sustainability
Farming sustainably is incredibly important to us at Yotes Court but what does it actually mean in practice?
TRAILBLAZING
As well as being a founder member, in August 2020 Yotes Court Vineyard became one of the first 12 producers to become accredited under the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain scheme.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Sustainable farming is a holistic approach to land & crop management that aims to maintain soil health, increase biodiversity, minimise the use of water, chemicals and fuel and increase organic matter to improve soil structure.
Examples include mulching the vine prunings within the rows so that they compost on-site and doing two jobs at once when we use the tractors when we can (mowing plus mechanical weeding or mowing and trimming) which halves fuel usage.
Tony, the Vineyard Manager meticulously gathers information and then reviews it to see where improvements can be made. This allows the team to make informed decisions while being considerate to the environment and the people working the land while maintaining a profitable business. After all, profitability and sustainability are intrinsically linked!
MORE INSECTS MEANS MORE BIRDS
A sustainably managed vineyard will look less conventionally neat but reduced mowing and strimming means more meadow flowers, more beneficial insects, and more birds.
By encouraging natural inter-vine alleys that have many flowering and seeding weed and grass species, Yotes Court vineyard is home to many pollinating and beneficial insects. A direct result of increasing these insect populations is that the numbers of small and predatory birds have risen, too.
A LOCAL TRADITION
Having been a working orchard in an area of Kent that has a long-proven history of fruit and hop production, viticulture is but an evolutionary adaption to a warming climate.
The Romans cultivated vineyards in Kent during a previous climate warming phase, so the vines at Yotes Court are not new. It is just a new way to cultivate the land sustainably to keep local production alive and the community involved.
“We work hard on sustainability, so you can just relax and enjoy our wines knowing we’re minimising environmental impact”
