EAGE Field trip to Denbies Vineyard with Professor Dick Selley

11:00am Guest arrival

11:30am Lecture by Prof. Dick Selley: ‘Geological & climatic controls on two millennia of English viticulture’

12:30pm Winery tour: This begins with the showing of a film with polychromatic geo-phantasmograms starring a notorious local geologist pontificating on how geology controls the location of Denbies, the deposition of the Chalk, uplift & erosion of the Weald, etc., etc.. This is followed by a stroll through the winery before descending into the cellars for a tutored tasting of 3 different wines
Opportunity for refreshment in the Conservatory Restaurant or the Hatch on the Lawn.

14:00pm Vineyard tour: This is a ride in a series of trailer carriages towed by a Land Rover that climbs up through the vineyard and along part of the North Downs Way providing spectacular views of Box Hill, the North Downs, Mole Valley and the Weald.

Surrey, in general, and Dorking in particular, has a long association with wine. Several vineyards flourished in the county during the Little Ice Age of the 17th and 18th centuries, notably at Painshill Park, Albury and Deepdene. In the last century vineyards were planted near Dorking at Thorncroft and Denbies. Denbies covers some 104 hectares (260 acres) and is believed to be the largest vineyard in Europe. It is planted with 19 different cultivars, and produces a range of red, white and sparkling wines. It was established on the recommendation of a notorious local geologist, who recognised the favourable combination of topography and geology, coupled with the beneficial effects of global warming. The Cretaceous chalk, on which Denbies is largely planted, crops out in the Champagne area of France, and is noted for its dual pore system of fractures and inter-coccolithic shelter porosity. The fractures ensure that the vines are always well-drained, but in the dry season they may obtain moisture from the micro-porosity between the fractures.

LOCATION: Denbies vineyard and winery is one mile north of Dorking on the A24 (TQ163511). Postcode: RH5 6AA. The winery is reached from a roundabout with a brown tourist sign. Full details of location are on www.denbies.co.uk. Denbies winery can be reached by train from London, Victoria & Waterloo to Dorking, and from Reading and Redhill to Dorking Deepdene Station. Denbies winery is an invigorating 15minute walk away, or 5 minutes by taxi (Taxi rank in station fore-court).

RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND READING

Selley, RC. 2006. The Box Hill & Mole Valley Book of Geology. ISBN 13: 9780953443062 Friends of Box Hill. Dorking. 35pp. Buy from Dorking Museum: www.dorkingmuseum.org.uk and other outlets.

Selley, RC. 2008. The Winelands of Britain: Past, present & prospective. Petravin Press. Dorking. ISBN 0-9547419-2-7 119pp. Currently out of print but secondhand copies are always available on Amazon

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Denbies Wine Estate, Bradley Lane, Dorking, United Kingdom