The Bulari Bar is back again!

 

This month sees the start of our summer Friday Nights at the Bulari Bar, with the launch night on May 30^th featuring the Cotswold Cookery School as our guest caterer. They will be serving up delicious plates of the Spanish seafood and rice dish Paella.

The Bulari Bar will be open at the vineyard in Poulton every Friday, from 5pm until 9pm, up until September 26^th. We will be serving our award-winning wines by the glass and bottle, Cotswold Lakes Brew Co beers and also a range of soft drinks. Each week a different guest caterer will be serving food. We are welcoming back many of the favourites from last year, as well as some exciting new food options.

Our special marquee will be going back up to offer shade from the sun or shelter from the rain (we know that the British summer can be unpredictable!). But there will be plenty of seating outside of the cover for those who wish to sit out. There is no need to book, the Bulari Bar evenings are free to attend, and we have plenty of parking space. Children and dogs are welcome. Bring your friends and family and start your weekend off in style in the beautiful surroundings of our English vineyard.

This summer, we are also opening the Bulari Bar on a few Saturdays, so keep an eye on our newsletter and social media for announcements. Our first special Saturday will be held on Saturday June 21^st during English Wine Week, when our guest caterer will be Cotswold Chippy.

All the details of the Bulari Bar openings and the guest caterers can be found here.

 

Ready for any late frosts

May is the time when we look out into the vineyard and start to see the buds unfurl and the spread of new leaves. The weather is warmer and summer is definitely on the way.

We still have to keep an eye out for late frosts at night, as this can have a devasting impact on the potential harvest later in the year. If the temperatures do drop to freezing, we have a number of paraffin candles, called bougies, that we can place between the rows of vines to warm the air. The term bougie comes from the French for wax candle, which was named after the Algerian city of Béjaïa, known as Bougie. It was this city that was the major exporter of quality beeswax to France, which was used for making candles.

Happy Easter from Poulton Hill

Spring is one of our favourite times of year. April is when we start to see life return to the vineyard and it is a month often associated with new starts and youthful hopefulness. Shakespeare, who was born in April, said: “April…hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” We are certainly enjoying sitting out in the vineyard watching the buds burst out of the vines, as they wake up from their dormant winter state, heralding the start of the growing season.

 

Pick up our Easter Six offer

April is also when Easter falls, which is a wonderful time for families to get together and perhaps even enjoy a meal outside! Poulton Hill Estate wines are a great choice to accompany your Easter food. To help your celebrations, we have our special offer with our Easter Six case. It has something for every meal over the Easter period. Our Phoenix 2022 has the ideal balance of acidity and fruit that will pair perfectly with your fish on Good Friday. Meanwhile, our Arlington Red is a great match with lamb and beef for your Easter Sunday meal.

Included in the case are two bottles each of the Phoenix and the Arlington Red, a bottle of our award-winning off-dry Arlington White 2022 and a bottle of our Rosé 2023. The Arlington White and the Rosé are ideal easy drinking wines and pair excellently with cheese. The recommended retail price for this case is £111.98 but you can pick it up for just £99.99 from our website here or by visiting us at the Cellar Door in Poulton.

If you wish to give any of Poulton Hill’s award-winning wines and spirits as gifts this Easter, you can order online and we will courier them to their destination. Or you can send a gift card that can be used against any of our wines and spirits, or our Tours and Tastings sessions. Visit www.poultonhill.co.uk.

Summer Tour and Tasting tickets are now for sale online

Tickets for our summer Tour and Tasting events are now up on the website. The sessions run every Thursday and Saturday throughout the summer until September 13^th. Attendees are taken on a relaxed tour around our vineyard and learn a little about our history and the growing of grapes. Following the tour, there is a guided tasting of a selection of our wines at the Cellar Door. The tasting will include one sparkling wine and three still wines. Snacks can be purchased to accompany the tasting. Each session costs £30 per person. Last year we saw many of the tours sell out completely, so make sure you get your tickets in plenty of time.

For more details and to book, visit https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/events/. We offer private Tour & Tastings by appointment only, please call us to discuss your requirements on 01285 850257.

Say thank you with our special Mother’s Day Duo

March is when we say thank you to our mothers for the amazing jobs they do. This year Mothering Sunday falls on March 30^th, and if you want your mum to have a special treat why not give her our Mother’s Day Duo? The duo comprises two bottles of Poulton Hill Estate’s white wines: one award-wining Bacchus 2023 and one Awkward Hill 2023. You would normally pay £37 for this duo, but we are offering it for only £29.99 throughout March.

Our Bacchus 2023 is pale gold in appearance, with notes of elderflower and stone fruit on the nose. Peach, pear and guava are at the forefront of the palate, with hints of minerality, giving it a long, clean and crisp finish. This aromatic, well-balanced wine can be enjoyed on its own, with seafood pasta, white meat and Thai cuisine.

Poulton Hill Estate’s Awkward Hill white wine is pale straw in appearance with a delicious nose of apple blossom and subtle herbaceous undertones. The palate is dry, crisp and wonderfully balanced, bursting with peach, pear and creamy apple, which leads to a long, clean and satisfying finish. This wine is perfect to drink on its own or with pasta dishes, Thai cuisine, seafood and cheese.

You can buy the Mother’s Day Duo on our website at https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/wines-and-spirits/, by phone on 01285 850257 or from the Cellar Door in Poulton. Additional charges will incur if the duo is couriered.

 

World Vermouth Day

March 21^st is World Vermouth Day. This fortified wine has its origins in the Ancient World as both the Ancient Greeks and the Romans made fortified wines with herbs and spices. The modern version of vermouth originated in Italy at the end of the 18^th century and has more recently become the fashionable craft spirit of the moment, with some drinks experts predicting it could overtake gin.

Poulton Hill Estate has produced a very limited-edition English Vermouth made with a blend of our Phoenix, Bacchus and Seyval Blanc grapes. The eye-catching label art shows a Phoenix in flight, a nod not only to the grape but also to our local town of Cirencester, which has the Phoenix as its heraldic symbol. It is complex, well-rounded and semi-sweet, and robust enough to enjoy over ice or as an addition to cocktails.

It has notes of orange and vanilla at the forefront with a hint of fig leaf, gentle warmth of caramel from tonka beans and a refreshing finish from juniper. We only produced 400 bottles of this vermouth so don’t miss out! You can pick up a bottle from the Cellar Door in Poulton at the special price of £25 or you can purchase it online from our website here: https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/wines-and-spirits/english-vermouth/.

English Tourism Week

Living in the Cotswolds means that we are used to tourists coming from all over the world to visit this lovely part of the country. At the vineyard we like to welcome national and international visitors, but we also love to see our friends and neighbours visit the vineyard to enjoy a glass of wine in our beautiful surroundings.

English Tourism Week runs from March 14^th to 23^rd, and we would love you to show your support by popping in for a chat, or to enjoy a glass or share a bottle of wine with your family and friends. Our opening hours are Tuesday – Friday, 9am to 4pm and Saturday, 11am to 3pm. Our staff will be on hand to chat about any of our wines and spirits.

Share the love with our Valentine’s Day Gift Box

February might be a short month, but it is filled with love! Valentine’s Day on the 14^th is a great opportunity to treat your loved one. We have just the thing to help you to share the love with our special Valentine’s Day Gift Box. The set comprises a bottle of our silver-medal-winning Poulton Hill Bulari Sparkling Rosé 2021, a box of Joe & Steph’s Chocolate Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffles and a gift bag of Bibury Milk Chocolate Honeycomb bites. These are all placed in one of our branded, wooden double-bottle gift boxes. This very special gift costs £64.99 and you can purchase it from our website or from the Cellar Door.

 

Vineyard news: Winter pruning

Although our vines are currently dormant, we have been busy in the vineyard starting our winter pruning. This is a huge task every year that is vital to ensure we have a good growing season and harvest, and it is all undertaken by hand.

