OUR VINEYARD
Bordered by ancient woodland and National Trust property, we are acutely aware of our duty to care for our land in ways that do not negatively impact our environment. Dillions is rich in wildlife; buzzing with pollinators, grasshoppers and butterflies, and home to nesting barn swallows, barn owls, bats, badgers, foxes, voles and mice. Through active land management and collaboration with our neighbours, we plan to keep it that way.
Everything we do is sympathetic to our land and the place, leading to a sustainable future.
Sustainable Dillions
We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be the custodians of Dillions and its land which has been farmed for over 500 years. Set in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in West Sussex, every decision we have taken is focused on the sustainability and preservation of what we have so that future generations can continue to enjoy Dillions’ natural beauty and sense of peace.
sustainable wines of great britain certification
Soon after establishing the vineyard in 2019 we applied to the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain scheme created by WineGB, which required 18 months of observation and analysis of our surroundings and environmental footprint, such as a detailed SWGB conservation report and extensive documentation and due diligence throughout the audit process which includes many criteria such as maintaining and improving soil health, promoting biodiversity and reducing our carbon footprint per hectare.
Thus we are extremely proud to have achieved the official SWGB certification in April 2022, to join a growing number of forward-thinking vineyards and wineries, including our winemakers Defined Wine, who are prioritising the well-being of our precious environment. Look out for the SWGB logo on our wine bottles.
As part of our commitment to ensure our viticulture practices remain low-impact, some of the steps we take include:
Our Soil
Our vines thrive on our free-draining sandy loam soil. We do not need to routinely plough our vineyard. Our plentiful grass and wildflower cover around our headlands and between the vine rows help reduce any run-off and soil erosion as well as with nutrition retention. They provide a wonderful source of pollen and food for bees and butterflies, as well as look stunningly beautiful. Due to the largely sandy nature of our soil we will from time to time, be adding some natural rotted manure and manufactured fertilisers, sympathetically applied, to help replace nutrients that are lost as our vines grow.
Our Vines
We strive to keep our vines healthy. Sadly, our vines are not resistant to disease and fungal infections. That means fungicide has to be sprayed onto the vines to protect them. We do so sparingly using our new LIPCO environmentally-friendly tunnel sprayer which recycles the spray that does not settle on our vine leaves and nearly eliminates all spray drift. We do not have any need now to use damaging herbicides sprayed into the ground and we manage weeds in our vine rows through the use of our mower and under-vine hoe.
Our Footprint
Vineyards in England do not need a large amount of water so we have no need to irrigate our vines. We sit above a vast natural aquifer and all around the estate natural springs well up. We take all of our water needs from these pure underground springs. All of our electricity is generated from 14 KW of PV panels that thrive in the warm Sussex sunshine. We try to use our tractor and its diesel as little as possible. You will often find us around the vineyard on our small paddock mower with its lighter weight being both beneficial to its impact on our soil and its carbon emission. And our unique and attractive packaging, in which we sell our wine, is also fully recyclable - so whilst we hope you agree it stands out, it is also kind to our environment!
