In the last two years Somerby has undergone some large changes in the vineyard; we decided in 2014 to remove 1000 phoenix vines and replace them with 1200 Solaris using closer spacing the original plan of the vineyard was set to 1,7 meters between vines and this was considered a waste of space so all new plantings have been set to 1m apart which is more in line with traditional planting densities.
On planting the Solaris clones we then decided to plant extra Pinot noir and Pinot noir precose replacing the vineyards odds and ends in one place and starting a whole new field of 2300 in another this has obviously expanded the work commitment but had brought us in line with the current trends for Sparkling wines, and we have a lovely Cretaceous chalk subsoil so why not, in England.
As I write this I am trying not to plant anymore vines for 2017 but the feeling is that we may sop producing a Rose wine and plant more precose and concentrate on improving our excellent Reserve Rondo I will try to keep you posted.
Somerby Vineyards 