Vagabond reveals first wines to come out of new Battersea winery

By Lisa Riley

Published: 20 March, 2018

Vagabond Wines has revealed the first releases to come out of its new winery in the old Battersea Power Station, with an English fizz leading the way.

The sparkling wine, which will be made with grapes sourced from Oxfordshire, is poised to be release in the next few weeks, closely followed by a barrel fermented English Pinot Noir rosé.

In addition, the coming months will see Vagabond introduce home-grown Bacchus and Chardonnay from the new urban winery which opened its doors this week, with winemaker Gavin Monery at the helm, marking the sixth site for the business.

For the 2017 vintage, Vagabond said it had harvested and made the juice in Surrey and then finished off the process in the Battersea winery, with this year's vintage set to be made entirely onsite at the new premises.

The latest venture, which sits alongside Vagabond’s Fulham, Spitalfields, Clapham, Victoria and Charlotte Street sites and comprises a winery, bar and restaurant, formed part of Vagabond’s mission to bring "quality wines at accessible prices" to Londoners, said founder and MD, Stephen Finch.

“We’ re always thinking of ways to make wine more exciting and accessible for our customers so instead of simply bringing great wine to London, why not make great wine in London?,” said Finch.

Allowing customers to see how wine is made, and drink wines on-site that have been made on-site, helped bring customers closer to wine in a fun and educational way that had not really been done before in the capital, he added.

“The crux of Vagabond’s winemaking vision is to celebrate English wine, working with local vineyards to bring the art of winemaking straight into the heart of the city,” he said, adding customers would be invited to join in on the winemaking process throughout the year with various events, blending sessions and winemaker tastings.

Alongside the new winery, Vagabond is also launching the Collaboration Series, working with grape growers and winemakers to create wines exclusively for Vagabond customers, with Monery having travelled to Limoux and South Africa to make wines from the 2017/18 vintages, due for release later this year.

Monery said: “For years the London food scene has taken the best people, ingredients and ideas from around the world and we’re an extension of that - we’re sourcing grapes from top quality sites across the UK, Europe and South Africa, making wines with the same techniques and attention to detail as the best estates in the world.”

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