Tilling’ the Land
Set amongst 70 acres of rolling hills and woodlands with views along the Tillingham River valley, across to the ancient town of Rye and beyond. Where we meet Ben Walgate, the man behind Tillingham.
Ben Walgate at Tillingham, Dew Farm Dew Lane Peasmarsh, Rye TN31 6XD
How did you get from where you grow up to being here in East Sussex?
Ben. I was born in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, into a farming family; my Dad still farms there today. So, we’ve got a rich farming history that goes back generations, around East Yorkshire originally. When I was five, my parents separated, my mother opened a wine bar with my stepfather, and they were really into property too. When you consider these two formative influences on my life; looking at what I do now, it all makes sense.
After that, I went to university in London, I didn’t think about going into farming or hospitality at the time, but I did get a job in a wine shop. I spent four years studying various subjects under the mantle of classics, including art history, archaeology, literature, amongst others. I loved dipping in and out of things. Towards the end of my studies, I had no idea what the next move would be, but there was a love of the classical world and wine, so the logical next step was to get on a plane to find out more.
Starting in Athens, working and travelling around Mediterranean Europe, the decision to become a winemaker came about during a few weeks spent on a vineyard in Burgundy, and it was like WOW, working in the vines, in cellars; it meant everything to me at the time. I felt at ease, especially in the farming side of the job. I didn’t know it at the time but having grown up on a farm, doing all of the activities you do in that environment, had set me up with the practical wherewithal and a connection to nature that is so important to what I do now.
I moved back to England, to Brighton, and I’ve not really left the South coast since. I went to Plumpton to study on a two-year course in viticulture and oenology, basically just getting the nuts and bolts of how to grow grapes and make wine. Then I opened a business in Brighton selling organic wine; the vineyard that I spent time in Burgundy produced organic wine, and that sensitivity to nature it was had piqued my interest and prompted me to jump into wine. These guys were farming a bit differently, it felt like a more ancient way of farming and making wine. Those people and their wines seemed more interesting, alive and dynamic. Ultimately, I set up the business buying and selling wine because I wanted to learn about distribution, which is an essential part of being a winemaker. Many people who go into wine production forget that is the most challenging part; it isn’t making the wine or growing the grapes. It is how you are going to appeal to someone, motivate someone to buy your wine. To succeed as a start-up vineyard, you have to figure out the whole brand proposition and route to market before you start making the wine. I did the buying and selling bit for three years; then, after that, I set about getting back on track with the production side. I got a job at a vineyard on the Isle of Wight where I did two vintages, building a good practical foundation. Still, it wasn’t going anywhere, as the owners were not interested in developing the business. So, I decided to leave and started working for some investors and ended up at Gusbourne, a local vineyard near Ashford. The owner had got things going, then I came on board, we planted more vineyards, built a winery and developed a visitor centre. I had been with them for six years when I found out about Tillingham.
It was called Dew Farm at the time; Tillingham was a name that I gave to the business because the farm looks out over the Tillingham Valley. It was Summer 2016 when I saw what an incredible place this is; I could see Rye in the distance, the beautiful countryside and the predominantly south-facing slopes, perfect for growing grapes; I said to myself, This is it. This is what I’ve been looking for! I was living in Woodchurch at the time, and moved to the farm in the Summer of 2018 when it got to the project’s construction phase, making the farm look like it does today. I love where I live, close to Rye and the sea, stunning countryside and a short hop to London.
“I would never want to live anywhere else. I love it. I go swimming most days; the area’s got so much to offer, and there are real opportunities in Rye and an exciting future ahead.”
Tillingham wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the support and shared vision of my business partners Terence and Meiyi Devonport. Terence’s family bought the estate in the early 20th Century. Tillingham is a tenant and a custodian of the land and buildings, and the Devonport’s have been instrumental in sharing in the vision and supporting it financially. It has been quite the journey; we are thrilled and proud to see this part of the estate repurposed and diversified; it was a semi-derelict farm. It is now an exciting business, generating significant tourism and creating jobs for Rye and the surrounding area.
