21 Oct A True Labour of Love

With everything we do here on the farm – whether it’s rearing our beloved goats to provide us with the creamiest milk to make our range of Chevin rolls, or kneading out dough at 4am on rainy mornings for our artisanal breads – everything – is made with intention. And that rings particularly true for our range of wines.

Philip Pullman writes that ‘After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.’ I’d argue that wine should be in there too, but stories certainly make life richer. This is why, once a month, I’d like to tell you a tale about some of our wines, to share my intentions behind every bottling. We’ll start with a wine that is very dear to me, called Nurok.

In Lithuanian, ‘Nurok’ means diver. It is also my wife Diane’s maiden surname. Of course, this is no coincidence. As we are both descendants from Lithuanian families, we were once equally curious to go unearth our roots, and so we headed to Eastern Europe for a trip to discover more. What we learnt was an inspiring tale of Di’s ancestors in adversity …

At the end of the 17th century, Lithuanians were taking on the Catholic faith and built a cathedral in Siauliai in celebration. It was the middle of winter, and a heavy bell that was being transported to the cathedral fell into a frozen river. The locals could not retrieve it. Seeing the situation and wanting to help, a brave young boy named Wulf dived into the river, attached a rope to the bell and, with help from the villagers, hauled it onto the riverbank. Refusing all reward, Wulf asked that the Jews be allowed to return to Siauliai. His wish was granted, and the citizens bestowed on him the name Nurok. From then on, he and his descendants were known by this name, and there was harmony between Christians and Jews within their village town.

Upon returning home and inspired by Old World blends, we released Nurok, a blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne Di created a beautiful painting, which I used for the front label which you will see today both on the label and hanging in the Tasting Room. As a consistent accolade winner, having received 5 stars in Platter’s Wine Guide two years running (2011 and 2012 vintages) , I invite you to share in on a wine that I believe to be complete, wholesome and complex, invigorating, and totally versatile.