Grove Hill was originally founded as an orchard and exotic plant nursery in 1846. In the 1800’s, a huge variety of fruit, plants and flowers were grown at Grove Hill and widely exported including to England. Cider and perry were also made.
The historic Grove Hill glass house.
Many historic outbuildings, stables, glass houses and ferneries remain together with extensive collections of significant, rare and unusual trees. The property now focuses on growing cherries and producing premium wines.
All of our wines come from our small vineyard located on two very special sites. The main section is situated on the valley floor, which produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A second smaller section sits on a very steep hillside that also contains Pinot Noir. The close planting and steep slopes on these sites mean that they require particular care to look after—with all tasks needing to be done by hand.
It’s worth the effort. Now about 30 years old, the vines produce wines with power and real character.
Our winemaking principle is to let the vines express themselves, rather than interfere too much during the vinification process. All our wines are fermented with wild yeast from the vineyard. None of our wine is filtered or fined. Nor are any additions made other than minimal amounts of sulphur.
We let our grapes speak for themselves.
An original Wardian case used by Charles Giles to transport plants from across the seas to Grove Hill during the mid 1800s.
Once in barrel or bottled, our wines are stored in our large stone cellar. Set into a hillside, the thick stone walls provide ideal conditions for the wines to develop slowly. They are never rushed.
Marguerite Giles and her son Sam look after Grove Hill. They personally attend to the vineyard and winemaking tasks. All of the winemaking and bottling occurs entirely at the property so complete control over the process is maintained at all times.
The original stables at Grove Hill.