Halfpenny Green Bacchus
A quintessential English wine made from the important, and fashionable, Germanic grape – Bacchus (a cross of Silvanar and Riesling).
This is a dry wine (2 g/l) with with plenty of aromatic character.
The majority of the grapes were whole-bunch pressed, with a small portion being crushed and soaked on theirs skins for up to six hours to increase flavour intensity. The wine was fermented at cool temperatures to retain the aromatic character, and left on lees for up to six months (a proportion having 3 months contact with French oak staves) before blending and bottling.
Light-bodied and complex, offering flavours of lemon zest, apple, pear and nettles, giving way to a refreshing crisp, generous finish.
A perfect aperitif that can also be served with grilled fish, vegetable-based pasta and rich poultry dishes.
About the Producer
Halfpenny Green Wine Estate
It was the vision of farmer Martin Vickers, a third-generation agricultural farmer, to plant a vineyard that would one day match continental sites. Today, 40 years later, 30 acres of vines are managed by Martin and produce award-winning wines crafted by his son Clive.
Halfpenny Green Wine Estate is situated in the south Staffordshire part of the Severn Valley, 250ft above sea level in well-sheltered south facing slopes, with light, sandy, free-draining soil.
The first ½ acre was planted in 1983 and by 1991 a further 22 acres were added. Today the vineyard totals almost 30 acres, making it one of the largest in the UK.
The vines comprise of sixteen different varieties with familiar grapes such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir featuring prominently and are used in producing the Estate’s award-winning sparkling wines, amongst others.
Due to the cooler climate, a variety of weather-hardy grapes are also grown throughout the site, including varietals such as Bacchus, Huxelrebe, Madeleine Angevine, Regent, Rondo and Schönburger. This means that, even with the Great British weather, the vines still have good yield and produce high quality grapes.
The Estate’s winery was built in 2005 and produces between 50-60,000 bottles of own-label wine each year, all made using grapes grown on site and winning many regional, national and international awards in the process.
The winery also carries out contract winemaking and bottling for over 50 other vineyards around England and Wales.
