2018 Skinny Dip
2018 Skinny Dip
Three months' maceration in an Italian amphora, not a classic English winemaking style. The more serious side of Dan’s winemaking. On opening, bright apricot and marmalade. After a few hours/days, delicious savoury essences surface.
Cuvée: Skinny Dip
Style: Still
Colour: Orange
Grapes/Blend: Solaris
ABV: 11.5%
Vintage: 2018
Winemaking: Ripe Solaris grapes were destemmed into an 800-litre amphora and left to naturally ferment. Three months of maceration, skins were pressed, and added back to the free run. Rested on full lees in stainless steel for a further ten months before bottling via gravity.
The fruit used for this wine was grown by Kathy Archer at her vineyard just outside of Ottery Saint Mary in Devon. Kathy is an organic grower (uncertified) and uses no pesticides or herbicides, relying on hard work and spending time amongst the vines to produce grapes of extraordinary quality. A 1.2ha parcel, 15-year-old vines, south-facing.
Sulphur: None added
Soil: Clay over sandstone
Offbeat wines is the inspiring project started by Daniel Ham in 2018. Using organic fruit from vineyards in Hampshire and Devon. Joined by his wife Nicola in their own cellar in 2020, these former marine biologists are about as close as you will get to garage winemaking in the UK. Wines are made with no additions and are among the most exciting being made in England.