We are proud to be making something unique and different.
Laurel vines is a low carbon, low environmental impact vineyard with a Winery on site.
We are based in the small hamlet of Aike in East Yorkshire. A very rural location based betwixt the market towns of Beverley and Driffield.
The area of Aike, Driffield is underlain by Cretaceous Chalk but in most places it is so deeply buried beneath glacial deposits that it has no influence on the landscape. The landscape is dominated by deposits of till, boulder clays and glacial lake clays which in most places cover the cretaceous bedrock.
The high Eustatic sea level and warm climate of the Cretaceous period meant a large area of the continents was covered by warm shallow seas, this meant that marine limestone (a rock type that is formed under warm, shallow marine circumstances) was developed. In the North-East of England there is a band of Cretaceous rock that stretches from Hull up to Bridlington. Chalk, a soft porous white limestone, was deposited in the marine environment from the Cretaceous era. Chalk is rich in Calcium Carbonate and alkaline soils often derive from the Cretaceous bedrock. Such soils can produce excellent yields of crop growth (but not for acid loving species) and are the most productive soils in England.
Thus, the soils of the Wold’s are permeable and well structured. They dry rapidly and are cultivable under all differing weather situations. Despite being so well drained, chalk soils and subsoil’s are able to make a good deal of water available to plants as particles of chalk absorb moisture while keeping the soil open.
We pride ourselves in managing the whole process from grape harvest to bottling our wines. Over the years we have expanded both in the knowledge and scale of our wine producing. Our approach is to ensure that quality is placed into every bottle we produce, we have now launched over 10 vintages since 2013.
We have also taken time to understand the production of still wines before developing our range into Sparkling. 2022 marked the first year of Sparkling wine becoming part of our vintage, this is through the use of the Champagne method. This is both labour intensive and skilled with some of our team undergoing training and extensive research regarding the methods involved.
As an ever-developing vineyard, we have invested in whole team training in gentle pruning techniques which ensures the longevity of the vine. This together with using organic pest and fertiliser treatment reduces our reliance on argi chemicals.
Since the first idea of growing vines in 2009, discussions with other vineyard owners and knowledgeable people within the UK vineyard & wine industry were sought.
Expert advice has been taken and utilised in every step of the vineyard establishment and expansion.
Initially following planting we suffered two years of the worst weather imaginable from winter at -18 Celsius to long periods of rain and flooding in spring into summer. In the year following 2013, the first year of production, following a late start the weather provided a much better growing season and provide us with a good but young wines.
We are continually striving to increase our knowledge through training, education & experience.
In 2010, Ian (owner and head wine maker) working with an agronomist to test whether the ground at Laurel Vines would be suitable for the growth of vines.
This was always going to be challenging given the cooler Yorkshire climate, however over the years we have added measures to combat this and by carefully selecting varieties of grapes which can prosper in our environment.
Our current total of vines for 2023 (April) is at 15,500 vines, we expanded in varieties with 12 different vines being grown at Laurel Vines. These include the three Champagne varieties; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
We have chosen to expand the range of varieties to suit different wine tastes. Similarly, our new winery which was built in 2016, was designed to be state of the art. This includes the addition of temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, waste water recovery and wine filtration but to name a few. Since the establishment of our new winery, we have also produced red wines which have been aged in French oak barrels.
10
Years of harvesting
30k
Bottles sold
10
Acres of vines
54
Distinct wines
At Laurel Vines sustainability has always been at the heart of the vineyard. Over the years we have been making changes to the way we look after the vines and produce the wines. From replacing fencing with 3,000 native hedgerow trees to reducing the use of agri chemicals and installing solar panels to provide power to the winery and vineyard equipment.
Site and soil analysis has been undertaken from day one which is allowing us to monitor the health of the soil and the plants within the vineyard.
2016
In November 2016 we acquired a very overgrown parcel of land at the end of the hamlet, with the help of Graham from Aike it was cleared and planted as a cider orchard, with a hedgerow around the perimeter.
2020
In June 2020 we installed 20Kw of solar panels to supply the winery and the farm. This is being increased to cater for our transition to electric vehicles and electric equipment in the vineyard. We have generated over 43MWh of green energy up to 2023.
In December 2020 the post and rail fencing around the vineyard had come to the end of its life and rather than replace it with a similar fence we took the opportunity to replace it with 3000 native english hedgerow trees.
2021
In March 2021 we acquired a parcel of land with a pond on it. This had been neglected for a number of years and had become severely overgrown. The site was partially cleared but leaving significant trees and other bushes. The ground was sown with a mixture of wildflower and grasses.
This has subsequently grown into a wonderful peaceful place for people from Aike to rest and enjoy the wonders of the countryside.
In 2021 we joined Sustainable Wine of Great Britain and have set about collating the data for submission and for the audit, hopefully shortly we will have accreditation to the SWGB standard for both the vineyard and winery.
2022
We won a REYTA for sustainability.
2023
February 2023 we received our first electric vineyard equipment for mowing and general maintenance in the vineyard.
In 2023 we won REYTA awards for Remarkable Ethical, Responsibility and Sustainability and as Remarkable Local Producer.
In 2020 we were visited by the famous Hairy Bikers as part of their Hairy Bikers Go North series.
They spent the entire day with us learning about the day-to-day life of an English vineyard and winery. Not only did they try their hand at pruning the vines, they also helped us label our bottles.
We were very lucky to have them cook for us using our wines and pairing their dishes with them too. This was a great success for us as a family business where we sold over 10,000 bottles of wine within a 3-month period. Not only did our website crash numerous times but we also sold out of many popular varieties. We were very fortunate to receive many repeat customers and are still very grateful to the wonderful Si, Dave and team!
Not only can you find us at the vineyard, we also attend food festivals across our region. This has been a great way for us to introduce our products and vineyard to a wide range of customers.
It always been a pleasure to attend these events as we often hear the amazing feedback from our customers about the wines they have tasted. People are still surprised that you can grow grapes and make wine in Yorkshire!
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