Four Acres Estate

A small family run vineyard and orchard set on a hillside above the Ash Valley in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire.

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

As we haven’t seen many of you for a while we thought we’d give an update on our eco-mowers. There was one escape too many so they’ve been returned to their farm! Luckily they didn’t eat all of the garden!

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Bottling the Blanc de Blancs:
First of all many thanks to the volunteers who came to help. We managed to bottle 2228 of our 2019 vintage! We wore masks, sanitised and tried our best to social distance which is not… https://t.co/Vxja7b2zN8

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

After the May frost the vines are now growing beautifully. We are still doing the same amount of work, bud rubbing, tucking in, topping and spraying as well as cutting the grass in between the rows. Despite all… https://t.co/uRePiSvgUC

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Disaster!

The frost on 15 May was an absolute disaster! The vines are showing a little growth but by this time of year the shoots should be at least two feet high. There will definitely be no harvest this year. @… https://t.co/wqGZggeeBf

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Wildlife in the apple orchard!

The Oxeye Daisies in the apple orchard are looking amazing this time of year! It's really nice to see the bees buzzing around. We don’t use any type of weed killer and you can see… https://t.co/gQeIom099g

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Toasted!!
On 15 May we had an air frost. It’s burned the whole vineyard! It’s unlikely we are going to get a harvest this year but this farming, what can we do! @ Four Acres Estate https://t.co/qweZMcIK6B

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

DISASTER!! Last Thursday's air frost was an absolute disaster, it has completely decimated the vineyard. The vines will grow but it’s unlikely that we will get any grapes. This year is turning out to be a… https://t.co/brg7nMyNkT

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

LAUNCH OF 2017:
We are launching our Blanc de Blancs on 16 May. This will give us three products to go to market for 2020. We have the Blanc de Blancs, the Rose and the Dry Sparkling Cider which is champnoise style… https://t.co/4zJx13drua

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

MORGAN SWEET FLOWERING BEAUTIFULLY:
The trees are looking really good, the grass is cut in the apple orchard and we are ahead of our target! 🌸 @ Four Acres Estate https://t.co/ZWJNwjy0sK

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

FROST:
We had two nights of frost and it affected approximately 20% of our vineyard. It’s always the same, we get frost at the bottom of the hill in a small bowl. I really do need to find a solution going forward!… https://t.co/12PcyN70nQ

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

PRUNING THE APPLE ORCHARD:

In 2012 we planted 200 tress, all cider varieties which were sourced from John Worle of Hereford. The trees were given a mild pruning but this season it was decided that we need to give… https://t.co/pQ52WPDLM4

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA! 🇿🇦

The vineyards in South Africa were amazing. What surprised me was the level of sophistication to drive tourists to the vineyards, very polished! The restaurants in the vineyards really… https://t.co/RKn3JKv7X3

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Launch of Sparkling Cider! (Non-whisky ferment)

We launched our latest product which is the champanoise dry sparkling cider at 8% proof, which is very dry. The juice was in the barrels for six months, and another… https://t.co/yxgSsKJiEU

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

It was a record! Thanks to Tracy & Gilly who brought a group of friends for a pressing day, we managed to press 440 litres which was a record!The juice is currently in barrels fermenting. 🍎 @ Four Acres Estate https://t.co/dLa4VYObPa

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

@DrFozzy @cavavin_uk Thanks guys ,come along and give us a hand on the 22 September, we are harvesting ,bring they baby

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Lovely misty morning and the vines are looking good!

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

We hope everyone is loving the hot weather as much as our vines! It’s been such a good summer we might be harvesting as early as mid September, watch this space!

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Our beautiful cider apple trees are in blossom!

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

Busy day working in the rain getting the vines tied down ready for spring.

[Four Acres Estate @FourAcresEstate]

It’s official we’re open!! It’s been a few years in the making but we’ve come a long way!