We select two strong canes and one spur for the year (which is about the thickness of a pencil). We remove the rest of the unwanted canes with secateurs, ensuring these are sharp for clean cut. It is essential not to damage the vine as we do not want to reduce opportunities to produce canes in future years.

Then we trim the selected canes down so that between eight and ten buds remain on each. We tie down each of the remaining canes to the fixed fruiting wire. The tie should not be too tight or the cane will be strangled. We use eco-friendly, natural cane ties. With the two canes (now arms of the vine) tied down, we treat any large wounds with garlic paste. This acts as a barrier and prevents disease from entering the vine.

The only difference in our pruning this year is our approach to our Pinot Noir vines. Last year we pruned the Pinot Noir in the same way as the other vines in the vineyard, with a double arm. This involved selecting two canes with each trained out from either side of the stem. However, for this grape variety, which is one of the more difficult varietals to grow in our location, it did not prove to be as fruitful as a single cane. So, this year we have returned to pruning the Pinot Noir to a single arm to allow the vine to focus its energy. The single arm is trained uphill from the stem.

It is vital to get the pruning process completed before bud break or bud burst, which occurs in March to April.

Starting 2025 with two medals

Poulton Hill Vineyard started off 2025 with some winning news. We won two medals in the WineGB West Awards, with a silver for our Bulari Sparkling Rosé 2021 and a bronze for our Bacchus 2023. If you would like to purchase any of our award-wining wines to try, you can pop into the Cellar Door in Poulton to buy them at special Cellar Door prices, or buy them online from our website.

Winter Wine Tastings

Our Winter and Spring Tastings are running up until Easter, with the chance to sample a selection of our wines and also learn about our award-winning spirits. The tasting will include one sparkling wine and three still wines. Snacks can be purchased to accompany the tasting. Each session lasts an hour and 45 minutes and costs £20 per person.

The dates for the tastings are:
11:30am, Saturday 15^th February
11:30am, Saturday 29^th March
11:30am, Saturday 12^th April
11:30am, Saturday 19^th April

For more details and to book, visit https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/events/

Happy Christmas from the Poulton Hill team!

We would like to wish all our customers,  friends and neighbours a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

In the run-up to Christmas, we are here to help. Whether you are looking for Christmas gifts, stocking fillers or corporate giving, or if you want to add some local flavour to your own festive table, we have something for you. Come along to our Cellar Door in Poulton where you can buy our wines at special Cellar Door prices. We also have a range of wine-related gifts, and you can purchase gift vouchers that can be exchanged for Poulton Hill wines and spirits or future wine-tasting events.

Our friendly team can put together gifts for any budget and can courier them directly with a personalised gift message. If you are stuck for what to get for your clients/staff/suppliers, then we can also help out with corporate gifts. Sending local wines and spirits demonstrates a more personal and sustainable approach. We can send out single bottles, or put together duos, trios, sixes or cases for any budget per person, and include your personalised message. If you would like us to send them out directly, you can give us a spreadsheet of delivery addresses and we can check them in with our courier. Discounts are available for large orders.

The Cellar Door is open Tuesday – Friday 9am – 4pm and Saturday 11am – 3pm. The last day the Cellar Door is open before Christmas is Saturday 21st December. It will reopen on Saturday 4th January 2025.

Awards, offers, gifts and celebrations

Our Christmas present arrived very early this year as we won Drinks Producer of the Year 2024 at the Cotswold Life Food and Drink Awards! We want to thank everyone who nominated us as it means such a lot. These local awards celebrate the very best local producers, and we were so pleased to be shortlisted. To win the award was the icing on the cake.

The Cotswold Food and Drink Awards focus on local sustainability and environmental sustainability, both of which are really important to us. We grow our grapes in the Cotswolds and most of our customers – stockists, restaurants and individuals – are local to us. We are always concerned with our environmental impact, and it influences our decision-making on everything from using natural ties on our vines, to using flocks of sheep to keep down weeds, aerate the soil and add natural fertiliser in the winter. We do not use lots of machinery and most of the work in the vineyard is done by hand (including pruning and harvest). It was wonderful to see this recognised in the award.

