What a perfect start to the day – after driving for an hour through rain threatening clouds I arrive at a picturesque Bolney Village with bright blue skies appearing and the sun starting to break through. Pulling in to the vineyard, I step out of the car to beautiful and intense sunshine with the thought that summer had arrived! It’s a great time to visit the vineyard, as not only am I once again extremely lucky with the weather, but Bolney had just the day before officially launched their new visitor centre. I meet with Charlotte Linter, daughter of head winemaker Sam Linter at the Bolney Estate. What I was about to discover was a fascinating story about a family business that has gone from strength to strength since it’s founding twenty four years ago.
Charlotte’s grandparents had travelled around the world, and at one point her grandfather had worked a summer job picking grapes for a particularly passionate vineyard owner. Returning to England in the early 70’s, and after experiencing that raw winemaking passion, he decided to try it himself. The site was chosen, originally a chicken farm, and the first few acres of vines were planted in 1972. Of course, in these times the Germanic grape varieties were what people were growing in England. The grapes first grown were Müller-Thurgau, a crossing of Riesling and Madeleine Royale that became popular in Germany in the 70’s thanks to its high yields and early ripening properties. The Müller-Thurgau went on to allow Bolney (then named Bookers Vineyard) to win their first Silver Medal in 1983 for a Still White Wine.
Our tour first takes us through Foxhole vineyard, home to Bolney’s Bacchus and Pinot Noir vines, which are used to make the vineyard’s flagship single vineyard single varietal wines that carry the vineyard’s name. On this spectacular day the vines are looking full of life – this burst of hot weather is exactly what is needed after a few months of troubled weather in England. Back to the timeline, it wasn't until the early 90’s when Sam Linter came on board. A graduate from Plumpton College, Charlotte’s mother joined the family business with an intention “to make great wine, rather than just make wine”.
We finished our tour in the newly revamped visitor centre – elevated on the first floor of a purpose built building. Here you can also find a large shop area and café, with expansive windowed doors that open onto a huge balcony with panoramic views of the vineyard. The sights were stunning, and it was about to even better with a thorough tasting of eleven of Bolney’s current range of wines. Visitors to Bolney can participate in vineyard tours, masterclass tasting sessions, as well as tours with food pairing tastings or afternoon tea. You can, of course, just pop in for a bottle of wine and a delicious freshly prepared lunch in the 18 Acre Café.
As I was visiting with my wife, we also took the opportunity to have a light bite in the Café. I opted for a delicious sounding pastrami, mozzarella and pesto sandwich, which certainly didn’t disappoint. Served on delicious local bread and accompanied with a delicious dressed salad – it’s just the kind of food you want on a warm summers day in the sun with a glass or two of wonderful local wine!
I have to say a big thanks to Charlotte for inviting me for a truly insightful tour. It was an absolute pleasure to walk amongst the vines and hear first hand the journey her family has gone through at Bolney. It’s certainly clear from the wine tasting that all those years of hard work have really paid off.
All of Bolney's wines can be ordered online through The Bolney Estate Website.
Date Visited: Saturday 16th July 2016
Website: bolneywineestate.com
Location: Bolney, West Sussex
