The Chet and Waveney Valley Vineyard
Old Norvicensian, John Hemmant (1970-78), and his wife, Bridget Hemmant, commenced the Chet & Waveney Valley Vineyard in 2010. Their aim was to make a flagship sparkling wine using the technique of secondary fermentation in the bottle as pursued France. The Chet and Waveney Valley Vineyard is situated in Bergh Apton, nine miles south of Norwich near Thurton. It has 17 acres under vines and specialises in the production of quality sparkling wine. The vineyard is nestled in the South Norfolk countryside taking advantage of the unique terroir in the sunniest clime in the UK offering the maritime breezes of Norfolk that also assists in vine disease management.
After John's education as a boarder at Norwich School where he was Head of School House, played 1st XV rugby and fenced for the school, he studied for his degree in Chemistry and Biology at Keele University. After a short period working in protein chemistry at the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, and as Chemist at the British Sugar, Cantley, he went to live on the Isle of Man where he developed his knowledge of investment business and continues as a consultant in financial regulation in London.
John’s father farmed in Sisland near Loddon and, as a result, John would spend his university vacations helping on the farm and still loves the country life. When the opportunity came to start the vineyard John threw his knowledge and experience into it, pulling on his agricultural upbringing and his knowledge of chemistry. For this reason, the Chet & Waveney Valley Vineyard not only grows the grapes but makes the wine.
John says every day is different and you are constantly learning how to improve your wine, whether by changing husbandry of the grapes or implementing a different filtration technique. John is excited about the business development this year and is building a new winery. He says the marketing has gathered pace as Bridget (Opthalmologist) eyes up business development opportunities, putting tremendous effort into increasing the presence of the vineyard on social media which has allowed many different people to get involved and enjoy the wines of the Chet Valley Vineyard.
John says the winery and tasting rooms are open for groups and individuals to come tasting and they can have a really enjoyable couple of hours sipping wine in the Norfolk countryside.
There is also the opportunity to get involved in the vineyard through the vine lease scheme and a Wine Club both of which have the advantage of providing access to the range of Chet Valley wine not always available to the public at reasonable prices.
At the moment, the vineyard has two wines for sale as described below:
2014 Pink Horatio (£28) (only 200 bottles left):
A traditionally made sparkling wine made from the Phoenix, Seyval Blanc and some Regent grape in the blend. The wine has spent 3 years on the yeast as the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle before the dosage is added allowing for great yeast influence and therefore adding length to the wine whilst retaining red summer fruit character. Good for drinking on its own or with canapés.
2015 Blanc de Blancs (£22)
A traditionally made sparkling wine made from the Phoenix and Seyval Blanc in the blend. The wine has spent 2 years on the yeast as the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle before the dosage is added allowing for great yeast influence and therefore adding length to the wine whilst maintaining aroma characteristics of citrus: lemon, lime, and apple. It has a dry, medium acidity, low tannin, medium body with flavour characteristics that are floral: pear, lemon, apricot and lychee. For food match, it is good with smoked salmon, grilled or poached trout and oysters.
The 2017 vintage is shaping up and will be offered as wines produced by the Charmat process (where secondary fermentation takes place under pressure in a tank rather than in the bottle). We will experiment with a rosé fizz made in this way and with Solaris alone made into a fizz. We will keep the Schönburger/Regent blend as a dry still white wine. These will be available in the summer.
In the meantime, the 2015 Blanc de Blancs is available to those connected to the school for £22 a bottle of which £5 each bottle will be given to support the provision of bursaries and the Headmaster’s fund.