Description

The first experiments with vine growing at Hazel End Farm began after the long hot summer of 1976 when English wines were in their infancy. After trying and rejecting two other sites on the farm, the vineyard was established in its present location in the early 1990s and the 1996 harvest of nearly 2 tonnes provided the first commercial vintage.

The vineyard extends to just under 3 acres and is 73m above sea level. The soil is a flinty silt with good drainage. A grove of Italian alders and a beech hedge have been planted to provide protection from the prevailing west wind. All the vines are planted at 2.44m x 1.22m and are trained on the Double Guyot system.

The vineyard does not have its own winery and the grapes are taken immediately after picking to English Wines Group in Tenterden, the largest winery in the UK, which includes Chapeldown and Lamberhurst among its labels.