A Grape Day

A Grape Day at the Louis Pommery England Harvest

On 14th October 2021 Louis Pommery England celebrated the harvest at its vines in Pinglestone, Hampshire.  Carefully chosen for the unique quality of chalk in the terroir, the altitude and the shelter, the Pinglestone Estate has some of the best terroirs in the UK.  All of these factors contribute to the award winning English sparkling wine of Louis Pommery England.  

Vranken Pommery is the first Champagne House to produce an English sparkling wine and the team were keen to share the harvest with media contacts from wine backgrounds, lifestyle, food & drink and also influencers and bloggers.  We were excited to bring together this mix of media contacts, demonstrating how Louis Pommery England has its place amongst a range of publications and content creators.  

Our guests enjoyed a tour of the vineyard where they were put to work picking grapes, learning all about the wine growing and making process from the Estate Manager – James Bowerman and also Chef de Cave (Cellar Master) for Pommery – Clément Pierlot.  After the endeavours of the morning the group returned to Pinglestone Barn (one of the oldest barn’s in the UK), for a delicious lunch provided by Pulpo Negro – a much loved restaurant in Arlesford, boasting a Bib Gourmand award and of course, the chance to try some of the award-winning Louis Pommery England.  

Although attending the event and sharing in the experience is always lots of fun, the real work begins for the In The Bag team beforehand: planning, confirming attendance, logistics and ensuring we get as much out of the event as possible.  This time we arranged for a videographer to attend and capture some fantastic drone footage of the Estate and vines.

The estate’s focus is on Chardonnay, with over half of the planting dedicated to the world-renowned white grape. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are also planted. The estate is managed as organically as possible, with zero herbicides and a strong focus on maintaining biodiversity. It is also certified as part of the ‘WineGB Sustainable Wines of Great Britain’ programme.

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As the day drew to a close, everyone was delighted with the proceedings. Guests were swapping numbers and making sure to be included on the next event for Louis Pommery England.

For us… our job isn’t over yet. Now we have to get back in touch with all the guests and send over imagery from the day, a press release and fact sheet with all the information they will need to write their feature on Louis Pommery England. 

Images by Ben Radley