The DOMVS Almanac_issue #2_Spring 2021

From Bud to Bottle
Fiona Wright offers a mouth-watering insight into the sparkling world of Langham Wine Estate
Tell us about the back story of Langham Wine Estate.
How and why did you get started in the wine business?
Langham Wine Estate began its life as a passion
project of the father of our Managing Director, Justin
Langham; he’d planted a small hobby vineyard. Justin
took this idea and developed it, choosing to plant vines
at Crawthorne Farm, which is one of the farm sites that
makes up the Langham Agricultural Enterprise. The
vines were planted in 2009 after much research into
which site would be best to plant on and which grape
varieties would work best.
What is it about your Dorset location that makes for an
award-winning sparkling wine?
Our site at Crawthorne Farm has a number of benefits.
Hedgerows and trees all around the vineyard provide
natural shelter from the prevailing south-westerly winds,
and a habitat for a diverse range of animals. The native
buzzards provide one of the best deterrents to small
passerine birds that eat the ripe grapes. The field where
the vines are planted is on a south-facing slope, which
not only ensures maximum sunlight exposure, but also
aids drainage of cold air during early spring, reducing
the likelihood of frost damage to young shoots. The
vineyard sits on layers of Jurassic and Cretaceous chalk
and limestone strata, the same as those in areas of the
Champagne region of France, which is obviously one of
the most famous sparkling wine regions in the world. In
the Aube region of Champagne, in Sancerre and Chablis,
they have Kimmeridgian and Portlandian soil, names
which may sound familiar to us here in Dorset. So our
terroir really is perfect for growing the classic grape
varieties that have historically done so well in France;
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
What is your winemaking style?
At Langham, we make our wine in the ‘Traditional
Method’, the same way they do in Champagne, where
the second fermentation - to create the bubbles - is
done in the bottle. We follow a low-intervention style
of winemaking, meaning we try to add as little as
possible and let the grapes sing for themselves. If we
were to make a comparison to France, our winemaker,
Tommy Grimshaw, aims to emulate the smaller growerproducers
of Champagne rather than the big Champagne
houses. We don’t use commercial, lab-grown yeasts to
ferment our wines, instead we use the natural yeasts
that are found on the grapes and in the winery. This is
a riskier and slightly slower method of fermenting, but
we have found, over the past few years, that using this
method helps to produce a much more complex product.
We also don’t fine or filter our wines at all, which means
that they happen to be veggie and vegan friendly.
Another way in which we differ from a number of
producers in the UK at the moment is our use of oak.
Some wineries will use 100% stainless steel tanks
for their ferments, but we also use old oak barrels to
ferment some of our juice. By using our range of oak
barrels from Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, we
can add yet another layer of complexity to our wines. We
don’t make our wines to a specific recipe, but instead
create as many different parcels of wine from our
harvest. The winemaking team then do a lot of tasting
from each individual barrel and tank, and then decide
what proportion of each will go into making our five
different sparkling wines. The juice that is fermented
in stainless steel will bring fresh, crisp fruit flavours,
whilst the oak-fermented juice will take on some subtle
characteristics from the barrels, plus it will be exposed
to a bit of oxygen, which will soften the flavours. This
works particularly well here in England where we have a
cool climate and are producing fruit that has quite a high
acidity. Another way we soften and round out the acidity
is by putting all of our wines through a process called
malolactic fermentation, which converts tart tasting
malic acids into softer lactic acid. All of these processes
go towards making the best quality, most complex,
honest products we can from our site.
Do you have a favourite wine from the Langham range?
My personal favourite at the moment (it changes
dependent on the day/mood/season!) is the latest
incarnation of our Culver Classic Cuvée, which has
just been released. Our two classic cuvées, Culver and
Corallian, are both a blend of the three grapes we grow,
but each has different proportions. The Corallian is
Chardonnay dominant, with just a touch of the two black
grapes in the blend; whilst the Culver is Pinot Noir and
Pinot Meunier dominant with just a bit of Chardonnay
in the blend. This latest incarnation of the Culver has
such an exciting, expressive flavour. On the nose, you
get delicious floral notes, along with hints of buttery
croissants and raspberry jam. It’s an amazing example of
the complexity that our winemaking and vineyard teams
can achieve through all their hard work. I am a big fan of
pizza and deli boards, and this wine goes really well
with those kinds of foods, whilst our Corallian would be
perfect with some fresh Dorset seafood.
What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
I would say, for me personally, seeing all the hard work
and dedication that goes into each bottle and being
able to share that story with consumers. We are such
a small team here at Langham and everyone pitches
in and helps out. It’s amazing to see the journey of
our products from the tiny buds which appear in April
through to harvesting the grapes in October, then
bottling the wine for its second fermentation the
following summer. It’s a long process full of nail-biting
moments to create a bottle of exceptional sparkling
wine, and it’s a joy to be able to share that process and
passion with our customers.
Are you open for tours and tastings?
We reopened for tours and tastings on Wednesday 14th
April and are so happy to be back. Our on-site café has
reopened for lunches and picnics as well, so you can
enjoy a full day out when you come to Langham.
How/where can people buy your wine?
Our wine is available to purchase direct from our
website at langhamwine.co.uk and we deliver anywhere
in the UK. We also sell our wine in a number of amazing
local farm shops and independent wine stores. You can
follow our wines’ incredible journey from bud to bottle
on Facebook at facebook.com/langhamwinery and on
Instagram at @langhamwinery
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