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Located in an area of ​​the region where woolly mammoths once roamed, Saffron Grange is a tight-knit family vineyard nestled in the hills just outside Saffron Walden – and members of the public can come and sample some of the produce.
The site produces quality English sparkling wines and, since opening to the public in 2019, it has been quietly accumulating awards, including winning silver at the Decanter World Wine Awards for its classic 2016 vintage.
The land was acquired in 2006 and planting began in 2008. While preparing the land, so to speak, to unleash its wine on an unsuspecting public, the team worked with specialist consultants to analyze the soil. This revealed that the land, combined with the region’s unique climate and topography, was ideally suited for growing grapes for premium sparkling wines.
We asked owner Paul Edwards and his son Nick the manager to update us. Paul, a trained microbiologist / biochemist, who previously worked in food and beverage processing, said: “After launching in 2019 and going through the usual trauma of starting a business and starting sales, we got a very good platform towards the end. of 2019 and we have hit the Christmas season with flying colors – only to get into Covid and all trials and tribulations in 2020, and more recently.
“But despite all of this, the company is doing very well. We’ve learned a lot more about what to do with our website and online sales. Wine tours and the number of people visiting us were generally lower than we would have liked, due to the Covid issues, but our online sales have been much better. Our retail sales were clearly affected by the closures, but are now resuming with enthusiasm.
“So right now our introductory stock, which we’re gradually releasing for this year’s vintage, is coming out faster than we’re bringing it in. It’s just that we’re planning our deliveries a bit.
Nick, whose wife Aimie is in charge of operations (Paul’s wife Ross is director), said: “It should be noted that last year’s tours were clearly affected by Covid. We were only able to open for a small window, but this year’s tours are certainly going very well.
“I hope we can maximize the fact that a lot of people can’t go overseas and visit the wineries like they maybe already have – and they’re very keen to come and see what we’re doing here. England. It was really exciting; our first tour started three or four weeks ago now and they’ve all been extremely busy so we’ve got a busy summer ahead of us which is great.
The tour, led by Paul, or winery manager Dan Turner, begins just outside the winery, at a new boutique – part of the new winery building – which opened a few weeks ago.
“Then visitors take a tour of the vineyard and understand why we planted our vines, the importance of this location and the chalk we’re on here, which is so important in making a really good, top quality sparkling wine. Nick explained.
He adds that the chalk’s uniqueness in the region and the fact that East Anglia is the “driest part of the country” are two contributing factors, noting that the hottest day on record in the UK, 38 , 7 degrees, took place in Cambridge in 2019.
Nick, who has a computer background, said: “After the tour is over they come back and do a tasting of our last three wines and we give them a little guide on how to taste sparkling wines.
“Two of them [the latest wines] are from the 2018 vintage – this really hot summer – and we also have a 2019 rosé, which is certainly proving very popular. Guests can also enjoy charcuterie boards and cheese boards, all paired with individual wines, while sitting outside in the sun.
Before embarking on this exciting adventure, Paul and Nick went to Plumpton College in East Sussex – “the only place in England where you can study wine and viticulture,” observes Nick – to find out more about the vinification.
So, is English wine really new? Nick said: “I think it’s new in terms of what we do, in terms of the quality that we produce. There have been wineries here for a long time but there aren’t as many as today.
“It is certain that the number of vines being planted across the country right now is colossal – there are millions and millions of vines that fall every year because what we have now, from a climatic point of view, this is where Champagne was 20 years ago. we are now able to consistently ripen grapes that we have never been able to ripen before.
The 2021 touring and tasting season has now kicked off at Saffron Grange and will run until the October harvest.
To reserve a place for the visit, visit saffrongrange.com/vintage-tours. Visit vouchers are also available.
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