Wine Maker Focus - Breaky Bottom

Breaky Bottom's wine maker and artisan, Peter Hall kindly took some time out to tell us about his wonderful wines. Here are his responses:

SWC: If you are influenced by any wine maker, style or region in the world, who and where are they?

PH: "Not influenced by any one winemaker but with still wines I admire wines from the upper Loire and Alsace...and I love good vintage Champagne."

SWC: As a wine maker what is your ultimate goal or achievement?

PH: "Goal? Obviously to maximise the potential of the grapes each year, which varies according to the season. This year looks very good (I wish you could see them) so it's over to the winemaker...no excuses."

SWC: Why choose East Sussex to develop your vineyard and winery?

PH: "I have lived 40 years at Breaky Bottom, before the revival of grape growing in the UK. So the 'choice' was a historic accident, but research showed me that it would be a good site - warm, sheltered, near the coast to minimise the risk of late spring frost and a wonderful free draining chalk soil...Very like Champagne in many ways (Several Champenoise are now planting on the South Downs in Sussex/Hampshire/Kent)."

SWC: When did you release your first wine? What was it?

PH: "First wine from 1976 harvest, after a hot drought year, released in 1977. It was Seyval Blanc and was very well received. Peter Reynier loved it and his only criticism was that the nose was so big that the wine was not able to sustain what was forecast - the wine was the wrong 'shape'. I told him I would supply a clothes-peg with each bottle. First Fizz from the 1994 vintage."

SWC: Why wine? Surely there’s an easier way of making a living than relying on the British weather? If you could change job for a day what would you do?

PH: "Why wine? To hell with easy. Everyone wants things to be easy nowadays. Life is not like that. I believe that most things that are really worthwhile are not easy (Of course this is not an absolute rule, and apparently Mozart would sometimes imagine a whole symphonic movement at breakfast and just 'write it down' in a flash - I guess that's what we mean by genius) I like long-term projects and get a deal of pleasure from the journey, stopping on the way to experience both the highs and lows.

On this basis I couldn't change my job for a day. Ask me what else might I have done I would offer 'Join the Navy, be a writer, a musician, work with wood in some way...or try and earn a living by being a trout fisherman(!)"

SWC: Sum up your wines in 3 words.

PH: "My wines? Clean, individual, honest...occasionally classy."