Bride Valley Vineyards: Steven Spurrier's British Sparkling Wine Project

In an earlier post, I wrote about the rise of the British sparkling wine industry and the “Judgement-of-Paris" moment experienced by Nytimber Vineyards when it won first place at the World Sparkling Wine competition over such luminaries as Bollinger, Louis Roederer, and Pommery.  A Wall Street Journal article of May 11, 2010, further highlighted this trend.  Another strong indicator that the British bubbly phenomenon might have legs is the fact that noted Bordeaux wine expert Steven Spurrier has jumped into the production end of the market with a venture called Bride Valley Vineyards.  I spoke to Steven about this initiative during a luncheon at Decanter HQ in the UK and this post relates the crux of that conversation, as well as follow-up communications.

Bride Valley Vineyards is a 75-hectare, bowl-shaped farm located in South Dorset, approximately 40 minutes from Kimmeridge, the village which gives its name to the geologic time period when the chalk soils stretching from Chablis to the south of England was laid down.  There is a lot of chalk on the lower slopes of the vineyard and while research has shown that 22 hectares are viable for vine growing, the estate has decided to concentrate on 10 of those 22 hectares for its wine production.  The vigneron of record for the vineyard is Arabella Spurrier, Steve’s wife. She is assisted by wine consultant Ian Edwards, co-owner and winemaker at nearby Furleigh Estates, a regional sparkling- (primarily) and still-wine producer.

Vines for the plantings were acquired from Papinieres Guillaume, supplier to such formidable names as Bollinger, Roederer, and Pol Roger.  A total of 12,500 vines were planted in 2009 at a density of 4100 vines/acre.  Special care was made to ensure that clones and rootstocks were matched with individually suited parcels.  A total of 1200 vines have been planted so far in 2010 and an additional 6000 will be planted in 2011.  At the completion of the planting program in 2011, five of the ten targeted hectares will be under vine and the distribution will be 50% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Meunier, and 22% Pinot Noir.

Bride Valley Vineyards will produce two wines: a cuvee (consisting of 40% Chardonnay and the remainder a mix of the two Pinot varietals) and a vintage blanc de blanc.  The grapes will be vinified at Furleigh Estates and it is expected that the first vintage will be in 2011.

The British are Coming! The British are Coming!

Only this time it is the French who are running through the streets in sack cloth and ashes and pulling the hair out of their collective heads.  French vintners have been complaining for a while of the potential impact of global warming on its wine industry and, conversely, its potentially beneficial impact on the fledgling British wine industry.  According to an article in komonews.com, a French wine growers association, Vigneron Independant, blamed climate change for speeding up harvests in Burgundy, altering the taste of Alsatian wines, and disrupting the hydration pattern of grapes grown along the Mediterranean coast.  Further, according to Michael Issaly, president of the organization, if temperatures continue to rise over the long term, Pinot Noir could disappear from large swaths of Burgundy while grape-growing regions will move further north.

The worst fears of French wine growers were realized earlier this week when the 2003 Nyetimber Classic Cuvee, a British sparkling wine (anybody but the British), won first place at the World Sparkling Wine Championships in Verona, Italy.  Not only did the 25 pound sterling wine win the competition.  It won against the likes of Louis Roederer, Bollinger, Pommery, Gosset, Joseph Perrier, and Devaux.

The Nyetimber vineyard was established by Stuart and Sandy Moss, Chicagoans who, after completing the requiste research, realized that the soils and climate in Champagne and in the south of England were similar.  They realized that the chalk seam which is found in Champagne runs below the English Channel before emerging in Sussex and Hampshire on the English side.  With this information on the soil and temperature similarity, and knowing that the primary Chapagne varietals thrive in that environment, the Moss' thought that they could craft a world-class sparkling wine.

As a first step towards that goal, the Moss' bought 120 acres of land comprised of free-draining green sand over chalk with some areas of pure chalk.  They chose to plant only the classic Champagne varietals (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) and to use equipment sourced from Champagne.  The estate chose to produce two vintage products: a classic cuvee (85% Chardonnay with the remainder Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and a blanc de blanc.  The first vintage was produced in 1992.

The Moss' sold the estate to Andy Hill, Celine Dion's songwriter and he, with the help of head winemaker Cherie Spriggs and Vineyard Manager Paul Woodrow-Hall, has continued to produce fine wines.

Unfortunately for the French, this is probably only the opening salvo in a long-running war.  According to SpiegelOnline, "The concept of English wine was once as absurd as German bananas.  But England's summers have been warmer and drier from year to year."  Even though the number of vineyards in England fell from 416 to 381 (2008 to 2009), and number of wineries fell from 116 to 109 in the same period, the total vineyard hectares increased by 10% year over year and hectares in production increased by 20%.  While red table wine production remained stable year over year, white wine production almost tripled.  So the British will have many more opportunities to play the role it has played all through history -- French nemesis.