We’ve had a busy start to the month with the launch of our new Self-Guided Tours and the return of Private Tours here at Biddenden. It’s been such a pleasure to welcome visitors back to the vineyard and we are extremely grateful for all the support we have had.
Out in the vineyard, the vines have excelled with the hot weather and good amount of rain, and in just a couple of weeks have transformed from showing the very first signs of shoots to having a good amount of growth and the first bunches visible prior to flowering. The main job for our vineyard team this month is to work through shoot selecting – a process whereby the new growth is thinned to allow the vine to put its energy into the developing grapes.
We will continue to monitor each variety closely, as every stage is an important part of the winemaking process and the way in which the vineyard is managed will contribute to the final product and all important harvest time – in hand with things such as weather which we don’t have so much control over!
There’s no ‘bad’ time to visit us here at Biddenden, as there’s always something to see, but for those keen to understand more of the growing process, the coming few weeks will be a particularly interesting time as the fruit sets and before the rapid growth happens.
In the winery, we’re just finishing off some bottling for other local & independent businesses to ensure they’re well stocked up, then it will be a case of getting everything ready for the first of the new season apples to begin coming through for pressing in a couple of months, along with Kentish cherries in the meantime too.
Again, thank you to all who have visited us in the last few weeks, and we do hope to welcome those of you who haven’t had a chance to come & explore our new tour or take a private tour very soon!
– Will
