Loving Local at Balfour Winery

It’s not just plants that we’re passionate about at Millbrook. Our foodhall is brimming with over 600 products from carefully selected local producers across Kent and the UK. Last month, Millbrook Foodhall buyer Adam took a behind-the-scenes trip to one of our favourite local winemakers - Balfour Winery in Staplehurst.

This Summer I was invited to meet with the team down at Balfour Winery, on the Hush Heath Estate in Staplehurst. We aim to work with as many local businesses as possible at Millbrook and it's always a pleasure to visit companies onsite where they produce their products. It helps to better understand their ethos and how, and why, they choose to do things in a certain way. There are always stories to bring back from the suppliers that we don’t often get to know about by just meeting them at tradeshows, or by simply choosing to stock their products.

Balfour Winery is a good example of this. They have a rich history in firsts. Their Balfour Brut Rose was the first English wine to win the International Wine Challenge in 2004, and was then selected as the first English wine to be served on board British Airways First Class flights worldwide. The Brut Rose was also chosen as the only English wine to be served at the London Olympics in 2012.

Balfour have also created the only beer and cider ranges made by winemakers, and with their way of creating luxury tasting products at achievable prices these products do not disappoint. With a state of the art processing and bottling plant on site, Balfour are able to control everything from growing to manufacturing, ensuring they hit their own high standards and achieve the clean, fresh and precise style they are known for.

A big factor for us, and our commitment to being greener, is Balfour understand the importance of sustainability and conservation. Almost half of their 400 acre estate is given over to apple orchards, ancient oak woodland and wildflower meadows, which are home to barn owls, fallow deer and buzzards along with a whole host of indigenous insects and animals. As I walked through the vineyards I was amazed by the noise of the grasshoppers and crickets, as well as the movement of bees and butterflies through the meadows.

Balfour have recently teamed up with Kent Wildlife Trust to promote wildflower meadows by giving away seed kits to customers and showcasing what can be done on their own estate. They have planted wildflower boarders 5 meters deep around the exterior of all their vine runs.

Meetings like this are really important for growing our relationships with local makers, and better understanding the products we stock. If you are a fan of English wines then treat yourself to a bottle of something special at our Food Hall this Autumn, or follow us on social media for more news on local products and tastings.

For more information about Balfour visit their website: www.balfourwinery.com.