Qvevri Orange Tillingham Estate 2019

Qvevri Orange Tillingham Estate, Natural wine from England, Short Skin Maceration, aged in Qvevri, (Georgian Amphorae)Equal parts Bacchus/Müller Thurgau/Madeleine Angevine/Ortega , delicious and intriguing English wine. Each of the four varieties were crushed anddestemmed, the amount of skins varied from 100% in the Ortega and MA, down to 30% in theMüller and Bacchus. The time on skins varied anywhere from a month to four months, before pumping out the wine and pressing the skins.The wines then went into a mixture of old oak barrels and foudre for a further 4 months.Shortly before bottling the wine was blended in a stainless-steel tank, before bottling by gravity with a small sulphur addition.

Tillingham is a fantastic project run by Ben Walgate in East Sussex.

It is situated off a winding country lane on a slope leading down to the Tillingham River which meanders down to Rye. Ben has already set about using organic compost across his five acres, and he plans to introduce sheep onto the land in the spring to help naturally control cover crop and weeds. He's even experimenting with biodynamic preparations (such as 500) so as to improve the health of his soil. Now here's a man who's serious about natural wine making!  In all Ben has planted around 10,000 plants including thirteen English and International grape varieties. His style is experimental, preferring natural methods and a 'try-it-and-see' approach, which is yielding some great results from this budding winemaker.  Great to see such passion and instinct from English wineries.