Suffolk · Stour Valley
The Vineyard
Today
A working Suffolk vineyard
Higham is a working vineyard on the north side of the Stour Valley, Suffolk, in the distinctive landscape of Constable Country. Fruit is hand harvested here. The wines — Higham Pink, Cuvée Brut and Single Estate Pinot Noir — are bottled in Kent. The work remains focused on producing English wine from this specific Suffolk site.
Our story →
Planting
The choice of grape
The choice of grape was influenced by personal taste as much as by commercial considerations: a preference for red Burgundy and Provence rosé. Subsequent soil tests and advice indicated that the land was suitable for Pinot Noir, so Pinot Noir was planted.
Eight acres of Pinot Noir formed the original vineyard. Higham has since expanded to ten acres, with a further two acres planted with Chardonnay.
The land
Stoney Croft
The fields that made up the small holding were known locally as Stoney Croft, because the soil is flint and stone.
Aspect
South-facing slopes
The south-facing position matters because it gives the vines the greatest exposure to sunlight. The land looks out across the Stour Valley.
Constable Country
Painted in 1804
John Constable painted Higham village in the Stour Valley in 1804. The vineyard sits within that landscape.
