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JULY NEWS
From 18th - 22nd July the Priory
Community made their annual retreat in the Belgian Norbertine
Abbey of Tongerlo. It was given by a pioneer member of the
Storrington Community, Fr (Otto) Michael Meeusen, o.praem.,
curator of the Da Vinci Museum in Tongerlo which houses the
renowned 'Last Supper' painting.
After an introductory talk in the
museum on the painting the rest of the retreat was devoted to a
study of Blessed Pope John Paul II's 1980 Encyclical 'On the
Mercy of God'. This Encyclical stressed that 'justice',
'forgiveness' and 'mercy' are summed up by the word 'love' -
'after all, God IS love'.
During the retreat old friendships and
acquaintances were renewed and new ones made.
JUNE NEWS
Recently a group of 19 friends gathered in the vineyard to remove unwanted growth from lower down on the vines - it's called 'bud-rubbing'. This enables the vigour of each plant to be concentrated on the fruiting branches. Thanks to all who helped then and since to complete this task. Spraying to feed and to prevent disease has begun some weeks earlier than previous years, so advanced is the growth this year with the exceptionally warm early spring. We have had some frost damage but are hoping that the vines affected will recover to produce some fruit. See our PRIORY VINEYARD WEBPAGE to see how close we are to producing our own wine!
MAY NEWS
The process began with the harvest.
Our grapes were picked separately as the pinot noir tends to
ripen earlier than the chardonnay. In both cases the grapes were
taken down to the Wiston Estate Winery and immediately pressed.
The juice was then fermented in stainless steel vats which
allowed the winemaker to control the temperature and pace of the
fermentation. However, a small quantity of juice was fermented
in an oak barrel to give a distinct oak flavour.
In the spring after the harvest, the
fermented juice was bottled and sealed with a crown cap (like
those on a beer bottle). The bottles were stored on their sides,
so that the spent yeast sediment (the lees) would settle on the
side bottom-down, and left in that position for a year. The wine
at this stage is said to be resting sur lie or on the
lees.
After a minimum of a year, the lees
need removing, otherwise the wine would be cloudy and a little
gritty. This is where 'riddling' comes in. Each day the bottles
are turned slightly and upended a fraction. Traditionally, this
was done completely by hand. Today the riddling is mostly done
by a machine called a gyropalette.
As the bottles are riddled, the lees
slide down inside the walls of the bottle. By the time the
bottles are completely upside-down, the lees will have collected
in the bottle neck making removal easy. In a process called
degorgement or disgorging, each bottle is placed in a
solution which freezes the entire length of the neck and its
contents. When the bottle is turned upright and the crown cap
removed, the frozen plug of lees shoots out. This leaves space
in the bottle for the wine to be topped up with a liqueur
d'expedition or dosage, a combination of wine reserved for
this purpose and sugar. It is this dosage that determines the
dryness or sweetness of the wine (extra brut, brut, sec,
demi-sec or doux). Our wine will be classed as
brut, ie. less than 1.5% sugar. After the dosage is added,
the bottles are sealed with the traditional cork, wire and foil
and are left to settle for a month or so, after which they are
ready to be drunk.
Of our 2009 vintage, we have, after
consulting with an expert or two (including the UK director of
Pol Roger), asked our winemaker to disgorge about 120 bottles
over the next few months and to leave the remaining 1,200 on the
lees for at least a year after which they too will be disgorged.
Meanwhile, we are working on a label, creating a suitable
wine-store in the Priory and looking into the legal requirements
for marketing Storrington Priory, the official
designation of which is an English Quality Sparkling Wine.
See our
PRIORY VINEYARD webpage to find out more.
On the afternoon of Saturday 2 April we welcomed a group of over thirty pilgrims from various parts of Surrey to the Shrine of Our Lady of England. Fr Ian presided at Evening Prayer and Benediction in the church before our guests went on their way.
There are great stacks of vineyard and garden prunings in various places around our grounds waiting for suitable weather conditions for burning. The hedge of over 1,000 assorted plants which we laid a couple of years ago is maturing nicely; we hope to get moving soon on trimming that and tying it in to give a thicker screen between the Matt’s Wood and the adjacent tennis courts. We will leave some of the plants – mostly the hawthorn and hazel – to develop into full trees. In another area we are working with a neighbour to create an environment which will encourage butterflies and other insects. This means leaving a margin around the edge of a field which we usually mow. The hedges there, predominantly blackthorn are being pruned to encourage new growth – this is will be a particularly suitable environment for the Brown Hairstreak butterfly (below).
Getting the balance right is sometimes difficult. We don’t want too many thistles, nettles or brambles, yet they provide a rich environment for wildlife. Similarly with ragwort; it has to be controlled because of its danger to horses, yet it is crucial for the existence of the Cinnabar moth. So, we let some of these plants remain!
We have had to replace our hot water boiler and that work is nearly complete. During the work, yet another old tank in the attic was discovered to be in need of replacement in order to forestall a deluge down through the house! The work also revealed the need for the replacement of some antiquated electrical wiring.
Throughout Lent, the Priory Community will offer an opportunity for a time of quiet prayer on Friday evenings as part of our preparation for the Easter celebrations. In addition to this, we will host two concerts during Lent, one by a local choir, the Sandgate Singers on 31st March and the other by a visiting choir from Harare, Zimbabwe on 14th April.
The latest edition of the 'White Canons' newsletter is available by clicking on the picture link below:
We completed the vine pruning; the cycle of tying-down and weed-killing will begin as soon as the sap starts to rise. Meanwhile much tidying up work is beginning in our gardens after the winter. Work will begin soon on the replacement of our hot water boiler which is a bit of an antique – and there is always the fear of asbestos discovery. We hope, too, that this year will see the creation of improved toilet facilities with disabled access in the Priory Hall. Fr Martin will return to our old parish of Holbeach on 16th February as the people there mark the departure of a small community of sisters whom Fr Martin invited to live and minister there when he was parish priest in 1995.
FR MARTIN'S LONG-SERVICE AWARD AS A PRISON CHAPLAIN
Lewes Prison Governor Robin Eldridge presents Fr Martin with his long-service award
On 23rd December last year Fr Martin was given an award for his 15 years of work in the prison service; 10 years at Lewes Prison and also 5 years chaplaincy work at North Sea Camp when he worked in Spalding.
PRIORY NEWS
Our Lady of England Priory
The huge amounts of snow which fell this winter brought a peaceful hush. However, the attraction of initial beauty gives way to frustration as the approaches to the monastery are all back roads which, with re-freezing every night, means that access (and exit) can be very difficult if not impossible. We just have to sit back and relish inertia for a few days!
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