Greyfriars Vineyard in Surrey has some of the oldest chardonnay vines in the UK.  Their sparkling wines are outstanding and suberb value. Here’s their story.

Greyfriars’ two vineyards are located on the south facing slopes of the North Downs, also known as the Hog’s Back. This long chalk ridge has long been woven into the tapestry of our lives. It’s height above the forests below made it a natural pathway for pilgrims and traders way back in the Middle Ages. In latter centuries it was a route for Londoner’s escaping to the country and was popular with the Jane Austin set. Many of you will know it now as a busy and important commuter route.

Yet there’s much more to this ridge than road. Today, it’s fast gaining a reputation for being prime land to produce English Sparkling Wine. And that’s because the chalk seam that runs along this ridge is great for the grapes used to make Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The soft, porous nature of the soil makes it free draining which is very important in a wet country like ours. This is because vine roots like to dig deep and they don’t like to be water-logged.

But it takes more than chalk to make a great vineyard. At Greyfriars the vines are planted on south facing slopes and catch the sun throughout the day. This means the sun can dry out any morning dampness and heat up the soil in the afternoon. This is particularly important in our cool climate wine making region. The slope angles at Greyfriars mean they receive 10-15% more solar energy per square metre than a flat level vineyard. This extra percentage makes all the difference.