With a clean slate, did you set targets or allow yourself to experiment to see where that led your new business?
Ben. After figuring out all the different facets of the business and how they fitted together, the plan was both complex and long-term. I knew that I needed to have the guest rooms, the restaurant and all of the tourism; it is an essential part of both the Tillingham experience and the cash flow to get business off the ground with the least amount of debt. We needed the turnover from day one to support the winemaking. It takes time to get the vines to mature; you incur losses on the winemaking and farming side, propped up by the tourism side. What I had in mind in 2016 is what we have now. We wouldn’t be where we are now though if it wasn’t for the people, like our head chef, Tom, who has helped put us on the map, as have all the other wonderful members of the team that we’ve got here, it’s very much a team effort. It has become a big team; there are 40 of us now.
Despite planning and the long-term projections, there is so much about what we do that is incredibly experimental. Though representative of a movement gaining traction the world over, the amalgam of regenerative farming and pre-industrial winemaking methods are unique. The importance of this area’s rich history and the origins of our farmstead are inspirational to me. Hops have been a large part of the landscape here, and now is the era of vineyards. We’re against monocultures, though, and much like times of old, it’s not just about vines; it’s livestock, food production. We are trying to get to a diverse closed-loop system where everything is connected and ultimately a sustainable business in the true sense of the word. The waste from the winery gets composted, and then that compost goes back into the soil. We grow vegetables for the restaurant. We farm animals for the restaurant, but the animals benefit the soil in the vineyards; this holistic way of farming is more sustainable, more nutritious, and environmentally positive. Other vineyards are now getting in touch, asking, what are you doing? They want to understand it better.
People tend to follow - to do what people did before them. Things started to go wrong with farming and our food after the First World War. With farming, a combination of the necessity of cheap food, big machinery which hadn’t existed before, chemical fertilizers, all those elements contributed to where we are now. It is pretty challenging to break that cycle because it sometimes means putting the land out of production for two or three years or just having to work much harder, which is a hard ask when a farmer’s life is challenging enough. For some of the experimental techniques we’re doing now, it’s a giant leap of faith; we’re not 100% sure which things work best.
Where are all the grapes coming from?
Ben. Last year, 2020, was our first harvest here, and we made 2,000 bottles of wine. On top of that and since 2017 we have been buying grapes in from other vineyards; some of them are local, Kent, East Sussex, and lots are coming from Suffolk and Essex. Longer-term, once our vines are fully established, I’d like to be 100% self-sufficient. However, the short-term financial necessity dictates we buy as much as we can easily sell. Sales are great and we are selling more wine here at the farm than I could ever have imagined.
“Some of our wine has been in oak barrels or clay, some of it has been in concrete, and we’ll blend the three. Each element brings different flavours, different textures, and you end up with something exciting and complex.”
Tell me about the qvevri pots and how they fit in with your winemaking method?
Ben. The qvevris first arrived in 2017; I bought some second-hand oak barrels, stainless steel because these are accessible and relatively inexpensive; and I purchased the concrete vats later, in 2019, which were a bit of a luxury. I was interested in the idea of fermenting in clay, and there is a history of fermenting wine in clay in different countries all around the world. The ones that we have here, qvevris, are from Georgia, the birthplace of winemaking; it’s an 8,000-year-old tradition.
In England, because we have a cooler climate, we have lower alcohols in the wine. As a result, the wines aren’t naturally as weighty or as flavoursome as if they were grown somewhere warmer. The traditional method used to make champagne is the mainstay of the English Wine industry. It suits our climate, requiring grapes of marginal ripeness (9-10% alcohol), refermenting that in the bottle to add bubbles, and ageing for 2 – 3 years adds complexity, before topping with sugar, brandy or older wine, helps soften the wines high acidity. As a nation, we have excelled at this style, but there’s so much more we can do, and that can be achieved when you keep an open mind and invest in farming more. Unlike established wine regions, we have the freedom.
