About us
We are small, independent winemakers, dedicated to creating unique and delicious English sparkling wines from our winery in Hampshire.
IT STARTS WITH THE BEST FRUIT
We work with high quality growers in, or near, Hampshire to source high quality fruit. We prefer to work with one or two growers with whom we can develop a long-term relationship and an understanding where we can collaborate in making the critical decisions that affect the fruit that we receive.
A HELPING HAND TO EXPRESS ITS FULL POTENTIAL
Starting with the highest quality fruit, our approach to winemaking is to apply a gentle touch as we encourage the grapes into wine. We try for minimal intervention, but sometimes the fruit does need a helping hand to fully express its potential. It might be the choice of yeast, or a blending decision, or the length of time that we leave the wine to age on its lees. Subtle, but important, decisions that will change every year depending on the nature of the fruit that we receive. And it’s important for us to acknowledge that the fruit, and our winemaking processes, are organic and so we have to be ready to adapt to our raw material.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Piotr is our winemaker, He has been studying wine for nearly twenty years and making it for the last ten. He has judged at competitions in France and done much personal market research. Piotr says of his approach to wine-making: “ I remain hungry to learn and always self critical. Hopefully, my work and that of the rest of the team has created a beautiful finished product that you will love”.
UNIQUE AND DELICIOUS WINES
Our small volumes mean that we can be flexible if a particular wine needs a bit longer to develop, or an extra intervention. It also means that our wines retain an individuality which we believe adds to their charm. We aim for a consistent style but always allow for the wine to express its own personality and we seek to embrace that individuality
YOUR SPECIAL MOMENTS
We believe that the individuality of our wine reflects somehow the individuality of the occasions when you will be drinking it and that is rather lovely. We are always delighted when we hear that you’ve chosen to celebrate your special moments with Chalkdown wines.