Wines that reflect their wild life

Fraser Key began to fulfil a long-held ambition when he planted the first vines of Mayfield Vineyard in 2012.

INVESTING in a vineyard can be an act of faith as it can take up to six years before any harvestable grapes are produced. In Fraser’s case it was 2017 before he produced his first vintage year.

Free to ramble
“We planted six types of grapes in total,” Fraser explained. “Phoenix, Solaris, Villaris, Bolero, Regent and Rondo. I chose disease resistant varieties because my approach from the outset was to run a wild vineyard which would be 100% natural. I have worked for many years to make Glebe Farm a carbon sink rather than a carbon emitter and I have carried this ethos into Mayfield Vineyard.”Fraser’s minimum intervention means the vines ramble at their will and although yields are not as high as intensively managed vineyards, the output is ‘organic’, or rather beyond organic in Fraser’s words. The only machinery used is a mower to cut grass, self-set trees remain in place and picking each autumn is by hand, by volunteers.

Wine school
Although Glebe Farm was for many years a site for high care food production making products including jams, Fraser’s retirement plans included fulfilling a long-held ambition to own a winery. His interest dates back to a rugby tour to Dijon and visits to local vineyards. He later went back on sabbatical to a Wine School there where he learnt his vintner skills.

Owl-inspired
The completely natural approach to growing the grapes has been followed through to the wine production too. No additional sugar or sulfites are added to any of the wines. “All our wines are dry,” continued Fraser, “and are healthier from the point of view of headaches or dehydration as they are 100% naturally produced. There is no intervention but nuances can be achieved through time on the vine, time in the vat and time in the bottle.”

Running an owl conservation project on the farm for the last 25 years gave Fraser the inspiration for the names of the wines. The whites include Barn Owl, a dry white sparkling wine which is delicately smooth; Short Eared Owl, a medium dry white and Little Owl, a dry white wine. Tawny Owl is a fruity, light to medium bodied red, while Long Eared Owl is a complex rosé produced from Solaris and Bolero grapes.

“Barn Owl has recently won Steep Hill Wines’ top wine award via their customer tastings, which is very exciting. I am also working on a zero-alcohol wine. This will be achieved through osmosis and distillation and the alcohol can then be re-purposed.” Mayfield is also the home of a fruity Rhubarb Fizz.

Tasting experiences
As the vineyard became more established, Fraser invited guests from the farm’s self-catering holiday properties, which are within the vicinity, to come for a tasting experience. In warm weather these tastings can be held in the vineyard but a newly-built Tasting Room has been created from recycled materials, providing a stylish venue for these events. Onion and vegetable boxes, even discontinued kitchen door samples, have made rustic and stylish panelling. “I like to work with local food producers to demonstrate wine pairings to visitors. Cheeses like Belton Farm’s Red Fox, Cote Hill Snowdrop and Lymn Bank smoked cheese illustrate the reaction of the wines on the tongue. Likewise with sweet treats such as strawberries and bites of brownie, which give a different sensation. The subtle and lingering flavours and each individual’s physical reaction to natural wines is very marked compared to tasting commercially produced, often very long-travelled and blended wines.”

The wine tasting experiences are £32 per head and vouchers can be bought online. New for this season will be a homemade pizza supper club for self-catering guests.

“There are people staying and living locally searching for different dining experiences. These will be thin Neapolitan-style pizzas but the oven will also be suitable for fondue or raclette and maybe tapas options, so we may well add those to the themed tastings.”

Where to buy
Mayfield Wines can be purchased online, at local fairs, from Steep Hill Wines, Lincoln, the Sack Store in Boston and Stamford Garden Centre. Fraser also supplies to corporate events, celebrations and weddings – recently the NFU’s 100th anniversary dinner at the Lincolnshire Showground served Mayfield Vineyard’s wines.

“All online orders are fulfilled via Parcelforce as I found that Royal Mail have the lowest carbon footprint of all the delivery companies nationally.

“My mission that Mayfield Vineyard and the farm be environmentally and wildlife friendly, naturally sustainable and a carbon sink is considered at every stage of the business and of course this all is at the root of the delicious wines we produce.”

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