Spotlight on Oxney organic wine estate

This month our Drinks Editor James Viner meets Kristin Syltevik, co-owner of Oxney Organic Estate located on the Sussex-Kent border, to savour a sip of their award-winning wines and discover the secrets of their success…

Kristin and her partner Paul Dobson farm organically, making award-winning organic wines on their farm on the Sussex-Kent border near Rye, 25 miles southeast of Tunbridge Wells. Here Kristin shares her business journey and discusses the challenges and rewards of organic viticulture, wine tourism and future initiatives…

Can you share details about the organic credentials of your award-winning wines?

We planted the vineyard into organic soil in 2012 and are certified by the Soil Association. The vineyard is looked after without a chemical regime (the normal approach by conventional vineyards). One must be ultra-observant and act when needed. You’re farming with nature without harming the world. The soil is the basis for our organic vineyard – vines permitted to mature slowly, growing in wonderful soil, can deal with disease pressure. Inputs are low, with just farmyard manures and compost, in addition to the clover and herb leys. Wildlife, from microbial life to frogs, hares, badgers and foxes, roam the vineyard and our wines are made with an ultra-low intervention approach. 

Tell us about Oxney Organic Estate…

We’ve nearly 14ha of vineyards (the farm is over 300ha) and are also focused on growing organic wheat and other arable crops. We have a busy sideline in accommodation on the farm for guests visiting for a few days to enjoy the vineyard and this beautiful area. The number of British organic and biodynamic vineyards is growing, and it’s encouraging to see conventional vineyards adopting more sustainable practices. I am sometimes worried, however, that there’s some greenwashing in this sector (as elsewhere). Words like ‘sustainability,’ ‘regenerative’ and ‘natural wine’ are often used with little foundation.

When and why did you choose to practice organic viticulture?

We wouldn’t have started farming had we not been able to do it organically. Our motivation was the environment – agriculture (including viticulture) is behind a huge deterioration of soil, water and air. It’s a huge consumer of fossil fuels, an unsustainable approach which needs to be addressed urgently. The government has launched the ‘Sustainable Farming Incentive’ designed to encourage every farmer to manage the land in a way that protects the environment.

Do you offer visitor experiences? 

We’re open Tuesday-Sunday (10 am – 4 pm; closed Sundays Oct-Apr), offering wine flights, charcuterie and cheeseboards. On Saturdays, we have bookable tours and tastings. Accommodation for 1-28 people includes shepherd’s huts, converted barns, and an old farmhouse. Our mid-week stay and tour package is very popular.

Tell us about your team…

From the start, we’ve surrounded ourselves with experts. With advice from Stephen Skelton MW, pruning lessons from Marco Simonetti, and our winemakers perfecting our signature style, it’s been a true team effort where everyone shines. We’re only 12 years into the project (for a vineyard, not even out of the start phase) and have much to learn and do. We’ve been hugely encouraged by comments from wine experts, amazing medals at international competitions, and top scores from Jancis Robinson MW. But the happy smile and comment from a customer sipping a glass of wine at the vineyard is unquestionably the best testament that we’re working in the right direction.

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