Let’s talk about… Jordan Wine Estate’s answer to climate change: Assyrtiko in Stellenbosch and cool climate chardonnay and pinot noir in Sussex, with Gary and Kathy Jordan and Sjaak Nelson

The Jordan family’s wine enterprise spans two very different locations: Stellenbosch in South Africa and East Sussex in England. Gary and Kathy, with head winemaker Sjaak, will link the two in a presentation that will emphasise sustainability and planning for a greener future.

Following an introduction to their estates, they will pose two questions:

Why assyrtiko? An unexpected decision, surely, when they have won numerous Decanter and IWSC trophies for their chardonnay and Bordeaux blend. It will, they say, show how the past is shaping the estate’s future.

Why Sussex? Here, they will discus challenges and opportunities in the UK from a South African perspective.

The now 164-hectare Stellenbosch estate has a 350-year grape-growing history. Kathy and Gary began making wine there 30 years ago, their raw material the result of Gary’s parents implementation of a replanting programme of classic varieties chosen to best exploit the varied soils and slopes. The more recent story of assyrtiko is especially fascinating, and a lesson in planning for the future.

Mousehall farm was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Its revival under Jordan ownership began in 2017, with planting of botanicals as well as vines. Its first product was a dry gin.

The presenters will be speaking from Mousehall, where they are preparing their first Sussex chardonnay and pinot noir for bottling.

See:

X/Twitter: @Gary_Jordan | @Jordan_Wines

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jordanwines

Instagram: @jordan_wines | @jordanrestaurant

Online: www.jordanwines.com

To join this seminar, please register now or at any time before 5pm BST on Tuesday 5th December. The session, including Q&As, will last for approximately one hour. To register, follow the link below. Guests will be very welcome, but please let Andrea know their names.

Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIld-mvqzMoE9O0Zc9FTaKOHqR1ub57qAGQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The Let’s talk about… presentations will start again in the New Year, with topics including ice wine and old vines on the schedule. More information will be circulated soon.