A little over three years ago, I tried my first ever English Sparkling Wine. It was a 2004 Nyetimber Classic Cuvée and, that very day, this former Champagne drinker was converted to our own homegrown fizz. Little did I know at the time that the wine was made by an outspoken Irishman named Dermot Sugrue. It wasn’t until last year that I first met Dermot, and discovered that, not only does he now reside at the more recently established Wiston Estate, but his wonderful Wiston Estate Vintage Rosé 2011 had a similarly perception-changing effect on me (I’ve never been a fan of pink fizz). Dermot is perhaps the most prolific winemaker in the country, producing all of the Wiston wines, his own premium label Sugrue Pierre ‘The Trouble with Dreams’, and also acting as a contract winemaker for vineyards across the country, including Jenkyn Place and English Oak, who we have written about previously.
So what about the Wiston Estate itself? Covering some 6,000 acres of land, the estate has been owned by the Goring family since 1793. The estate has its history firmly rooted in cattle, sheep and arable crops, but it wasn’t until 2006 that Dermot joined Wiston, when the first vines were planted. Wiston now has 16 acres of land under vine, and the focus is (not surprisingly considering Dermot’s background) on the sparkling grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, growing in the chalk-rich Sussex dry river valley countryside. Dermot explains that as soon as the vineyard was planted, the focus quickly shifted onto finding the right location for a winery. With its diverse farming empire, there was a wealth of buildings scattered across the estate's immense portfolio of land. A methodical study ensued.
Eventually a former poultry abattoir was discovered and selected. It doesn't sound like the most glamorous location for what was to become one of the most significant wineries in the country, but walking around it’s clear to see why Dermot was convinced it was the only choice. Set over two floors with masses of working space, the segregated insulated storage (formerly used for blast-freezing chicken) formed perfect spaces for wine storage and cellaring. On the first floor of the winery proudly sits a Coquard press – a traditional French basket press that is a common sight in Champagne. Based on a 250-year-old design, it is famed for its slow and gentle pressing, taking between three and four hours for juice extraction. The press is one of only four outside of France, and the only in England. During harvest, the grapes are brought into the upper floor for pressing, before the juice drains down vertically into storage vats located on the ground floor. This natural gravity flow extraction removes the need for pumps, as pumping with mechanical force can damage or bruise the juice.
On the ground floor is a room surrounded by segregated extra wide stainless steel fermentation tanks, the next stop for the extracted juice. An adaptable and expandable winery was part of the agenda from day one. With what Dermot describes as the ‘Nyetimber effect’ in full swing in the early-to-mid 00s, hundreds of acres of land were being planted across England with traditional sparkling wine grape verities. There were, however, fewer producers building their own wineries, prompting Dermot and the Wiston team to invest in facilities that would not only provide future-proof capacity for their own wines, but allow for a business heavily focussed on contract winemaking.
Annual production is now split approximately between 25% Wiston wines and 75% clients wines, though each year the actual production can vary drastically thanks to the changeable and unpredictable English weather. In the last five years, the harvest between Wiston and their clients has been anything from 11 tonnes of grapes in the disastrous 2012 season, to a massive 324 tonnes in the high yielding 2014. This level of adaptability has been a huge part in the success of Wiston and Dermot, and has prompted further investment into fermentation tanks and a six-tonne Bucher press in 2015. Walking further into the winery, we discover Dermot’s love for oak – with an impressive array of old Burgundy and Bordeaux oak barrels and barriques.
It was truly a delight to spend time with Dermot and see where all of the magic happens. It was even more delightful to then be walked through a thorough tasting of the complete range of Wiston (& Sugrue Pierre) wines, as well as a preview of the few unreleased vintages including the Vintage Rosé 2014 (which can now be ordered directly from the Wiston website here). The tasting was so thorough that I've focussed on my favourite picks of the evening: namely the vintage wines which included a fascinating comparison of the Brut Cuvée 2009, 2010 and 2013.
A huge thanks goes to Dermot for organising this tour and tasting. All of the current Wiston Estate wines can be ordered from the Wiston Estate Winery website.
