Working in cellars around the world, our team of Masters of Wine and winemakers invest and collaborate with vineyard owners and winemaking teams to create artisanal wines that reflect place.
Everything begins with ‘place’, a site that is unique and has a character of its own, with a story to tell. We are very human in our choices. We fall for beauty. Sun falling on the hills, gnarled ancient vines, old stone village walls, the faces of the people drinking coffee in the morning…
We breathe in and inhale; the old vines burning in the fields, the Gitanes ‘sans filtres’ smoked with morning cognac, the fresh baked bread, the broken fruit, the grape juice fermenting in the cellars. We taste; we taste everything. Food, fruit, cheese and of course wine.
Other people’s wines inspire us. Those that set the standard for the region, or challenge everything that has gone before. We look at varieties that are indigenous, that have history, and those that are new, that find a natural footing. Regions have opportunities, some are easy to find, others take some searching.
We always start with ‘place’, it is the canvas on which everything else is built.
Winemaking is inherently conservative. Built on generations of repetition, or expensively purchased or created – land, vineyards, wineries, people. With one harvest per year of production, it is not an industry that inspires creativity.
Starting in corners of cellars, we begin small, a few barrels, one or two tanks. We are not oblivious to the overheads that others have given us the opportunity to use, and indeed with time we invest in them too. However, starting small we can afford to dream a little, try things that a bigger producer might not.
Being able to be brave allows us to uncover a region’s strength. Winemaking without barriers, winemaking unshackled, gives us the opportunity to aim for excellence or points of difference in a way others would struggle to do.
Vineyard Productions began and remains based on a desire to build relationships. We wanted to have friends, friends that grew up in a place, understand it. Not only do we passionately believe we make better wines this way, but it makes our lives fuller, creating human connections around the world that we enjoy, and maybe our children might in the future.
It is the winemaking that unites us, strengthened by the importance of ensuring all of our winemaking friends are fully incorporated in the projects, their stories told, their home respected. Our challenging approach to wine production creates conversation, consideration and soul-searching. It is fulfilling and results in a level of mutual respect that creates very strong bonds.
The concept of ‘terroir’ is debated by many, soil, aspect, climate etc. But for us it is the human aspect we value the most, and reflecting that in the final wine is where we place most importance.
There are two Masters of Wine in our team and one in training. We have two winemakers and three part-time oenologists, plus a team of marketing experts and designers who bring in a wealth of consumer and market knowledge.
Almost all of our projects take place in small cellars, with family winemakers who have long worked alone, often unaffected by the winemaking world around them. To bring in expertise from around the world is fascinating, it allows a Sauvignon producer in New Zealand to work with a white Grenache producer in Catalonia, Spain, a sparkling wine producer in England to share thoughts with a winemaker in India.
We are not ‘flying winemakers’. There is no uniformity of style. Every story begins at its source, every winemaking decision is made locally. The wines are always true to themselves, however allowing interaction, human conversation and a breeding of ideas that is fundamental to our business ethics.
Design that reflects the narrative of our stories is vital. Visual reflections of the wine, its personality, the place and people behind it.
Ensuring that the labeling belongs to a place is important, takes on board local artistry, regional printing skills and paper sources that both belong and are environmentally considerate. Promises like these bring their own challenges, but also offer reward. Our Indian wine labels were drawn by hand with the charcoal from the wood fires of Nashik, in the hills above Mumbai.
Our design team are fully integrated in the business, part of every conversation, about vines, winemaking, people, taste. When pen goes to paper, the story they have to tell is theirs as much as ours.
There is no point in having a great story, unless you know how to tell it. In a world of multiple retail, the conversations that once happened at the point of sale are not there like they used to be.
In restaurants wine waiters and sommeliers have their chance, just. Wine has little space on television, and newspaper columns are shrinking. Wine is losing its voice.
For us we work very hard to tell the narrative. Through words, spoken and written, through video, through tasting we consider this every step of the way. For Vineyard Productions to be a success our winemaking needs to be excellent, our story-telling world class.
A group of passionate individuals who are all experts in their field, bringing together the skillset,
human conversation and breeding of ideas that are fundamental to the ethics of our business.
In no particular order and with very equal importance…
Martin McCully, Nick Beck, Mark Pygott MW, Rosie Clarkson, Ben Glover, Pierrick Harang, Liam Steevenson MW, Franck Massard,
Candice Veitch, Joseph Sharp, and a huge amount of friends that pick grapes, punch-down tanks, draw beautifully, and tell our stories…
Liam established WINESTOCK, a Wine and Food Festival Series in 2008, and then in 2012 took a break to consider his future, one that saw him set 2 x Guinness World Records in an Atlantic Row. On return Liam joined the Waitrose Buying team, managing major regions in France with New Zealand and Australia.
In 2017 Liam founded Global Wine Solutions Ltd, an influential business that consults across the international industry. He runs winemaking projects in France, Spain, New Zealand and India. Liam is an International Judge.
Liam is most proud of his three children, who all want to be anything but wine merchants and would like him to get on less planes!
Ben is a past Wine Marlborough committee member, chair of the Bragato Wine Show (New Zealand’s only single vineyard wine show) and was chair of Pinot Noir 2017 New Zealand, the world’s largest and most prestigious pinot noir event, held every four years in Wellington.
He was an inaugural Len Evans scholar in 2001 and has over 25 years of experience as a national and international wine judge, testimony to his dedication to quality wine – both as a winemaker and as an appreciative wine drinker.
An excellent advocate for design at board level, Martin has the ability to align design strategy to business goals, for organisations to use and implement Design in the enhancement and differentiation of their brands and products.
In the past 20 years, Martin's work has ranged from advertising campaigns for international corporations such as Microsoft, Santander, General Motors, Diageo, Pernod Richard, 20th Century Fox, to Graphic, UX, UI and Design Systems for companies such as Liveposter, SSE, Waitrose, Pernod Ricard, in addition to working with a significant number of award winning SMEs on branding and product development. This varied career has seen been recognised with over 40 industry awards, the highlight being two Cannes Lions.
Key to Martin’s abilities is his skill in getting to the heart of the brief, working with clients/stakeholders helping them to define their actual needs, to drive effective design that exceeds client expectations, and provides measurable returns.
A beautiful pale salmon pink colour, MAÏA is an incredibly elegant Côtes de Provence rosé with layers of fruit balanced by refreshing acidity. On the nose the wine is eager and intense… read more
Bordeaux is a city of long-standing importance within France. A city rich in its history, its grandeur and its culture, Bordeaux’s heritage has evolved with two centuries of architecture transforming it into the UNESCO site that it is today. With vines first planted in Roman times, the creation of this beautiful city solidified Bordeaux’s position centre stage of the wine world… read more
