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Woodvalley

V I N E Y A R D S

FSA Approved 2024

All enquiries to: info@woodvalleyvineyards.co.uk

Woodvalley Farm, Outwood Common Road, Billericay, Essex CM11 1HN

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Members of The Great British Vineyard Guide

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M c N e i l l V i n e y a r d M a n a g e m e n t

S p o n s o r e d b y

A l d e n R o s e , B i l l e r i c a y

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L o w E n e r g y B u i l d i n g D e s i g n

WELCOME

THE VINEYARD

After 2 years of lockdowns and planning delays, an initial test phase was finally planted in 2022 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties. Contacting suppliers as far as Italy we realised we have left it far too late and had to settle on the only 340 vines available across Europe. Hand planted and nurtured throughout the growing season they took off with a 97% success rate, proving mainly that grapevines are very robust rather than taking credit for our new found farming skills!

We learned so much in the first year, mainly what not to do, but persevered through the different weathers to give our babies the best start in life. Wishing to be as organic as possible we hand-weeded everywhere, keeping the rows and alleys as neat and tidy as possible. After a summer of backbreaking work we soon realised that it should not be treated like a home garden! By the end of the growing season the vines had grown incredibly well, so not repeating the mistakes we placed our orders for 2023.

Daunted by the prospect of hand-planting 2500 vines, we turned to the professionals and employed McNeill Vineyard Management of Essex. Fresh from planting over 250,000 vines at Chapel Down’s newest 60ha site in Kent, our small site was a 1 hour tea-break project for them but their incredible machinery was worth every penny! Unfortunately the continuous rain in April and May ‘23 ruled out the brief period for Chardonnay planting, so our second phase of 1200 Pinot Noir vines went in the ground in early June.

For our second year of learning we were actually happy to cope with the smaller amount and Phase II took off very successfully with 98.5% growth in just 6 days. Throughout the summer we continued to nurture, using UK-sourced seaweed fertiliser and planted a 100m strip of native wildflower meadow along the boundary to increase the biodiversity.

For 2024? Phase III is now under way with an acre of Chardonnay booked in for May - fingers crossed for the weather!

OUR VISION

As we move towards the 2024 growing season, we have no idea what the future holds. For us it is a journey that will evolve year by year. It takes around 5 years for a vine to mature so our first full harvest will hopefully be in 2027.

We do hope to bottle our own wines eventually, and may bring you a local Sparkling variety or a crisp Chardonnay and smooth Pinot Noir.

We hope you will follow us on our journey.

Using permaculture principles and a few biodynamic techniques, we are aiming to create a Biodiverse and Ecological Vineyard, creating a natural haven for many species of wildlife.

The wildflower meadows have already attracted various species of bees, butterflies, moths and insects. Our Gallery page has lots of fabulous pictures of the incredible insects, flora and fauna. We planted over 300 spring bulbs around the margins and are currently growing seeds collected from last year’s flowers as well as a variety of native plant and tree species donated by Norsey Woods.

We have installed bat boxes, a raptor post, a barn owl tower and various natural mammal shelters around the site capturing plenty of wildlife activities on our various cameras.

With just under 1 tonne of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere every year per hectare, we are hoping to create a local Carbon Sink and a local bank for Biodiversity Net Gains in the coming years. Households are big emitters of greenhouse gases and our built environment is responsible for over 40% of our total emissions. By upgrading our fallow fields to food production, we can help to offset these emissions and our carbon footprints. Carbon dioxide is absorbed through all parts of the vines from the atmosphere and deposited into the soil where it is stored safely, a crucial role in combating Climate Change which also improves general soil conditions.

We also hope to enhance the distant views across the landscape bringing a little slice of Tuscany to Billericay, creating a beautiful and natural setting.

Did you know:

1 hectare of vines can remove

0.9 tonnes of carbon

from the atmosphere

EVERY YEAR

Home Gallery About Us Newsletter

If you have driven along Outwood Common Road in Billericay recently, you may have caught a glimpse of our new project through the breaks in the hedgerow. An exciting new venture from local residents and Woodvalley Farm brings you Billericay’s first vineyard on the outskirts of Norsey Woods.

A vineyard in Essex? English wines are becoming increasingly popular around the world and the UK has been in 3rd place in the Champagne & Sparkling Wines World Championships for several years running. Beating countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and USA, vineyards from across the UK have long been winning medals from some of our larger established vineyards.

The soils in the south of England are similar to those of the famous Champagne region of France but the hotter summers caused by Climate Change are forcing the French vineyards to harvest earlier and the grapes are not achieving their complexity of flavour. The famous Champagne houses are now buying grapes from England, with the likes of Tattinger and Pommery buying up estates in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex.

To use the French term, its all about the “terroir”. Both the soil and climate in the South East of England are incredibly well suited to growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes because they allow for a long, slow ripening season. These are the 3 key varieties for Champagne.

The county of Essex is in 6th position in the UK’s Top Ten counties for growing grapes, with almost 150ha spread across the region. Woodvalley’s official registration makes us the 34th vineyard in Essex but we are the 1st for the Basildon Borough and the South Essex region. Surprised?

See the other Essex and UK Vineyards here at: THE GREAT BRITISH VINEYARDS GUIDE