Major European accolade for Pembrokeshire vineyard
14 years ago Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt visited a site in Hebron armed with spades and bucketloads of determination.
This week their hard graft and unflinching belief in their mission has paid off after the Hebron Vineyard has become the very first in Europe to be certified regenerative by A Greener World.
From the outset, their drive was to produce a wine that bore testimony to the fertility and beauty of north Pembrokeshire having previously converted a highly successful vineyard in Spain.
“We both felt that the time was right for us to move back to the UK,” said Paul. “And because Jemma has some family ties to West Wales, we decided to have a look around and see if we could find something that met our criteria.”
Armed with spades and a realm of knowledge appertaining to vineyard cultivation, the couple quickly realised that the land at Hebron was a site made in heaven.
“We must have been the very first people who went to view a property armed only with spades,” laughed Paul.
“But the land is south facing, the soil was extremely fertile, so all we had to do was source a grape that would be able to cope with the humidity and the wet ground.”
Initially the couple did a small scale trial using chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.
“They didn’t ripen well so we replaced them with a hybrid grape that was developed in Germany specifically because of its disease resistance that holds up extremely strongly against algae and mildew that can interrupt the grapes’ development.”
But from the day that the vines were first planted in the Hebron soil, Paul and Jemma have remained committed to nurturing the vines without any chemical intervention.
“It’s well documented and proven that the continued use of chemicals is destroying the soil’s culture, but we just can’t afford to lose this. Everything we eat and drink is the product of our environment.
“We’re very insistent on it being a totally regenerative process as our ultimate aim was always to produce a wine that tastes like Hebron,” said Jemma.
“We don’t want it to taste as if it comes from anywhere else in the world and hand in hand with this, we’re slowly establishing a welsh wine growing region right here in West Wales.”
Hebron Vineyard’s identity is further boosted by the amount of sugar content that they use in their wine production.
“If we wanted a higher alcohol level we’d have to add sugar, but that’s not part of our process,” explained Jemma.
“Wines don’t need a high alcohol content but they do need to reflect where they come from.
“Because we’re located in northern Europe, our wines mature over a longer growing season than usual in a cool climate, but they don’t get the sunshine hours so the wine has a higher acidic profile than most palates have been orientated towards. We also get much higher fruit notes, with tastes with bilberry, raspberry and blackcurrant coming out much stronger.
“Also the wine’s profile changes with temperature so the red wine can be served either chilled or at room temperature, which opens the door on all the different kinds of food that can be served with it, so in many ways, it’s as if you’re playing with a full orchestra.”
There’s little doubt after speaking with Jemma and Paul that their hearts are deeply entrenched in their north Pembrokeshire vineyard.
“We’re doing this simply because we love it.,” concluded Jenna “Yes, we have to be really vigilant about what’s happening all year round, but seeing the success we've been awarded with the regenerative certificate, it's a nod towards what we’ve been doing for a very long time.
"We’ve ticked every box here in Hebron, and that’s made us feel great. We’re doing the right thing by the land that we look after.
“Let's just hope that this will now enthuse other vineyards to move in the same direction, but not just vineyards but the incredible amount of growers around us. These, after all, are the people who are controlling the future.”
Major European accolade for Pembrokeshire vineyard
14 years ago Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt visited a site in Hebron armed with spades and bucketloads of determination.
This week their hard graft and unflinching belief in their mission has paid off after the Hebron Vineyard has become the very first in Europe to be certified regenerative by A Greener World.
From the outset, their drive was to produce a wine that bore testimony to the fertility and beauty of north Pembrokeshire having previously converted a highly successful vineyard in Spain.
“We both felt that the time was right for us to move back to the UK,” said Paul. “And because Jemma has some family ties to West Wales, we decided to have a look around and see if we could find something that met our criteria.”
Armed with spades and a realm of knowledge appertaining to vineyard cultivation, the couple quickly realised that the land at Hebron was a site made in heaven.
“We must have been the very first people who went to view a property armed only with spades,” laughed Paul.
“But the land is south facing, the soil was extremely fertile, so all we had to do was source a grape that would be able to cope with the humidity and the wet ground.”
Initially the couple did a small scale trial using chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.
“They didn’t ripen well so we replaced them with a hybrid grape that was developed in Germany specifically because of its disease resistance that holds up extremely strongly against algae and mildew that can interrupt the grapes’ development.”
But from the day that the vines were first planted in the Hebron soil, Paul and Jemma have remained committed to nurturing the vines without any chemical intervention.
“It’s well documented and proven that the continued use of chemicals is destroying the soil’s culture, but we just can’t afford to lose this. Everything we eat and drink is the product of our environment.
“We’re very insistent on it being a totally regenerative process as our ultimate aim was always to produce a wine that tastes like Hebron,” said Jemma.
“We don’t want it to taste as if it comes from anywhere else in the world and hand in hand with this, we’re slowly establishing a welsh wine growing region right here in West Wales.”
Hebron Vineyard’s identity is further boosted by the amount of sugar content that they use in their wine production.
“If we wanted a higher alcohol level we’d have to add sugar, but that’s not part of our process,” explained Jemma.
“Wines don’t need a high alcohol content but they do need to reflect where they come from.
“Because we’re located in northern Europe, our wines mature over a longer growing season than usual in a cool climate, but they don’t get the sunshine hours so the wine has a higher acidic profile than most palates have been orientated towards. We also get much higher fruit notes, with tastes with bilberry, raspberry and blackcurrant coming out much stronger.
“Also the wine’s profile changes with temperature so the red wine can be served either chilled or at room temperature, which opens the door on all the different kinds of food that can be served with it, so in many ways, it’s as if you’re playing with a full orchestra.”
There’s little doubt after speaking with Jemma and Paul that their hearts are deeply entrenched in their north Pembrokeshire vineyard.
“We’re doing this simply because we love it.,” concluded Jenna “Yes, we have to be really vigilant about what’s happening all year round, but seeing the success we've been awarded with the regenerative certificate, it's a nod towards what we’ve been doing for a very long time.
"We’ve ticked every box here in Hebron, and that’s made us feel great. We’re doing the right thing by the land that we look after.
“Let's just hope that this will now enthuse other vineyards to move in the same direction, but not just vineyards but the incredible amount of growers around us. These, after all, are the people who are controlling the future.”