Kent’s pioneering vineyard Biddenden has always been driven by the passion and knowledge of the Barnes family, now in its third generation. With over 55 years of winemaking experience and knowledge honed and perfected over three generations, Biddenden continue to push the limits of still wine making in the UK and has now released a unique wine from the 2022 harvest, Biddenden Gewürztraminer 2022, the first of its kind in the UK.
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic grape variety which grows well in cooler climates. Pink skinned when ripe, this variety is a white wine grape with high natural sugars. Very particular about soil and climate, the vine is vigorous, even described at times as unruly, but hates chalky soils. Biddenden boasts sandy loam over clay soils and this grape variety was originally planted here by Julian Barnes in 2013 to see what sort of ripeness was achievable. Gewürztraminer buds early, so is very susceptible to frost, needs dry and warm summers, and ripens erratically and late.
Following the exceptionally long hot summer of 2022, Tom Barnes saw the perfect opportunity to create this first Gewürztraminer vintage. Thanks to Julian’s foresight in planting this variety in 2013, and after years of vine care and careful management, Biddenden is delighted to see this hard work come to fruition with the release of this very special still wine.
Julian Barnes, second generation owner of Biddenden Vineyards, said: “As one of the oldest commercial vineyards in the UK, we are extremely proud to continue to be at the forefront of the industry. Our wines are made in the vineyard, rather than in the winery. Living on site we are able to constantly monitor the grapes and be totally reactive to the needs of the vineyard and this is one of the reasons that Biddenden wines are so exceptional.”
