Chet & Waveney Demi Sec Skylark

About the vineyard

Chet & Waveney Valley

Chet & Waveney’s philosophy is to let the grape variety speak whilst maintaining high standards of care in the vineyard and winery, respecting the fruit and the natural elements of winemaking with minimum intervention allowing the wine to evidence structure and aromaticity.

The Hemmant family have held this land since the beginning of the century. Fred Hemmant, the present owner’s great uncle maintained a stable of horses which has imbued the soil with great organic content. Deeper down the soil is sandy loam, gravel and pure sand down to a level of 1.5 metres. Below this is boulder clay (clay with chalk chips).  This terroir offers the grapes a well drained soil which curbs excessive leaf formation, it allows a loose soil structure for worm activity and great root formation. Each vine has a tap root that eventually hits the boulder clay, offering nutrition and an ample source of water for the vine. In this way the terroir offers a good nutrient balance and enough water in times of drought.

The weather of East Anglia offers purging frosts in the periods of dormancy over winter, which allows the killing of vine diseases in the vineyard. The summers bring more sunshine and higher temperatures than the rest of the UK on average allowing the grapes to ripen well. Vintages are very often determined by the weather in September and October. East Anglia is prone to Indian Summers meaning the arrival of a period of calm mild weather well into October before winter commences giving good high sugar and aromaticity in the grapes with low disease pressure.