A chance email was sent to local farmer and entrepreneur, Adrian Hipwell, enquiring if he might know of any small plots of land for sale in south Norfolk or Suffolk.
This area was of interest due to it being one of the driest and sunniest regions of the UK. Ben knew that there were pockets of suitable soil for a vineyard in that area but didn’t know that Adrian currently farmed one of them.
A meeting over the Christmas holidays ensued and immediately the potential was clear. Detailed site analysis followed to confirm initial hopes that the plot was suitable for grapevines and then Flint Vineyard was born. Ben moved to Earsham, Norfolk in 2015.
Since then Flint Vineyard has flourished. There are now over 26,000 vines covering 6 hectares and a state-of-the-art winery allows wine production at the highest level. Flint has gained a solid reputation for producing some of the best premium English still wines. It has also innovated with methods in the winery and products such as the Charmat Rosé, the first sparkling wine to be made using the Charmat method, most commonly used in Prosecco.
Ben and his team are excited about the future and have plans to develop news wines and extend the winery and plantings. The idea is just to keep striving to be better and continue to produce ever more exciting and delicious wines.
