Collette O'Leary, Bluebell Vineyard Estates

Merry Christmas everyone & a prosperous New Year! My thanks to all those who have and soon will feature here on Heart of UK Wine.

I recently visited Bluebell Vineyard Estates on a typical early winter Sussex day - cold and damp only to receive a warm welcome.

Bluebell Vineyard Estates planted the first vines in 2005 with the first commercial release in 2007. Prior to this it was once home to thousands of Large Whites, Landrace and Blue Cross Pigs - truly a swine to vine story!

In 2016 the 2011 Blanc de Blancs was awarded the Food Match Trophy at the Sommelier Wines Awards. The Hindleap sparkling wines have been awarded over sixty national and international awards in just 5 years, placing Bluebell Vineyard Estates amongst England’s leading producers.

Collette O'Leary, Assistant Winemaker & BSc Viticulture and Oenology
Preparing for a pre-Christmas lunch-time tasting.

Collette O'Leary

Assistant Winemaker, Bluebell Vineyard Estates

About the business

Q         Why did you join this company?

CO’L   After graduating from Plumpton in summer 2014 and spending harvest in California, I returned to the UK looking for a winery role that would be challenging and varied and give me broad exposure to the UK wine industry.  I approached Bluebell Vineyard and they had the exact role I was looking for so I jumped at the opportunity and haven’t looked back since.

Q          What does the business do?

CO’L    Bluebell Vineyard Estates is a vineyard and winery in Sussex producing English Sparkling Wine. We’ve got 70 acres planted already, with more land earmarked for planting next year.

Q          What is your favourite product?

CO’L    Obviously, I like all of them!  Although our Blanc de Blancs 2010 is a very special wine.  Aged for 4.5 years, vibrant crisp acidity and those hallmark chardonnay citrus notes, it’s really delicious.  

Q          What does the future hold?

CO’L    Bluebell Vineyard is growing and we have bold plans going forward, with more plantings again next year.  I have also started my own label with another former Plumpton student, Rebecca Coates. Bluebell Vineyard have been incredibly supportive of us in developing our own wine, and we are working on launch plans for our first sparkling wine next year.

About your job

Q          Why did you change careers?

CO’L    It was 2010, I was living and working in central London working on PR campaigns and I realised I didn’t want to be doing the same thing for the next 30 years. I knew I wanted to move from promoting products other people had developed to actually producing something of my own.  I had travelled extensively and fallen in love with the wine industry so I started looking into the burgeoning UK wine scene, and came across Plumpton College.  I had expected some resistance when I told friends and family that I was leaving my job to go back to college to study winemaking, but they all thought it was the best idea I had ever come up with! 

Q          What is the best thing about your current role?

CO’L    It is so varied and a lot of fun.  I am the wine development manager so I get involved in all aspects of production.  I love the physicality and adrenaline of harvest and then working with the wines as they change and evolve over time.  I also have a management and ambassadorial role which means I am customer-focused, host tours and tastings and also represent Bluebell Vineyard at industry events, so I think I have the best of all worlds.

Old pig sheds make ideal maturation stores for sparkling wine.

Q          What have been the biggest highlights/success in your current job?

CO’L  I made a Bacchus under my own label, Urban Foxes, with a former Plumpton student, Rebecca Coates, which we sold to M&S.  It was a huge learning curve, but Bluebell were really supportive throughout. It got some great press reviews and we were really proud of our achievement only two years after graduating from Plumpton.  

About your time Plumpton

Q     What course did you study at Plumpton?

CO’L   BSc Viticulture and Oenology 

Q          What was the best thing about studying at Plumpton?

CO’L    The combination of practical and theory stands you in really good stead when you go overseas on vintage.  But also, it’s the connections and friends you make while at Plumpton which gives you a network of advice, help and resources you can draw on throughout your career.

Q          What did Plumpton prepare you for . . . 

CO’L    Hard work and an adjustment in my financial expectations!

Q          What is your favourite Plumpton memory?

CO’L    One of the words of wisdom at Plumpton was that it takes a lot of good beer to make good wine, and after a long day of harvest that really resonated with me!  With this in mind one of my favourite memories was getting time off at the end of a gruelling harvest in California in 2014 and going to a place called Nick’s Cove in Tomales Bay with fellow Plumpton students who were also working in California wineries for harvest.  The setting was idyllic and the beer tasted even better knowing how hard we had worked for it.  We are still friends to this day and continue to share our harvest war stories.

Q          What does Plumpton do for you now?

CO’L    I have called on Sarah Midgely and Tony Milanowski a couple of times for some winemaking advice since I left.  Even after you have graduated it’s great to know that the Plumpton staff are still available to offer advice and a sounding board if you need them. 

About you

Q          Where are you from?

CO’L  I was born in Surrey and lived and worked in London before starting at Plumpton. When I started at Plumpton I took the opportunity to move to the coast and I now live in Hove.  

Q          What was your previous career?

CO’L  I worked for PR agencies specialising in government and charity campaigns.  It had its’ moments and I have taken a lot of transferable skills with me, but it wasn’t the perfect training ground for life in a winery.  I was never much of scientist, or very practical by nature so I have definitely expanded my skills and knowledge base!

Collette is quite happy being a winemaker in England as wineries tend to be warmer than the English vineyards!

About you 

Q             What would be your desert island wine, or would you choose another beverage?

CO’L  On the basis my desert island would be hot and sunny I would take a grand cru Chablis – crisp, refreshing and delicious (as long as I could keep it cold somehow). 

Q         What is your favourite wine destination?

CO’L I haven’t visited a vineyard area I haven’t loved yet.  Every wine destination has its own charm so it’s hard to choose, but Sonoma holds a special place in my heart as I worked three harvests there and I have family in San Francisco.  It’s less flashy than Napa, the wines are delicious and varied, and you can head to the redwoods or the coast if you want a change of scene.  

Q             Dog, cat, other . . .

CO’L  There are four Labradors at the vineyard and while I love them and they are part of the charm of the Estate they have proved what I have always suspected; cats are smarter, more independent, require less work, keep themselves tidy and smell less than dogs!  

Thank you Collette, a pleasure to meet you and the Bluebell labradors!

Bluebell Vineyard Estate
Website:         http://www.bluebellvineyard.org   
Twitter:          https://twitter.com/BluebellWines @BluebellWines       
Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/bluebellvineyard/ @bluebellvineyard
Email:           wineinfo@bluebellvineyard.co.uk

Plumpton College Wine Dept - BSc Viticulture and Oenology

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