The Cotswold Life Food and Drink Awards were announced at a ceremony at Hatherley Manor near Gloucester on October 7^th. It was great to see our friends and stockists, Jolly Nice Farm Shop and Jesse Smith Butchers, also win awards on the night.

Special offers for autumn

To celebrate winning this award, we have two special offers for our customers. If you are looking to buy your Christmas gifts early, this could be the ideal opportunity.

The Autumn Trio:
One bottle of Arlington Red NV
One bottle of Arlington White 2022
One bottle of Phoenix 2022
This can be purchased for £44.99, saving £11 on the RRP of £55.99.

The Poulton Hill Six:
One bottle of Bulari White 2019
One bottle of Bulari Rosé 2021
One bottle of Arlington Red NV 
One bottle of Arlington White 2022
One bottle of Phoenix 2022
One bottle of Rosé 2022
This can be purchased for £133.16 saving 10% off the RRP of £147.96. The Poulton Hill Six will also qualify for free delivery if it is ordered online to be delivered within the mainland UK.

The offers run until midnight on November 30^th or until stocks run out. You can buy them online www.poultonhillestate.co.uk, at the Cellar Door in Poulton or by calling 01285 850257.

Special offers for autumn

Get into the Christmas spirit at our late-night shopping evening at the Cellar Door. You will be able to see our full range of wines, spirits and gifts, and enjoy a mince pie and maybe a glass of wine too at our festive event on November 28th from 5pm until 8pm. The team from Bibury Trout Farm will be there selling trout and trout products, with samples for you to try. It is a great way to find the perfect party snack or festive meal starter to pair with your Poulton Hill wines.

Book in for our Winter Wine Tastings with Charcuterie

We had a fabulous summer with our Tours and Tastings and our Friday Night at the Bulari Bar events, and it was lovely to meet so many of our local friends and neighbours. We want to continue to welcome you to the vineyard and have got a brand-new event lined up for the winter months.

Last year, our Winter Wine Tastings were incredibly popular and we added more dates to keep up with demand. This year, we are offering something new – Winter Tastings + Charcuterie. Attendees will sample one of Poulton Hill’s sparkling wines and three of our still wines. Then enjoy a full glass of Poulton Hill still wine alongside a platter of charcuterie.

The Tastings are held in our beautiful Cellar Door at the vineyard. Tickets cost £45 per person, and each session starts at 11.30am. Bring your family and friends and make it a great social event. You can book a Winter Tasting + Charcuterie for Friday 1^st November, Friday 15^th November, Saturday 16^th November, Friday 6^th December, Saturday  7^th December, Friday 13^th December and Saturday 14^th December by visiting www.poultonhillestate.co.uk.

If you would like to book a private Winter Tasting, give us a call on 01285 850257 or email info@poultonhillestate.co.uk to discuss your requirements.

As well as the Winter Wine Tasting sessions, there will be a number of other events that we will be hosting in the run up to Christmas. For more details on these, keep an eye on our social media feeds or sign up to receive our newsletter.

 

Wine by the glass

If you can’t make it to a Tasting event, you can still enjoy a glass of wine in our beautiful vineyard. We sell wine by the glass at the Cellar Door, so you can stop off with friends for a drink and a chat. We are set up for any weather, with indoor and outdoor seating, and our Cellar Door staff are on hand to offer advice and information. You can also take advantage of our special Cellar Door prices on bottles of wine or spirits to take away.

The Cellar Door is open Tuesday – Friday, 9am to 4pm, and Saturday from 11am to 3pm.

Countdown to harvest 2024 

The 2024 harvest at Poulton Hill may be a bit later than it has been in previous years. The UK has not experienced a prolonged heatwave this year, but we have had some warm weather and quite a bit of rainfall. Although the grapes have been growing well, the damp weather has led to mildew forming on some bunches and we have had to remove the damaged ones. We sprayed the vines to avoid the disease spreading. This is another reason why canopy management is so important at this time of year as we need to increase the airflow in the canopy and around the grapes.

