Our vineyards, overlooking Wateringbury, are perfectly positioned on the Greensand Ridge. They benefit from the ideal viticultural growing conditions bestowed by the site’s aspect, elevation, climate and well-drained, rocky soil. With the fantastic starting point afforded to us by our favourable location, we supplement this with dedicated, high quality vineyard care to ensure a well-maintained canopy throughout the year and sustainable high-quality fruit production.
First planted in 2016, we grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Historically, these three are known as the principal grapes grown in Champagne; but they have proven a fabulous match for the climate and growing conditions here in Kent to make exceptional English Sparkling Wine. With the goal of excellence in mind, careful consideration went into selecting a variety of clones on the most balanced rootstocks that each carries its own character and individuality into the wines. This creates complexity, interest and diversity in the glass. Our Mereworth Wines are solely made from the grapes we grow and harvest from our own vineyard, which allows us to ensure that only the highest quality grapes, at the perfect point of maturity, make the cut.
The art of winemaking, with all its subtle nuances and challenges, is the blood that makes our heart beat and drives everything we do. We ardently believe that wine grown and produced in England, and particularly from our own vineyard and winery, has all the qualities to make it the best in the world. Proud of our heritage and our roots in Kent, we are determined to continually raise the bar in English winemaking.
Using regular soil and leaf analysis, weather forecasting and importantly spending time amongst the vines, we have adopted a method of precision viticulture in which we make highly specific and tailored decisions built around the individuality of each growing season, to reduce our footprint in the vineyard and impact on the environment. During the growing season, pruning, shoot selection, trellis management and tucking are all done by hand and vary year-to-year, adapting to the uniqueness of each growing season.
Ever seeking to embrace innovative new technology and redefine convention for continual improvement, Mereworth Wines have adopted machine harvesting at the vineyard since 2021. This option allows us to choose the optimum time for picking, when the grapes are at perfect maturity, and complete the harvest quickly and efficiently. With our winery just down the road, we receive cool, freshly picked grapes with their quality preserved, which can then be pressed immediately, yielding the highest calibre of wine.
“In the pursuit of complex, food-pairing wines, for us machine harvesting favours the gentle extraction of skin-bound aromatics and textural phenolics which are not to be shied away from but rather to be harmoniously encouraged” – Head winemaker, Scott Gebbie.
The proof is in the tasting, and the quality of our wines is always our highest priority. Our year-round care and attention in the vineyard, our choice of grapes, and our method of harvesting are just some of a great number of factors we consider in order to produce the very best of ‘Mereworth’ in each bottle.
