An interview with Woodfine wine:
At Oxmoor Farm, we’re passionate about connecting with fellow stewards of the land who share our dedication to sustainability and quality. We’re thrilled to bring you an interview with Richard of Woodfine Wine, a vineyard that epitomises these values. From their humble beginnings to their innovative winemaking practices, Woodfine Wine has carved out a niche in the competitive world of viticulture. In this conversation, we delve into Richard’s origin story, explore his commitment to sustainable practices, and uncover the unique methods he uses to craft their exquisite wines. Join us as we uncork the story behind one of the most inspiring UK natural wine vineyards in the industry – and it just so happens to be down the road from us.
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What inspired you to start Woodfine wine? I left my previous corporate life to dedicate the rest of my working life to the restoration of the natural environment. I started Woodfine Wine as a regenerative farming project to: “connect people to nature, themselves and others through wine”. In five years, we have transformed 16 acres of The Chilterns from an agriculturally-depleted wasteland into a haven for wildlife and people whilst also being productive, in terms of organic wines, cider, honey and eggs.
What are the main growing principles you use and why are they important to the wine you produce? We converted to fully organic certified status under the Soil Association, whilst in parallel adopting selective biodynamic and Korean Natural Farming principles and regenerative farming practices to ensure we leave the land in a better state to when we started… in terms of carbon, biodiversity and community impact. Why are they important? We are the most sustainable winemaker, and are becoming well-known for being the best natural winemaker in the UK. We make wine and cider using only organic fruit…which means our impact on the environment is extremely low versus where our land started, and importantly also means nothing but organic materials are consumed by those that eat & drink our products. And at the same time, it means we can reintroduce declining or rare species such owls, bats, raptors, small mammals and reptiles and communities of pollinating insects…all around and within our farming system. Better for the planet and people.
How does the land and soil dictate the taste of your wine? These are the only ‘ingredients’ in our wine…plants growing from our soil, with our micro-climate. We literally add nothing else, other than love and the efforts of a tribe of people dedicated to what we do. And that is in contrast to 99% of all other wine that uses additives and ingredients in the winemaking process to manipulate the taste to something we think we like…up to 70 different chemicals and additives, believe it not…including sterilisation agents (think gut microbiome…), colourants, acidification/deacidification agents, sugar, various enzymes, commercial yeast strains that create flavours…etc etc…and none of these have to be labelled under current labelling regulations…so none of them are!
Can you give us an idea of challenges facing a natural wine producer in the UK? Customer awareness. Customer awareness. Customer awareness. With labelling requirements as they are, nobody knows what they are drinking. For instance, did you know prosecco contains 7-10 teaspoons of sugar in a bottle. This means each glass of prosecco contains the equivalent of 3-4 teaspoons of sugar in a mug of coffee. Beyond this, working at the sole mercy of the climate and our environment is fraught with risk and producing clean wines that people enjoy with nothing other than organic fruit has its moments of anxiety…trust me!
Talk us through any new releases you’ve brought out this year. After focussing on sparkling wines using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (the Champagne grapes) for the last five years, this year we have introduced our first-ever range of still wines…after three years of trials. Extraordinary still wines are much more difficult to produce than sparkling wines in the UK climate…and we are super-pleased with what we have come up with. A couple of sommeliers and wine aficionados have already described them as the best wines England has produced…which is very gratifying…! [And we have also experimented with a winemakers’ elderflower Champagne…to harness the UK’s heritage using modern winemaking thinking and approaches.]
What’s your ideal food pairing with one of your wines? Our sparkling wines pair well with Asian-inspired fusion, spice, chorizo, goats cheese salad, fried squid etc. As with any (unsweetened) sparkling wine, they cut across fats and oils, cleaning the palate, whilst creating that tingle and bite we all expect with sparkling wines. Our still wines are softer and eminently gluggable…working with any food pairing and a massive dose of sunshine and friends…!
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Thanks Richard for that fascinating insight into the world of natural wine. Be sure to check out Woodfine wine and all the wonderful things they’re achieving with a heartfelt eco systems restoration project!