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The Vineyard

Happy Vines - Healthy Grapes

Our vines started their life in a small nursery in the Champagne region and were planted by hand on the lowest of our three limestone terraces carved out by the Romans.

Throughout the year we nurture our Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay vines by hand to ensure they are healthy and produce delicious ripe grapes.

We prune in March to push the flowering back and therefore mitigate any frost damage in May. We tie down our two fruiting canes later in April and then manage new shoots carefully to ensure good airflow through the canopy. Our grass pathways are kept tidy by frequent mowing and under vine areas are kept low. All these measures help promote airflow to dry out the canopy and improve vine health. This reduces the need for unnecessary intervention.

We generally harvest in late October to allow long, slow ripening of our grapes: this helps achieve a balance between natural sugars and fresh fruit flavours. Before the harvest we remove any grapes that do not meet out quality standards. Our harvesting is all by hand and we pick only whole bunches of the finest grapes in 12 kg containers. This preserves bunch condition and avoids damage in transit. The grapes are taken to the winery within a few hours of picking and pressed on the same day for optimum freshness. Whole bunch pressing is our preferred method for creating the finest juice.

Our Location

Our Cheltenham vineyard nestles high on the side of the Cotswold limestone escarpment at around 130 metres above sea level. Its general westerly aspect is protected from the north winds by a raised fold in the land. This calm sunny location provides excellent conditions for steadily ripening grapes for improved flavour development.

Our vineyard enjoys a steep gradient with a lake at the lowest point. This encourages frost to travel downhill towards this 'cold sink'. In late April and early May this protects the vineyard in general and our early budding Chardonnay vines in particular.

The land is generally too steep for conventional machinery and so most of our work is done by hand.

If you are interested in learning more, why not enquire about our Wednesday morning vineyard courses.

Sustainability

As part of our drive towards a sustainable future, Dryhill is currently pioneering clover trials to encourage more biodiversity in our vineyard. This low 'cover crop' has been sown in the critical under-vine areas to suppress weeds and improve airflow which helps the vine canopy to dry more quickly. This can in turn lead to improved vine health and optimum grape quality.

Our beehives have around 60,000 bees in each hive and our vineyard clover and wild flower meadow recently planted provides a haven for the bees as well as some delightful Dryhill honey.

On Wednesday mornings we operate a Community Outreach Programme to encourage those with stressful lives to find some quality time and fresh air to improve their mental health and general wellbeing. This educational course also benefits those wishing to develop their skills for career development purposes. If you wish to try the course then feel free to make contact.

All our grapes at Dryhill are cultivated in strict compliance with ecologically sustainable management practices and our wines are vegan friendly.

Roman roots

Someone once asked “What have the Romans ever done for us?” At Dryhill the answer is clear.

Dryhill is located on land which formed part of an ancient Roman 'Villa Rustica' an agricultural villa dating back to the time of the Emporers Constantine and Valentine. The Romans carved out the terraces on which our vineyard now stands.

As recently as March 2023 we discovered yet another Roman coin from the period of Constantine I.

Fine Champagne...
or a glass of Gloucester?

The house at Dryhill dates back to the early 17th Century and it was a place of hospitality on an ancient drovers trail which runs nearby.

Around the same time in 1615 King James I decreed to the local glassmakers that no English oak trees should be felled in the Forest of Dean a place which is clearly visible from Dryhill. The purpose of the King's ban was to preserve the mighty oak forest for building his ships for the Royal Navy.

Thus the local glassmakers were forced to use coal which was abundant in the forest to fire their furnaces. At this time they were manufacturing glass bottles for the nearby cider industry and the impurities from the coal created a very dark but very strong bottle which allowed the production of sparkling cider for the first time. These bottles featured an indentation in the bottom and a 'string rim' for securing the cork just like modern day Champagne bottles.

To celebrate the memory of these local glass makers Dryhill has selected a very dark coloured glass bottle of similar shape and colour to the 17th century bottles.

This local technology was eventually protected by the Royal Society in London … around 30 years before Dom Perignon created his sparkling wine in the Champagne area of France.

Some say that our county of Gloucestershire had a pivotal role in the evolution of the Champagne sparkling wine we know today.