White Castle Vineyard

An absolute delight .... I don't really need to say more but here's how our visit came about and our super afternoon at White Castle Vineyard.

Photo: White Castle Vineyard 

Last year I was very lucky to win a competition for two bottles of Welsh wine. I had no idea which part of Wales the vineyard was in and was utterly amazed to discover White Castle is by Abergavenny and we must have passed nearby many many times as we travelled to South Wales to visit our daughter. 

The two wines we received were Regent and Siegerrebe, both new unknown grape varieties to us. We opened the Regent with our Christmas dinner, an absolutely superb red wine with rich cherries, soft tannins and a delicate long finish. Our white Siegerrebe is awaiting the summer sun to be enjoyed in the garden, it will be interesting to try this new grape variety.

Our daughter added to our Welsh wine discovery by gifting us an Adopt a Vine from White Castle for our Christmas gift. This means for 2021 we are the proud owners of a Phoenix vine. The perfect choice of grape name, quite symbolic as life begins to return to normality. 

Our adoption includes a tour of the vineyard and being as we were passing by, and as restrictions have lifted, we arranged a visit with Robb. We certainly chose the right day as the skies were blue and the sun shone across the fields. 

Robb and Nicola's story of how they became vignerons is amazing. They both grew up in the local area, Robb being a Postie and Nicola working in the NHS. They bought the ex-council tennanted farm in 1995, converting the cow shed into a lovely bungalow. The dream of planting vines began in 2008 when they purchased the perfect 5 acre sloping field behind the farm buildings.

Their original 4000 vines were Regent, Rondo, Seyval Blanc, Phoenix and Pinot Noir, added to in 2010 with Siegerrebe. It's quite a gradient up to the top of the field, passing the rows of evenly spaced vines, with it is most certainly a sun trap; there's a surprisingly noticeable increase in warmth as you walk higher. The surrounding views are just stunning; it was a joy to be amongst the vines in the peace and quiet of the Welsh countryside.

With 2019 being Robb and Nicola's tenth anniversary since their first planting they have added an additional 2000 vines; Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, the first of this grape in Great Britain. These vines are in one of the original fields of the farm and face the main vineyard, the two fields are separated by the farm buildings which include a magnificent restored 16th century barn. 

The 16th Century Grade 2 listed Croft Barn is a work of art: the beams, the floor, the wattle panels have all been beautifully restored. The Village Alive Trust working with Robb and Nicola received a grant from Cadw to restore the Croft Barn. It's an amazing story using traditional methods to bring the building back to life. The full details, along with photos, can be read on White Castle's web page following the Croft Barn link.

The final part of our tour of the vines was to see our adopted Phoenix vine. We were very touched to see each adopted vine has it's own label with the adoptees' name engraved on; a lovely souvenir for when the year is complete. 

Our Phoenix is looking very healthy and ready to be tied to the wires, a mammoth job this time of year. I would have loved to have stayed and helped, although with the weather turning very wet and windy the days after our visit it's perhaps best I couldn't.

It really was a super afternoon walking the vines and chatting with Robb, concluding with a glass of Gwin gwyn wine. This 2019 white wine is made from Phoenix and Seyval Blanc and has soft floral aromas of elderflower. It's a dry wine giving full citrussy flavour without harsh acidity. It was such a clear, clean wine, so enjoyable in the spring sun whilst looking across the Welsh countryside. 

We also tasted White Castle's Pinot Noir Reserve 2018 which was full of red fruit, vanilla and a hint of oak. In all honesty I've not had a Pinot Noir that has won me over but this did, it really was delicious. This was the nicest Pinot Noir wine I have ever tasted and it's no surprise that it has been awarded International Wine Challenge Silver Wine Winner 2021.

There was never any doubt that our car would be leaving White Castle Vineyard without any wine. We're looking forward to enjoying Gwin gwyn in our garden this summer, sharing a bottle of Regent with our friends and most importantly enjoying our bottle of award winning Pinot Noir. Our bottle was the first to be awarded it's silver sticker, I have the perfect place for our special bottle once we've enjoyed our wine.

Thank you Robb and Nicola for such a warm welcome and great time learning so much about Welsh wine. We will be back, hopefully when our Phoenix is ready for harvest to help with picking. We're looking forward too to our bottle of Gwin gwyn made from this year's grapes. 

It's Welsh Wine Week 4-13 June 2021 - we will certainly be opening a bottle of wine from Wales!