Planting the Future: 6,000 New Vines Take Root at Davenport Vineyards
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
Last month marked an exciting milestone at Davenport Vineyards as we planted 6,000 new vines — an investment in wines that won’t reach your glass for several years to come.
At the time, the new vineyard looked far from picturesque - just rows of soil and thousands of bare-rooted vines waiting to be planted.
Today, just a few weeks later, those vines are already showing strong early growth. Shoots are pushing up through the rabbit guards, and the first signs of the different varieties are beginning to show — including the characteristic powdery white leaves of the Pinot Meunier.
Preparing the soil and roots
Before a single vine was planted, the ground was carefully prepared. The land was ploughed, power-harrowed and enriched with organic compost, creating the best possible conditions for the young vines.
As organic growers, we believe that healthy vines begin with healthy soils. Rather than feeding the vine directly, our focus is on building soil health and biodiversity, allowing the soil to nourish the vine naturally.
Before planting, each vine also received a mycorrhizal treatment — a naturally occurring beneficial fungus that works alongside the vine’s roots, helping the young plants access water and nutrients as they establish.
It’s one of the many small details that reflects our belief that great wines begin with healthy soils.
Our sandy loam soils have long proved well suited to viticulture, and this latest planting continues our commitment to producing high-quality organic wines from the Kent countryside.
What We Planted
This year’s planting included:
3,000 Pinot Meunier vines
3,000 Pinot Gris vines
Pinot Meunier is already well established in our vineyard as one of the key grapes used in our traditional method sparkling wines, Limney Estate and Limney Rosé. It brings attractive fruit character, softness and balance, making it a valuable addition to our future sparkling wine programme.
The Pinot Gris, however, represents something entirely new for Davenport.
Why Pinot Gris?
One of the most exciting aspects of this planting is that we don’t yet know exactly what these grapes will become.
Pinot Gris is an incredibly versatile variety and opens up several possibilities for future winemaking. It could produce:
• A fresh, aromatic still wine
• An orange wine made with extended skin contact
• A component within a future Pet Nat
• Or perhaps something entirely unexpected.
At this stage, we’re planting possibilities as much as vines.
As the vineyard matures and we learn how the variety performs on our site, we’ll have the opportunity to explore different styles and discover what best expresses both the grape and the vineyard.
Thinking long-term at Davenport Vineyards
Planting a vineyard is an exercise in patience. These young vines are unlikely to produce usable fruit for around three years, and any wines made from them may not reach bottle for five or six years.
Every vineyard decision is made with the future in mind. The wines we enjoy today were once simply an idea, a newly planted vine, and a belief in what might be possible.
Last month’s planting was another step in that journey, and we’re looking forward to seeing these young vines establish themselves over the coming seasons.
The future starts with a vine in the ground.
