Guy the Grape

If you want  more up to date news about the vineyard and progress then have a look at my other blog -

http://guythegrape.blogspot.com/

Holiday Cottage

After a year or so we have finally completed our barn conversion which has spectacular views over the vineyard as well as the levels to Exmoor, Blackdown Hills, and The Quantocks. It was probably built in the eighteenth century for animals on the ground floor and storage for apples on the first floor. We tried to retain as much of the character as possible although it was in a pretty poor state of repair. There are two double bedrooms on the ground floor and a large lving area, kitchen and bathroom up stairs. The reverse arrangement is to take advantage of the views.

 If you want any more information call us on  01458 259075.

Summer 2009

So much of this year has been spent trying to keep the vines in check - they are obviously very happy in their new home. It is sometimes difficult to know how well they are doing but having visited a couple of other sites there can be little doubt that we will be producing some healthy fruit next year as long as the weather stays good. We have a few bunches this year and we'll keep some of the riper ones as an experiment to see what sort of problems we may encounter. They are just starting veraison ( changing colour and accumulating sugar) and we may be make a few litres of wine from them- strictly for our own consumption.

Contact Us

Our first bunch of grapes.


As we go around and about the area lots of people seem interested in what we are doing. If you have any questions or would like to have a quick look around then why not leave us a message on laura@higherplot.co.uk

All about the Vineyard.

Just like the Vineyard, this site is under construction.

In May 2008 we planted 2700 Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines which we will make into sparkling wine. Our first real harvest will be in 2010 and the first wines should be ready a year and a half later.

This year we hope to put up our trellising and also to plant 500 more vines to fill in a small gap at the side of the field. We are going for more Pinot Meunier and a tiny amount of Bachus to make a little still wine.

Why Aller Hill? - most importantly it is south facing so that you get the maximum benefit of the sun late in the summer. It is also Calcerous Clay on a Limestone base which happens to be the same as the best white wine producing parts of burgundy. Lots of people speculate about minerals in soils affecting wine taste and quality - what the French call Terroir. I think that the most important thing is actually how the soil drains as this affects whether the vines produce wood or grapes. What we are trying to do is to keep the soil as alive as possible by keeping herbicide use to a minimum and encouraging diversity by planting a range of grasses similar to those that we have on the rest of the land. Rainfall also seems relatively light here which is important so that the grapes aren't diluted at harvest time. We are taking measurements and it will be interesting to see whether this is true.

A Complete Vineyard in a box.