Episode 41, Sam and Ben Ellis – Everflyht

Send us Fan MailJoining me on the podcast today are Sam and Ben Ellis, owners of Everflyht, a new single vineyard estate set at the foot of the Ditchling Beacon. Both planners by career, Sam and Ben built a designer house for their family on the estate, before planting 6.8 hectares of vines. These included the traditional sparkling varieties of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, as well as some Pinot Gris, Pinot Précoce and Gamay.  Under the watchful eye of general and vineyard manager Luke Spalding and with the help of the winemakers at Hambledon in Hampshire, Everflyht released its first sparkling wines – a rose de Saignee and non-vintage Brut – earlier this year in what I can only describe as some of the sleekest bottles from any English wine brand I have ever seen…We talk about building their dream, 'Grand Designs' style home and why planting vines was always part of the plan, the intricacies of running a small family vineyard and the meaning behind their brand name. To find out more about their journey you can follow Sam and Ben @everflyht on Instagram and Facebook or visit everflyht.com. This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free deliver on orders over £40.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.