Velfrey Vineyard Update Welsh Country about what is happening in and around their vineyard
What’s Been Happening
Hello again! It’s been a while but there’s been a lot going on. In our last newsletter, there were two imminent arrivals, harvest 2025 and baby Mounsey. Both arrived happily, healthily and importantly in the right order and of a good size!
Sophie managed to lend a hand with harvest, despite being a little slower at picking than usual, and the little one made his entrance into the world 5 days later. He’s an absolute joy and it’s wonderful that there are now two little Mounsey’s in the family – perhaps there’ll be a wine making duo in the future?
That wasn’t the end of the new arrivals though and we are very excited to announce that we have installed our on-site winemaking facility. 2026 is the first vintage that we will be making some of our wines at the vineyard, bringing the whole grape to glass experience to Velfrey.
It’s extremely exciting for us as this has been a long-held aspiration of ours and we can’t wait for you to taste what we produce. In true Velfrey fashion, things aren’t stopping there with more exciting developments afoot. Watch this space.
We were also delighted that we picked up medals for our sparkling wines in both Decanter World Wine Awards and the Wine GB Awards. The Cuvee Reserve 2022 and Rhosyn 2023 both achieved 88 marks in the Decanter World Wine Awards, bringing home two high bronzes meanwhile at the WineGB awards we scooped silver for our Velfrey N.V and Cuvee Reserve 2022 and Bronze for the Rhosyn. On top of this we were awarded the joint regional winners for Wales with the lovely Vale Vineyard. We’re so proud of our wines and it was an honour to win the Welsh Regional Award.
Walk the Vine
The long, dry summer that we have been enjoying has been more or less perfect for the grapes. The established vines, with their deep tap roots, have stayed green, lush and health where the surrounding greenery has struggled. The little rain we’re now experiencing won’t go amiss to help swell the plentiful bunches with sugar levels already rapidly increasing.
The baby Solaris and Rondo vines planted on the new site haven’t been quite so happy. Their root systems aren’t as well developed as the older vines and their growth has been a little less vigorous after two dry years. However, they’re all alive and the lack of surface moisture will be forcing their roots deep, exactly as we want. We plan to take a first, small harvest from this plot next year but we will do what is best for the health of the plants. It is all about balance.
One of the jobs we’ve currently been completing is leaf stripping around the fruit zone on all the varieties. This allows sunlight on the bunches with the UV acting as natural protection against disease and an aid to ripeness. We’ve delayed this task a little from previous years to not expose the grapes to intense heat too early. Too much sun too soon can cause the berries to suffer from sunburn (seriously) and also result in a loss of flavour – again it is all about balance. With harvest approaching, it’s now time to get everything gently exposed and then we just have to keep the birds off! Easier said than done.
Last year both harvests (Solaris is harvested in September, the Seyval Blanc and Pinot Noir in October) were respectively the earliest they had ever been and it’s looking like this year is going to be another early one! Potentially even earlier. If you’re interested in volunteering for harvest keep an eye out for future emails or social media posts. This year we be splitting the harvest into at least two days so fingers crossed there will be a date suitable to everyone who is interested.
Wine
Some of you may be familiar with our adopt-a-vine packages, they have been an ever present since we got our first sparkling wine back all those years ago. Since we have more wines to offer and more varieties planted we thought they needed a little revamp.
Now available in three tiers – Still Wine, Sparkling and Deluxe – the packages all come with a newly designed certificate, a voucher for a tour for two and your name engraved on a slate tag that is placed on the wire by your vine. The Deluxe option (pictured) also comes with two sparkling wine flutes. The packages also now run forever, once purchased the vine will always carry your name.
Got a birthday coming up for a wine lover? The adopt-a-vines make a perfect gift.
Click the button to find out more and choose your package.
We’ve had many questions about this over the years from visitors to the vineyard and we’re very excited to let you all know that we have just released our first red wine!
In 2025 we partnered with a Carmarthenshire vineyard to help with their crop and the result is excellent.
The wine is made from 100% Rondo (the same variety we for the first time at Velfrey in 2025). It opens with vibrant notes of ripe cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant on both the nose and palate, complemented by subtle spice and soft, supple tannins. Juicy, smooth and beautifully balanced, with a fresh finish.
A versatile red to enjoy on its own or alongside charcuterie, roasted meats, pasta dishes and mature cheeses.
Coch, a still, Welsh red wine made from 100% Rondo grapes.
Opens with vibrant notes of ripe cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant on both the nose and palate, complemented by subtle spice and soft, supple tannins. Juicy, smooth and beautifully balanced, with a fresh finish.
A versatile red to enjoy on its own or alongside charcuterie, roasted meats, pasta dishes and mature cheeses.
If this sounds like it is right up your street, click the button to buy from our website.