Now that veraison is happening, and both the white and red varieties of grapes are starting to change colour as they ripen and sweeten, we know that we are on the final countdown. Veraison is easier to spot in red grapes as the fruit turns from green to purple when the chlorophyll is replaced with anthocyanin. We can also see how close to harvest we are by changes in the leaves. As the grapes ripen, energy is taken from the leaves and they begin to turn red and orange (but maintain their green veins).

When both the grapes and the leaves change colour, we start to check the sugar levels in each of the grape varieties as some will ripen earlier than others. We collect 25 random samples from each variety and use a refractometer that is set to the Oechsle scale, which measures the density of the grape must. This will indicate a grape’s ripeness and sugar content. When we measure the must, we need to ensure that no light gets in as this can affect the reading. Once the sugar and acidity levels reach the right point, it is time to harvest.

The one final thing that can directly affect when we harvest the grapes, even if they appear to be ripe and ready, is the daily weather. If it is raining, the grapes will swell up with water and both the sweetness and the acidity levels will be affected.

Once we start to harvest, the grapes are sent directly to the winery where they are crushed and the wine-making process starts. If the grapes are destined for still wines, the 2024 vintage will be released in late spring/early summer 2025. If they are being turned into sparkling wine, the process takes a little longer and it will be a few years until the wine is ready.

 

Pickers wanted

We are always keen to have helpers at our harvest. It is a great way to get to know our customers and our local community. It is also a good opportunity for people to learn a bit more about vineyard life!

We give all the training that is needed and provide clippers, snacks, drinks and lunch. We recommend you bring a pair of gloves as the clippers are sharp and the grape juice is sticky. You do not have to spend the entire harvest with us, but you can pop in for a morning or afternoon or for a few hours when you have time.

We can’t give you a date when harvest will start this year, but we anticipate it will be late September/early October. If you are interested in helping out with harvest, please drop us a line at info@poultonhillestate.co.uk.

Our gates are open so come to see us! 

Poulton Hill Estate is in a beautiful location near Poulton, but the work in the vineyard can often be quite lonely as we work individually in the vines. This summer we are throwing open our vineyard gates and welcoming everyone to share this special spot in the Cotswold countryside.

As usual we have our summer Tours and Tastings, which are always incredibly popular. We take a relaxed tour around the vineyard, discussing the history and the process of growing our grapes. We then head into our Cellar Door for a guided tasting, where visitors sample a selection of our wines and also learn about our medal-winning spirits. Due to demand, we are running an increased number of these tours this summer. Visit our website, www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/tours-and-tastings for dates, details and to book.

We also have our Friday Night Summer Specials at the Bulari Bar. Each week over the summer we have a guest caterer come to the vineyard to serve food, and a range of Poulton Hill wines, Cotswold Lakes Brew Company beers and also soft drinks for drivers and children are available from the Bulari Bar. We have loved seeing so many familiar faces and making some new friends at these events. The event runs every Friday until mid-September from 5pm to 9pm and it is free to attend. We have lots of parking, and children and well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Finally, our Cellar Door is open Tuesday to Friday from 9am – 4pm and Saturday from 11am – 3pm. We are always happy to meet customers to talk about our wines and spirits. We also sell wine by the glass, so you can enjoy trying our wines before you buy.

Veraison in the vineyard

In August we undertake canopy management, raising the growing wires to support the vines and pruning leaf cover to allow for air flow. It is when the vines are often at their most beautiful, and we can see our precious fruit starting to grow and change.

Later on in the month we should see the start of veraison, where the vines put energy into ripening and sweetening the grapes, which start to change colour. This happens with both the red and the white grapes but is more obvious in the red as they turn from green to purple.

Once veraison starts we also put nets up over the vines to stop the birds from stealing our delicious ripening grapes. We have found bird nests in the vines before, but these are usually empty by the time we bring down the nets. We also check for any insect life that may be damaging the vines. From the start of veraison, it can be anywhere between 30 to 70 days until the grapes are ready to harvest.

Harvest helpers wanted

Harvest at Poulton Hill can occur anytime from mid-September until late October, depending on the weather and climate in any given year. We love harvest time and are looking for volunteers to share the experience with us.

Harvest days start at around 9am, with a cup of tea or coffee, a biscuit and maybe a small glass of last year’s wine to toast the start of what we hope is another bumper year. Harvest lunch, with wine, is provided for all our workers and volunteers, as are snacks and tea and coffee throughout the day.

We give all the training that is needed and provide clippers. We recommend wearing a pair of gloves as the clippers are sharp and the grape juice is sticky. You do not have to spend the entire harvest with us, but you can pop in for a morning, or afternoon or for a few hours when you have time.

If you are interested in helping out with harvest, please drop us a line at info@poultonhillestate.co.uk. We can’t give you a date when harvest will start yet, but you will be informed nearer the time.

Start your weekend in style at our new Bulari Bar

Every Friday evening we are opening our Bulari Bar, where we sell our Poulton Hill wines by the glass or the bottle, and we will also have a different local caterer attend each week giving visitors the opportunity to try some tasty food.

The Friday night specials run throughout the summer until mid-September, from 5pm until 9pm. Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome, and we also offer a range of soft drinks, so the whole family can enjoy the beautiful setting of the vineyard and some delicious food and drink. We have covered and uncovered seating, so you can enjoy your wine and food whatever the British weather has in store for us this summer. There is no need to book, there is plenty of parking and entry is completely free. Bring your friends and neighbours and make a night of it.

Keep an eye out on social media for who will be serving food at the vineyard each week. We look forward to welcoming you!

Watch RIAT with a glass of wine

Every July we love to watch the incredible flying displays at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford from our spot in the vineyard.

Tickets for RIAT sell out very quickly most years, and if you missed out we would love to share our RIAT experience with you. This year we are inviting you to come to the vineyard to soak up the atmosphere, enjoy a glass or two of wine and eat some delicious food.

Our RIAT specials will be held on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th of July, from 10:00 until 17:00, with hot food available from 12:00 both days. On Friday, we have Smiths of Bourton serving their boutique burgers. The Bulari Bar will be open as usual on Friday evening, so visitors can enjoy food until 20:30. On Saturday, Mungo’s Pizza will be serving food until 17:00 (there is no Bulari Bar in the evening on Saturday). Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome!

We have lots of chairs and tables, but please feel free to bring your own rug/blanket. Please do not bring your own food and drink, however, as this is a catered event. We are accepting pre-booked tickets only, priced at £20 per car, which are available to purchase from our website. We are initially releasing tickets for 50 cars for each day.

We can’t wait to share the experience with you!

Vineyard work in July

July in the vineyard is when the vines are really starting to grow. We also start initial cane selection, where we remove the shoots that are growing in the wrong direction from the top of the vine (the crown). Those growing downwards or out might get caught in the tractor as it moves between the vines. We will not make our final cane selection yet as we need spare canes in case of disease of damage.

The vines are growing well this year and Diogo has already started to move up our tucking-in wires in some of our varietals. We train the vines to grow along the wires, rather than straight up, to ensure the fruit will get maximum sun exposure. In warmer climates, the leaf canopy remains thick to protect the grapes from the harsh heat of the sun. In our cooler, wetter climate we like the air to flow through the leaf canopy to prevent mould and mildew affecting the grapes, so we undertake canopy management, removing some of the leaves, to allow this to happen.

If you would like to see our summer work in the vineyard, we are running Tours and Tastings on multiple dates over the summer. To learn more visit https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/tours-and-tastings or to find a date and book go to https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/events.

Our Cellar Door is open Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, and Saturday from 11am to 3pm. For dates and times, or to book a tour, go to https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/events/ or call us on 01285 850257 or drop us an email at info@poultonhillestate.co.uk