Vineyard News – May 2019 – Hanwell Wine Estate
Hanwell Wine Estate, Nottinghamshire UK

Vineyard News – May 2019

It’s been a very busy Winter into Spring at the Vineyard. Between Hanwell and Eglantine together, there are 12,000 vines to prune. The aim is to complete the pruning and tying down before the buds begin to swell.

Spring was about 3 weeks early this year, the vines sprang into life and then some of the Chardonnay were caught by jack frost. The cold of the frost burns off the primary buds, meaning that the vine becomes less fruitful for the coming season and the fruit will be 2-3 weeks behind in development. The end result of that late development is that the fruit has less time to ripen before harvest in October.

With Vine pruning complete the next task for our team is tying down the vines. This involves winding the canes along the fruiting wire and attaching at the end.  It’s tricky work as the vine buds have now burst and we have delicate shoots to navigate.  We’re pleased to say they are all now done. But the next job is waiting for us … bud rubbing!

Excitingly the flower stems are forming, these will be in bloom but don’t get too excited, the flowers are what we’d call “understated”! They have a tiny white haze of petals and nothing more.

We’re Hiring!

We’re currently recruiting for two new roles at Hanwell – an Assistant Winemaker and a Cellar Hand. We’re looking for people with existing wine making skills, both could be part/full time jobs, it’s the experience that counts! If you or someone you know might be interested in either of these post take a look at the full job descriptions here.