Episode 108 - Nathanial McConnell, Bluestone Vineyards

Send us Fan MailJoining me on today’s episode of the English wine diaries is Nathaniel McConnell, co-founder and winemaker at Bluestone Vineyards. With a large part of his childhood spent on the family’s Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm, Nat’s boots are firmly rooted in the countryside. However, he followed a different career path before returning to Wiltshire to establish Bluestone – one helping to fight cancer.Following a degree in Biochemistry at Birmingham University, Nat worked with a company who developed a new technique to better diagnose and provide more accurate prognosis for myeloma patients. His entrepreneurial spirit led him back to the family farm however where, together with his brother, Toby, he established Bluestone Vineyards. With the land prepared and the vines on order, Nat began studying an MSc in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton College. He met the then head winemaker of Hattingley Valley Jacob Leadley, and assistant winemaker Zoe Driver, with whom he worked two harvests and learned about quality sparkling wine production.Named Bluestone as a nod to the nearby World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, the 10-acre site comprises Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The south and south-west-facing vineyards sit on the edge of Salisbury Plain and are made of sandy, clay loam soils. Nat’s first wine from 2015, was a classic blend made with grapes purchased from Hambledon and since he has produced a number of award-winning sparkling wines from the estate. We talk about what it was like growing up on a petting farm, winning Platinum at Decanter World Wine Awards and the dynamics or running two very different family businesses side by side. Keep up to date with the goings on at Bluestone by following @bluestonevineyards on Instagram or at bluestonevineyards.co.uk.This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Rankin Bros & Sons — trusted suppliers of corks, closures, and packaging solutions to the UK wine industry since 1774. To learn more about how Rankin is supporting the future of British wine, visit rankincork.co.uk. Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at englishwinediaries.com.