An increasing trend in the UK wine world has been the planting of vineyards in East Anglia with its lower rainfall and higher temperatures being very suitable for grapes writes Richard Shepherd-Barron. The contract winemaker, Defined Wines, based near Canterbury, opened their new winery near Dedham in Suffolk in early September. This facility will be available for the rapidly expanding vineyards in East Anglia – notably Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk – and this will also help their existing customers in these areas, who no longer have to transport their grapes to Canterbury for production with the possibility of long traffic delays at the Dartford Crossing.
The initial permanent staff of five all live locally and the modern premises has a current capacity of 100,000 litres. A major part of Defined Wines success has been the investment in modern winemaking equipment. As CEO Henry Sugden commented in May this year: “When making winemaking decisions, it is vital to have accurate results fast and in time to make decisions regarding bottling, etc. So, we have a fast turnround. There is no point getting results back after the wines have gone to bottle.” Thus, there is also a laboratory at Dedham as part of the impressive new equipment installed there.
The opening of the new plant was attended by some 60 people – growers, local farmers thinking about viticulture, wine buyers, local councillors and also the local MP, James Cartlidge, who spoke very positively about the growth of local agricultural businesses in his constituency of South Suffolk and how vine growing and winemaking was a creator of employment in rural areas.
Henry Sugden commented about his business which has grown enormously from its start in 2018: “Our approach has been to use taste, experience and modern technology to ensure that we can continually produce the best quality wines. A good wine starts in the vineyard so we also provide viticultural support for the growers we work with, helping them to improve their knowledge and the quality of their grapes.”
Henry is very optimistic about the future of English wines as more consumers start to realise the quality of wine that is now being made on their doorsteps. He said: “The key challenges I see for growers are ripeness and yields as well as for brands, differentiating themselves from others in an increasingly crowded market. There’s a lot of room for growth to increase market share.”
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