Our wine is made in very small quantities, with love, harvested by hand. It is single-vintage and single-vineyard (unless we tell you otherwise). We keep the prices as low as we reasonably can. Prices change from time to time, depending on the number of bottles produced and mysterious (tax) forces beyond our control.
Can I visit?
Yes! The vineyard is beautiful, although we typically only open for tours & tastings from spring - autumn (in winter you would stand in the cold looking at bare sticks). As mentioned, we do this part time, so availability is usually weekends - please check the web-shop for tours & tastings and other sporadic events. If you have any questions or particular requests, please just send us any questions - we welcome all (if we can).
Is your wine good for the planet?
We try. We use highly-sustainable wineries (solar powered, rainwater harvest), moved to lighter bottles sourced closer to home (less transport CO2), simplified our labels (ditched the foiling), and moved to screw-tops where possible. We are at the mercy of the weather, and don’t mitigate for frosts. We grow grapes in harmony with the wildlife - sometimes that means the birds, badgers and deer eat the grapes, but that’s OK. We have to use a small amount of fungicide (to keep our plot of super-rare Schonburger functional). We don’t use pesticides.
English Wine Week - 23 - 31 May 2020 - Tour&Tasting
As part of English Wine Week we’re making a concerted effort to spread the love and flinging open our metaphorical gates for visitors. If needed we can add more visitor days the next weekend. You will need to book a ticket (£10pp) as we’re keeping tour group sizes small. So if you’re thinking that you want to be exploring the vines and tasting wines this May head over to the Tours page where you can grab one of the few tickets.
Get involved - learning and getting hands on
During the year there are certain things to do in the vineyard where many hands can lighten the load. In spring the biggest task is getting vines that have been pruned tied down. It’s enjoyable, easy to learn and gives us a great opportunity to spend time with people. We’re grateful for the help and likewise hope that if the sun shines helpers can really enjoy themselves.
If you are interested in joining us for half a day or a whole day, please drop us a message and we will contact you when we have a new date.
Carnival Open Vineyard Day
Join us for a tour of the vineyard this carnival month! Tours will run every half past the hour between 11 and 3. A ticket price of £5pp to be purchased on arrival (50% ticket takings to be donated to carnival charity). Free for children under 16 but must be accompanied by an adult. Please wear sensible shoes! Event is subject to weather so please keep an eye on Facebook/our website. This is a great occasion to sample all our wines, with the opportunity to buy on the day should you so please.