Viva Lewes Issue #114 March 2016

Rathfinny Estate
Jonathan Médard, winemaker
As Rathfinny’s winemaker I work closely
with our viticulturist Cameron Roucher.
In short, he grows the grapes, and I turn them
into wine.
69 hectares of Rathfinny is now under vine,
predominantly producing Pinot Noir, Pinot
Meunier and Chardonnay, the three major
components of Champagne-style sparkling
wine, which is our main concern here. We
also grow some Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and
Riesling.
I work in the estate’s winery, largely dividing
my time between my office and my lab.
In busy periods I have an assistant; I am usually
kept company by my dog, Brix.
The lab is where the analysis of the grapes
and wine takes place. There are some nice
pieces of kit in there, including a distillator,
an ebulliometer (for measuring the alcoholic
content of the wine) a sulfilyser (for measuring
sulphur dioxide), and a titralyser (for
determining pH and acidity). It’s vital that the
grapes are in the right condition before their
fermentation.
The chalky soil here is identical to that
in the Champagne region in France, and
the land is suited to making the same sort of
wine. Our 2015 harvest has gone through its
first fermentation, in tanks. The 2014 batch
is in bottles ‘on its lees’ (in effect having gone
through its second fermentation). It should be
ready for 2018.
When we get to full capacity, with 130 hectares
under vine, we hope to produce around
1,000,000 bottles a year. We sold our first batch
of still white wine – something of a large-scale
experiment – last year. We were very pleased
with the quality.
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