Celebrating Welsh Wine Week: A Toast to a Thriving Industry

Welsh Wine Week

As Welsh Wine Week unfolds, there’s no better time to celebrate the remarkable rise of Welsh wine over the past decade. Wales is now producing award-winning wines that hold their own against better-known regions. From crisp, mineral whites to delicate rosés and elegant reds, Welsh vineyards are embracing the terroir of their hillsides and crafting wines full of character and quality.

Whitecastle’s New Winery

It’s a bit of a trek on a Sunday from Dolgellau to Whitecastle in Llanfetherine but Dylan wouldn’t have wanted to have missed the official opening of Robb and Nicola’s Gwindy for the world. We’ve been selling their wines and tracking their progress with great interest for a decade. Now, they have taken the huge next step of building their own winery! A massive stride and investment.

Oz Clarke

Oz Clarke, one of the doyans of the UK wine industry gave an entertaining and dramatic opening speech that would have been worth the trip on its own! The building is immaculate with all the shiny new equipment you’d expect. More importantly, tanks and barrels filled with their first ferments made on site were made available to sample. We can’t wait to have them on our shelves in Gwin Dylanwad. Bravo Robb and Nicola. Here’s to many more vintages of Monmouthshire’s finest!

Montgomery Vineyard

Back at the shop, we were thrilled to welcome Woody from Montgomery Vineyard for a special tasting on Friday night. He guided us through a hand-picked selection of his wines as well as a wine from Gwinllan Y Dyffryn and Whitecastle. To top it off, Dylan whipped up his famous Welsh rarebit to end the tasting.

A New Natural Wine

On Saturday, Osian visited Tair Gafr Wine (yes, our team really do live and breathe wine!). This beautiful 3-acre vineyard near Cowbridge produces natural Welsh wines while preserving the biodiversity in and around the land. It has gained organic status and practises minimum intervention including many biodynamic methods. With 3,000 south-facing vines you can also enjoy the company of alpacas as well as the goats Potter, Oz and Merlin who roam freely among the vines.

Committed to Sustainability

The name “Tair Gafr” refers to a Welsh folk song about goats of different colours, much like the vibrant range of wines produced here. Guinea fowls wander through the rows of vines providing natural pest control by eating insects. Osian and his friends were shown the Regent and Orion grapevines, learning about the vineyard’s commitment to polyculture and soil health.

The Wines

They tasted three natural wines: Oes Gafr Eto – light, floral, with tart cherries; Gafr Binc – notes of rhubarb and custard, complex and great texture; and Gafr Goch – fruity, with hints of black pepper and cherries, smooth and beautifully balanced.

The challenge of Welsh wine making

Of course, making wine in Wales comes with real challenges. The climate, while improving in conditions for wine making, is still unpredictable, and last year was particularly harsh for many vineyards. Poor weather during the growing season led to very low yields, with some producers harvesting just a fraction of what they had hoped for.

Taster Slate

So whether you’re popping open a bottle of Whitecastle’s Pinot Noir Précoce or sipping a sparkling from Montgomery, this week is all about supporting and celebrating the creativity and resilience of Welsh winemakers. Have a look at our website for Welsh Wines. Also, all week in Dylanwad we have a taster slate of 3 Welsh Wines with 3 snacks. So come and enjoy. Iechyd da!