I like drinking red, white and rosé more often than drinking champagne. That is not about how much it costs; it is just what we all generally consume more of the day today.
“I knew that by choosing the best sites and growing the right grape varieties, we would have the potential to make great white, red, and rosé wines, not just sparkling wine.”
This could be an ignorant question but is there consistency? Would you try and replicate a well-received vintage?
Ben. There are certain wines in our portfolio (24 different wines) that have something in common every year, they belong to a particular style, and we employ a similar recipe each time. However, every year is different, and the wines express this as they should. For me, the idea of consistency implies that you’re trying to make the wines taste the same, regardless of the vintage. We react to the grapes that we get, and they end up going in a particular direction. It follows a winemaking style; if anything, we try to amplify the vintage rather than muting it. A lot of conventional winemaking is prescriptive; it is the idea that a consumer wants their Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand to taste the same every year, and that’s obviously against everything that we do. The thing that drives us is ultimately quality.
From your original plan, does Tillingham tick all the boxes?
Ben. Generally speaking, we are almost there with the rooms and the restaurant - just a bit of fine-tuning needed. This summer, we’ve opened two bell tents, our first two glamping tents, which I’ve always wanted to do. We are confined to the 11 rooms because of the size of the hotel building. I think of it as a restaurant with rooms, rather than a hotel. So yes, a bit of fine-tuning, but kind of there. I want to do more around the farm to have picnic spots, paths, and signage to go off and explore the surroundings. The general renovation/restoration of the farm is ongoing, I don’t want it to be either manicured or neglected, but balanced and healthy. The farm’s biodiversity and soil health won’t be restored in a day - that’s a long term thing, but still we have achieved a lot in four years.
Outside of the team that you have built, do you have other local connections?
Ben. I’d say so; there are many connections through our employees and their spouses to local businesses, other farms, producers, etc. I’m keen to promote local business, including other hospitality businesses and wine producers too, as I feel that it is a better way to do business and makes the whole area stronger as a result. As a rule, we try and find everything locally, but if we really can’t, we’ll look further afield. A big shout out has to go to RX Architects, who helped deliver the ideal solution with the buildings and budget. Marcus Crane too, of McCully & Crane (page 12), did all of the interiors and nailed it. There are so many other people and businesses locally we have to thank and are grateful to be working with.
Branding is so important and what you have is unique. Did you have a vision, or did you go to an agency that created design options for you to select? Or something else . . . ?
Ben. When I started thinking about what the labels would look like, the logo and the branding, I thought, well, I have a bit of experience working with different drinks creative agencies and then started to go down that road. Still, it quickly became pretty clear that those traditional drinks branding agencies would have a somewhat familiar outcome. I knew that we needed to stand out and that we needed to throw the rule book out the window; the idea of the hierarchy of estate name, wine name, grape variety etc., was old hat and because of what we stand for, it needed to be something very fresh. It was a good friend, Felix Nash, of The Fine Cider Company, who put me onto Kellenberger–White. They had designed his very cool website and had done a few white label projects on ciders. Kellenberger–White don’t do anything around consumer products, and indeed not wine. They are fine art graduates; they do graphic design, exhibitions and magazines around contemporary art. After meeting them and starting a conversation, it just felt right. With the first wine that we came out with, the PN17, we were so pleased with how it turned out and it was a sensation on Instagram. Every label since has been a journey and I love the results!
All the wines are individual, almost like tiny brands in their own right, and it is a great way to work. I knew from my experience selling wine that labels matter to people.
When in Tillingham . . . After meeting all the lovely folks at Tillingham and Mark had finished taking hundreds of great photographs, we sat back, soaked up the surroundings, and quaffed a couple of glasses of Col’19!
