The UK’s First Urban Winery Has Now Got Its Own Vineyard

London Cru, the UK's first urban winery, has taken a bold leap forward by acquiring Foxhole Vineyard in West Sussex, situated just a stone's throw away from the renowned Bolney Estate. If you’re not familiar with London Cru, then let us recap their story so far because they’re doing some very exciting things in the world of UK wine.

Tucked away down a SW6 alleyway is an old Victorian warehouse. Once used for gin production, Cliff Roberson eyed it up for a new lease of life in 2013 and despite being in central London, it was to become the UK’s first urban winery. But that’s not the only thing making London Cru stand out…

With a focus on crafting top-quality still wines, London Cru sets itself apart from the rest of the UK's winemakers. While vineyards are sprouting up across the country and producing incredible fizz, few have this same unwavering dedication to still wines.

Whilst they have been using European grapes from the likes of Languedoc-Roussillon and Piedmont, this acquisition of Foxhole Vineyard lays down an ambitious marker as they aim to trail-blaze the quality and variety of still wines being produced in the UK – we love to see it!

Located less than 50 miles away from their urban winery, Foxhole Vineyard perfectly aligns with London Cru's innovative spirit. The vineyard boasts 20,000 vines, predominantly Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, accompanied by a small pocket of Bacchus. This idyllic vineyard, with its south-facing hillside offering stunning views of the South Downs, is a testament to London Cru's commitment to the mission.

By controlling every stage of production from grape to glass, London Cru and Head Winemaker Alex Hurley aims to create a homegrown and unique British winemaking experience to replicate English Sparkling Wine’s newfound place on the international stage.  Very exciting times indeed!

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Unusual Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday means it’s time for the Thursday Club on talkRADIO! This week, it’s about Pinot Noir - ‘the heartbreak grape’, so named because due to its thin skin, it's very difficult to grow to its best potential and has caused many a winemaker nights of lost sleep. When conditions are right and it goes well however, it makes wonderful, elegant, aromatic wine. 

Today’s Pinot Noirs are a little different as they are not from places you might necessarily expect and certainly not from the most famous regions for them, namely Burgundy in France, Champagne and California. Welcome to a Pinot Noir fine Wine special. 

Sancerre Rouge ‘Les Champs Clos’ Pinot Noir, 2019 FRANCE

Sancerre is always white, right? Wrong! While the majority of Sancerre wine is white, 20% of wine production there is actually red and it will be made with the Pinot Noir grape. Mind blown? I thought so. Sancerre is a region in France’s cool climate Loire Valley and it is the spiritual home of the white grape Sauvignon Blanc (White Sancerre = Sauvignon), but it suits a cool and elegant style of Pinot too. Think floral notes of violet with crunchy, red cherry and berry fruit and a moreish, tart acidity. 

Find it at Sainsbury’s here for £11.50

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir, 2020, Sussex, ENGLAND

English still wine used to be a bit of a joke, with germanic varieties producing wines that were at once screeching high in acidity yet also too sweet. Nowadays, we’re finding that many serious producers are looking to the key champagne grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for their still wines and having much better results - globally award-winning results in fact. The founders of Bolney Estate had the foresight to plant back in 1972 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex as only the 6th commercial vineyard in the country. Now, the winemaking team is lead by the daughter of the founders, Sam Linter. Her Pinot Noir has won multiple awards internationally and the 2020 is just released, with its soft, velvety red fruit, hints of earth and coffee beans with a touch of chocolate dipped cherry on the finish. 

You can also visit Bolney for a wonderful day out. They have tours, tastings, a bar, a lovely restaurant and an event space available to book. When we can do that again!

Find it at Waitrose Cellar here for £17.99 and Bolneywineestate.com

Akitu, Central Otago, New Zealand

Pinot Noir is one of the very few red grapes that is frequently used to make white wine. The most common version of this is of course in Champagne and sparkling wine; it's much less common to see still, white Pinot Noir like this one. Hailing from just beside Lake Wanaka on 250 million year old schist soils in New Zealand’s Central Otago, lots of sunshine and dry autumns give amazing fruit purity and complexity. The delicate pink gives away the grape’s red skin and subtle notes of raspberry, white chocolate, honeysuckle, citrus and mandarin. There’s also a proper, creamy texture that makes this a silky, serious white wine.

Find it here at The Champagne Company for £32