Exciting plans for Off the Line Vineyard under new ownership
12th March
New owners of Off the Line Vineyard
It was announced recently that the co-founders of Off the Line Vineyard in Hellingly – Anne-Marie Tynan and Kristina Studzinski were handing over their share of the vineyard, after 10 years, to a new duo Rachel & Rohen. Rachel is not a stranger to English wine as she has long been promoting locally produced wine in her family pub the Salehurst Halt near Robertsbridge – including the excellent portfolio of rosé wines produced at Off the Line. Rohen has abandoned the ‘nine to five’ and turned his back on high-end recruitment to get under the skin of the vineyard operations and help to create and drive the new vision for the vineyard forward.
Increased and safer access planned
With permission for increased access already granted the first major change will be the roadworks needed to improve access from the A267 Horam Road with a new road into the vineyard. The exact timings for this are to be confirmed.
Plans to create a community hub with expanded food and wine on offer
It will be business as usual with the online shop and the vineyard will open weekends from May for tasting tours and an improved website will make booking easier. They also hope to make more of the direct access from the Cuckoo Trail. Looking to the future they are planning on making the vineyard and cellar door tasting room into more of a community hub with an expansion of the food and wine on offer, different events and partnerships which will introduce new people to the beautiful East Sussex location. It is early days and they are just familiarising themselves with the demands of the vineyard and the logistics of introducing new elements.
Possibility to expand the wine portfolio
Off the Line is known for the high quality award winning portfolio of still rosé wines produced – Hip Rosé, Dancing Dog, Dog Rosé and the fizzy rosé Charmat. The vineyard has recently had new varietals like Chardonnay planted along with the more established planting which includes Pinot Noir, Regent, Rondo, Dornfelder, Pinot Meunier grapes. Looking to the future the plans will be:
“Starting with the core of quality rosé wines we will see how things go before planning any expansion of the portfolio. The new planting will allow us to diversify our production into new wines if we judge it to have real potential. We will remain flexible and essentially at the mercy of the weather patterns,” explained Rohen Cardle, Director – Off the Line Vineyard.
English Wine Festival at The Jolly Sportsman, Lewes
Rachel and Rohen will be out and about at various Summer events this year where they look forward to meeting people and introducing them to the wines. You can catch them at the English Wine Festival at the Jolly Sportsman Lewes on the May 5th Bank Holiday.
” We can’t wait to welcome customers and get to know people. I am looking forward to using my experience of building a team and transforming the Salehurst Halt into an important part of the community to create something similar here at Off the Line, “commented Rachel Nicol, Director – Off the Line Vineyard.
