A HUSBAND and wife team who quit their jobs to follow their passion have launched the first wines from their 45-acre estate.
Julie Bretland and Mark Collins are the founders of Artelium, a new boutique wine estate in Sussex.
Artelium grows grapes in vineyards across the South Downs, with its headquarters at a vineyard in Streat, nestled between Ditchling and Plumpton, known as Artelium East, as well as a larger vineyard in Madehurst, near Arundel - Artelium West.
READ MORE: Sussex vineyards win big at Wine GB Awards
Julie and Mark have combined their keen interest in wine, art and nature to create a space where visitors will be able to enjoy artworks as well as wine in a stunning natural setting, once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
The pair started out by purchasing grapes from other growers across the South East but they now have 85,000 vines of their own to prune, and harvested their first grapes last summer.
Artelium has just launched its first two vintage sparkling wines, the Curators Cuvée 2014, at £32, and the Makers Rosé 2015, at £35, both produced in collaboration with celebrated winemaker, Dermot Sugrue.
The wines are made with grapes from a single vineyard and hand harvested. They are aged for over five years and four years to bring depth and complexity of flavour.
Mark said Artelium aims to champion other winemakers and artists-in-residence to celebrate their unique crafts.
He said: “Although we’re aiming to be self sufficient in the next three years, our project here is very much about collaboration.
“It follows a passion that Julie and I have for wine, art and nature.
“The art side is rooted in producing small batch artisan products, and we think of wine makers as artisans in their own right. We want to work with the best English winemakers.”
READ MORE: Sussex wine-producers win ninth award of 2020
This spring Artelium is also set to launch its first still white, red and rosé wines, through a creative residency with award-winning winemaker Owen Elias.
Mark said he and Julie decided to move into wine production after being inspired by the growing English wine movement.
He said: “Our background is much more in digital technology, but we both grew up in wine-growing regions.
“I grew up near vineyards in Kent while Julie lived down the road near Haywards Heath with vineyards on her doorstep.
“This project goes back to 2012 when we were researching wines for our own wedding.We made the decision to have all English wines and we came to understand about this growing movement.
“The more we could see the potential in it, the more it was fuelling our own passion and we decided we also wanted to get back to nature.
“So we took the plunge and now we’re running Artelium full time.”
SEE ALSO: Shoppers turn to English wine after being locked out of pubs
Mark said the English wine industry is going “from strength to strength” as demand is growing for all kinds of local produce.
He said: “It’s interesting when you look at the amount of wine we consume in this country, at 1.6 billion bottles every year.
“At the moment English wines represent 0.3 per cent of that, so it’s tiny. But even if we grow that to two per cent, that’s over 30 million bottles of English wine.
“People are more and more interested in what’s produced locally. The more wine producers there are, the more is distributed and the more knowledge there is and the greater the demand.”
The vineyard in Streat, Artelium East, has a dedicated tasting room in a barn, as well as an al fresco terrace.
Mark hopes to be able to open up the vineyards for tastings and tours this summer.
Guests will also be able to book a tour of the estate, walking among the vines and taking in the far-reaching views of the Downs, before enjoying a tutored tasting at the bar or a private table.
There is also a shop at the Artelium East site, which is currently open with coronavirus safety measures in place.
Mark said: “It’s great meeting customers who love the wines. It’s good fun and very rewarding to make your own produce.
“All being well, we’re really hoping to open up for tours and tastings later this year. We have lots of exciting plans ahead for artist residencies too, to be announced in 2021.”
The first two wines from Artelium are available to buy on their website now.
The Curators Cuvée 2014 is a crisp sparkling wine with fresh citrus flavours in a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
The Makers Rosé 2015 is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, with a rich depth of red fruit flavours
To purchase Artelium wines, visit artelium.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel