Offbeat Combo
Country: England
Region: Wiltshire
Grapes: Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Apples
Vintage: 2021
Offbeat is the West Country based winemaking project of Daniel and Nicola Ham which began in 2018. Daniel works as naturally as possible with hybrid varieties suited to the English climate, ferments are wild and little if any sulphur is used. Production is small with only 2,000 bottles of each cuvée made.
A pétillant co-ferment of cider (77%) and wine (33%) from 2021. The cider was made using a blend of apple varieties from two traditional, unsprayed orchards in Somerset and Devon. Apples were collected by hand from the orchard floor late in the season and directly milled and pressed. The juice was left to spontaneously ferment over the winter and blended with a small portion of wine, prior to bottling.
Pinot blanc and Chardonnay grapes were hand destemmed, foot trod and left to macerate for 10 days. The free run and press wine were transferred to amphora and left to spontaneously ferment over the winter. Prior to the end of fermentation, the wine was blended with the cider and bottled in the Spring of 2022 to finish fermentation and naturally carbonate. Bottled via gravity with zero additions.