- VINEYARD & WINERY -
New for 2024
Gift vouchers for a tour and tasting at Hawkswood Vineyard
Fashioned on 600gm luxury moleskin card
£25 per person
Posted 1st class to either the purchaser or the recipient
Payment by BACS or cheque
Just phone, text or email us to let us know where the voucher is to be sent
and how you would wish to pay for it.
Wine GB 2023 National Awards
We are delighted that all three of our 2022 wines won medals at the Wine GB 2023 National Awards which were judged by wine experts headed by Oz Clarke.
Our 2022 Bacchus picked up a silver medal. It is a light pale wine (10% abv), with notes of tropical fruit accompanied by a typical grapefruit and apple finish.
Our 2022 Solaris was awarded a bronze medal. This is a richer sweeter wine than the Bacchus at 13% abv. It has strong tropical fruit flavours, especially pineapple and has on occasion been used as a desert wine in a couple of Michelin starred restaurants.
Our Rondo/pinot rose is much darker in colour than more traditional rose and tastes very much like a strawberry cream tea in a glass. It is the antithesis of Provencal rose!!
All wines are stocked by Maison Bleu in Bury St. Edmunds and are available to purchase at the cellar door here in Thurston
Our Award Winning Wines
SILVER MEDAL WINNERS
The WineGB Awards is the national competition for the English and Welsh wine industry. Organised and run by WineGB, the aim and purpose of the Awards is to send out a powerful message of the quality, consistency and variety of our wines. This is made so because our competition’s wines are judged rigorously and to the highest standards. Co-chaired by leading wine experts, writers and presenters Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke OBE, the judges are all actively involved in the wine trade and possess a professional knowledge of the industry’s wines.
The competition is embraced by producers of all sizes, with some of the smallest producers’ wines tasted alongside very largest in the country, and the newest producers in the GB wine industry pitched against some of the most established and respected.
We are delighted to announce that our wines have collected silver medals at the WineGB Awards 2022.
Bacchus 2021
A light refreshing example of the varietal. With notes of elderflower on the nose, the palate yields a mixture of light tropical fruit and grapefruit flavours.
Rondo Rosé 2021
Made predominantly from Rondo grapes, with small parcels of Pinot Noir and Regent. With a slightly smoky, caramel aroma, it tastes like a strawberry cream tea in a glass!
Our Story
A PASSION FOR ENGLISH WINES
Irene and I share a passion for wine which has led us to move to Thurston in order to plant a vineyard and set up a small winery. Irene and her hawk, ‘Ruby’ oversee the vineyard whilst I run the winery.
It all started way back in 1977 when I discovered the German ‘Weinfests’ whilst working in Ingelheim am Rhein. Since then, we have had a wide ranging interest in wine, visiting vineyards and wineries all over the world. After both spending all our working lives in hospitals, we decided over a decade ago to try and make English wine after being inspired by local wines in Norfolk. The rest as they say is history and after making some truly dreadful wines, we have made award winning wines every year for the last 6 years.
In 2022 we completed our new tasting room in order to welcome guests for vineyard and winery tours and wine tasting. We keep production to between 1500 and 3000 bottles of white, red and rosé wine each year, quite simply because we do everything ourselves! We concentrate on quality rather than quantity as confirmed by various Bacchus wines made in our winery winning medals every year for the last 6 years as well as winning the prize for the best rosé in East Anglia in 2019.
Vineyard Experience
VISIT, EXPLORE, TASTE
We are delighted to welcome individual guests and small groups by prior appointment for tours of the vineyard and winery and a tasting of 4 or 5 of our wines. Visits can be booked at 1200 and 1400 on Saturdays between May and September with Ruby flying during the visit at 1400.
Irene and I, Ruby the hawk, and Nellie and Archie, our vineyard dogs, look forward to welcoming you to our unique Suffolk vineyard!
Our Wines
INNOVATIVE AND ENGLISH
In 2021 we made three different wines. Our Bacchus is a light refreshing example of the varietal. At 10% alcohol it is excellent as an aperitif or with Asian cuisine. With notes of elderflower on the nose, the palate yields a mixture of light tropical fruit and grapefruit flavours.
Our Solaris is a richer wine with higher alcohol at 12.5%. The palate yields peach, pear and guava with a long smooth finish.
Our third 2021 wine is a rosé made predominantly from Rondo, with small parcels of Pinot Noir and Regent. With a slightly smoky, caramel aroma, it tastes like a strawberry cream tea in a glass!
A range of wines are available to purchase from the cellar door at Thurston Place – please call beforehand on 01359 271862. For Wine Sales/Tours & Tastings please contact us by email mr@lapsurgeon.co.uk
Contact Us
mr@lapsurgeon.co.uk / +44 7920 427423
HAWKSWOOD VINEYARD & WINERY
Thurston Place, Beyton Road, Thurston,
Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk IP313QZ