ALBURY ORGANIC VINEYARD is located in the Surrey Hills, England.

Founder Owner: Nick Wenman says “I’ve been a wine lover since my late teens and always dreamt of owning my own vineyard. I took the Higher Certificate of Wines and Spirits when I was only 20. I had a successful career in IT (selling computer software to local government), which I retired from in 2006 at the age of 50, allowing me to fulfil my dream. I met master of wine, Stephen Skelton MW, in 2007. He convinced me that it was possible to produce great wines in England on a commercially viable basis. We found a perfect site near to my home in Albury and the vineyard was planted in 2009 and 2010. There are 21,000 vines on five hectares of land, which are predominantly the Champagne varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.”

Terroir: The site is on the southern slopes of the North Downs just outside Guildford on the A25 towards Dorking in an area of outstanding natural beauty, on terrain very similar to the Champagne area in France (30-40mm of clay over chalk). South south-west facing. Elevation is 90-110 metres. The land was previously used for cereal crops. An alder windbreak has been planted to provide shelter from the south west wind.

White wines

Serval Blanc: 2013 Stressed vines.: 2014 Low yield due to the stressful 2013 vintage.

Pink wines

Silent Pool  Rosé: Silent Pool is a lake of crystal clear water adjacent to the vineyard. Natural filtration leaves the water completely clear with a lovely blue-green colour. According to local legend a beautiful young maiden drowned there, escaping the clutches of King John, and now haunts the Silent Pool.  2011 This was the first wine Albury produced. A still Rosé wine made from hand picked organic Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Used a Pied de Cuve (grapes crushed by Alex Valsecchi’s feet!). Just under 11% alcohol. “It will be really interesting to taste the difference between our Organic Silent Pool Rosé and our Biodynamic Silent Pool Rosé (no added yeast or sulphur),” says Nick.

Spirits

Attilas Bite|: Named after (vineyard manager) Alex Valsecchi’s dog. Eu de vie de vin. Distilled spirit. 40%. From estate-grown Seyval Blanc.

Contact

Albury Organic Vineyard

Weston Lodge, The Street, Albury,

Guildford, GU5 9AE

England

Tel+44 (0)1483.229159

Website: www.alburyvineyard.com