design21 Laura Robinson from Burn Valley Vineyard in north Norfolk celebrates the arrival of summer and shares their plans to go glyphosate free in the future.
As we race into June, thankfully the weather has decided to warm up to acceptable levels. It has been so cold! Fortunately, we have been mostly inside bottling the 2022 vintage, but some of our lovely guests have had to brave some quite chilly nights on our steak and supper club events. I think our wines might have helped raise spirits!
The vineyard is looking superb and with this sunshine, the vines are growing upwards at a rate of knots. We have had a few hinderances with snails this year because of the wet weather, but hopefully now the vines have got going the current vintage will not be affected too badly.
Burn Valley Grandfather John has been in the vineyard with a new undervine weeder. We are keen to go glyphosate free in the future, so have been trialling this chemical free solution. In true John fashion, he found a modification to make the job go more smoothly and finish apparently ‘better’. We love his ‘Modi’s’ most of the time – although generally he takes out a few of the metal vineyard posts in the process!
The new vintage wines have been flying out of the cellar. The Bacchus and Pinot Noir Rose are especially popular; hopefully, you have seen them in a local deli or restaurant. We are launching our new Burn Valley Wine Club this month – details below – and we look forward to welcoming new members.
Wine Maker Matt is especially happy, with a new Pinot Gris in the pipeline. We also have our first ever wild ferment Pinot Noir, currently still in the barrel but due to be released later on this year.
We are nearly full for the rest of our steak nights and secret supper dates this summer, but check our website and socials for cancellations. Our annual Summer Party with Jazz on Saturday 19 August is always good fun, plus throughout summer, our tastings run Thursday to Sunday every week. Chef Steve’s delicious charcuterie and seafood platters have to be pre-booked online. Again, check our website for all the details.
In other news, we have a fancy new sign thanks to FSG signs; I jumped out of a plane for charity; and the Burn Valley kids have been paddling in the Burn Valley River.
We want to say a big thank you to our lovely team and also the fabulous colleagues along the coast selling our wines for us! Sam and I will be out and about at the first Norwich Wine Festival and the Royal Norfolk Show, so come and say hello and grab a taster.
Burn Valley Wine Club
We are updating our Family Club Membership to the Burn Valley Wine Club. Join up by the end of June to receive your spring release wines.
• Two x 6 bottles of Burn Valley chosen by our team-from the spring and autumn releases
• Four complimentary tasting tours
• Opportunity to be involved in harvest and other vineyard activities
• 10% off all other wine purchases
• Two tickets for our annual Summer Party
• Price: £260
• visit burnvalleyvineyard.co.uk
