About Us
"Black Chalk is one of the most exciting new releases to have hit the English wine scene. Jacob is a brilliant winemaker and his wines showcase all his talent: they're pure and vibrant, utterly self-assured and brimming with potential. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on these wines, superstars in the making."
Peter Richards MW
How We Started
It all started in 2015, using grapes purchased from local Hampshire vineyards we produced small batch, traditional method, sparkling wines with the aim of showcasing the very best of Hampshire - bright fruit, purity and freshness. After launching our first wines in 2018 to critical acclaim the project has gone from strength to strength.
After 4 years of purchasing grapes we secured 12ha of established vineyards across 3 sites in the beautiful Test Valley, Hampshire and a group of buildings that have been transformed into the new home of Black Chalk, including a new Hampshire Winery and Tasting Room. This new home has allowed us to focus in more detail on what Hampshire and these vineyards can do so well.
​
State of the Art Hampshire Winery
In 2020 during a challenging year for many we built our new state of the art Hampshire winery, it was completed (just about) 48h before we started harvesting our first crop from our three vineyards; Rivers (it is bordered by The River Test and The River Anton), The Levels (the largest vineyard and split into two levels) and Hide (hidden away in a beautiful valley that bakes in the Summer sunshine) - all are situated on shallow soils above solid chalk that provide a purity we believe is a hallmark for Quality.
Our Hampshire Vineyard
Across these vineyards we grow 34 different clone and rootstock combinations of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Précoce and Pinot Gris. These combinations provide an array of quality and wine profiles and we treat as many as we can separately. From the resulting base wines we create a number of small batch Sparkling wines including; Classic, Wild Rose, Single Vineyard, 100% Pinots, 100% Chardonnay and our first ever still wine Dancer in Pink.
The vineyard and winery teams are constantly striving for a better understanding about how to grow better fruit and make wines with more precision, this commitment ensures quality is always the focus and priority. At its very heart the project has always been winemaker led and driven by our small team. Their passion for viticulture, winemaking and hospitality allow us to place Hampshire’s potential elegantly in bottle and deliver amazing experiences for our guests.
Our Hampshire Vineyard & Winery as a Destination
Our Tasting Room is open 7 days a week and offers informative and accessible tours around our vines and Hampshire winery, drop in tasting flights, a local sourced food menu and shop. Don’t miss the incredible and unique vine circle where you can picnic, sunbathe or just sit and enjoy the vines with a glass of wine.
Hampshire and its chalk-lands have a relatively short winemaking history, but it is very clear that its future is going to be long and very exciting.
