LEADING racehorse owner Susannah Ricci has opened a vineyard in Kent. Yotes Court has been five years in the making and is now open to the public as well. Susannah has maintained the racing link and several of the wines have ‘racy’ names. If you backed Galway Hurdle winner Saldier you can order a couple of bottles online.
On The Bridle and On The Nod are both Bacchus, Hands And Heels is a Pinot Blanc and Best Turned Out is a Pinot Meunier Rosé. Very handy to have on tap for toasting the next winners.
Harvest
Perched on the lawn overlooking the vineyard is a horse in Susannah’s multiple-winning green spots on pink colours, although this one is, according to the owner, “rather the strong and silent type”.
They grow and harvest grapes on the vineyard with as little intervention as possible. Every bunch is hand-harvested and minimally processed in high energy-efficient winery facilities in two locations.
Susannah, who established the vineyard in 2016, comments: “We’re so excited to be launching our first range and have had a fantastic response from the local community who were the first people to taste them. We’re loving welcoming guests to enjoy our wines and beautiful views, while finding out more about sustainable wine production.”
Yotes Court was fully restored in 2008-10 by over 70 specialised craftsmen including skilled carpentry, metal work, papier mache moulding, frieze restoration and protection, leadwork, repointing with galleting an lime plastering.
Yotes Court’s website describes the dreamy house and garden and there are plans to offer visits to the garden along with wine tasting tours.
“In the 1960s when Yotes Court was featured in Country Life the garden was a riot of colour with thousands of daffodils to the front of the house, azaleas to the west and a stunning purple iris walk from the orchard to the walled garden ... in the years that followed the garden went into a sad decline.
“While restoring the house Susannah sought the advice of Tom Stuart-Smith, the multi-award-winning garden designer with several Chelsea medals to his name. His advice was that the garden was in such poor shape that it needed a complete redesign. So Tom, plantsman and plant nursery Crocus owner Mark Fane and Kew Garden trained Head Gardener Graham embarked on a two-year redesign and replant of the 20 acres with the hard landscaping approved by English Heritage.”
A perfect day out to tempt us out of our cocoons.