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Welcome to a special Newsletter to bring you up to date and to ask for Volunteers.

The The Granary's own vineyard - originally planted in May 2014 and using the "Double Guyot" method - is coming close to another season's crop so this is a chance to update you.

The weather has been a bit of a mixture for grapes this year beginning with a severe frost. We were lucky enough here to avoid this particular pitfall and the news from Halfpenny Green vineyard is that the harvest will be much earlier than last year ( October 2016) and quality is likely to be good. So far so good.

The 2016 Vintage

As you may know the 2016 Pinot Noir Rose has been bottled and delivered - and sale of the wine is due to start on the 1st September. The 410 kilo crop produced in the end 325 bottles and will be selling at £24.50 per bottle. Our thank last year went to Nick and Ann Stokes, Emma Graybank, Andy and Joy Totney, Jenny Woodman and Harold and Maureen Yates. What a team!

For those of you who follow Lord of the Rings, you might think it is called "Precious" since Richard seems intent on preventing any sale and behaving quite peculiarly! For a full pictorial of last year's picking - go here http://www.granary-hotel.co.uk/market-garden/vineyard-gallery-2016

2017 Picking

The right time to pick the grape is a method which is both old and new at the same time. A sample of grapes from across the vineyard are crushed to produce a juice, a small sample of which is then placed on what is called a Refractometer. This wonderful piece of equipment measures the sugar content of the grapes and when it reaches a required level - then is the time to pick . The expectation at this time is that the picking will begin earlier than last - and should be somewhere between mid and late September

Volunteers needed!

Last year we had 9 people picking 410 kilos of grapes. This year Nick Stokes thinks it is likely to be nearer 500 plus kilos and we need a dozen volunteers to help pick the crop. It will be on a Sunday in mid to late September (yet to be specified) and we will start as early as possible and after picking there will be a complimentary Sunday lunch and presentation to those who helped last year.

It is a great day out so if you are interested in helping just drop Richard an email at r.fletcher@granary-hotel.co.uk and he will keep you up to date in identifying the picking date.

The Granary Hotel & Restaurant

Heath Lane, Shenstone, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY10 4BS 

Tel No. 01562 777535                           info@granary-hotel.co.uk    

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