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00:00New Sales Park Stud has long been synonymous with the breeding, raising and consigning
00:06of the world's top racehorses, and now under the ownership of Graeme Smith-Brunell, the
00:11organisation looks to transfer that reputation into the world of winemaking. With over 100
00:16acres set aside for the cultivation of English sparkling wine, Graeme tells TDN all about
00:21the New Sales Park winery.
00:26I think it was an idea when we first did the due diligence on New Sales and looked
00:31at all aspects of the land, we already knew about the business and how well positioned
00:36it was in the market for breeding some of the best thoroughbred horses and being so
00:41successful at the sales. And one of the things we came across was that we're actually sitting
00:45on over 1,200 plus acres, 175 acres of south-facing short slopes, which is the perfect soil for
00:53growing grapes that go on to make sparkling wine. If you go to Royal Ascot, if you go
00:58to the Derby, the Oaks, whatever it might be, this stuff tends to be what you're drinking.
01:05It's champagne in the main, but there are a number of wine brands out there, names,
01:11winemakers. They've already carved out a fairly significant niche in the market for themselves.
01:16Our strategy is very much not to be going through the front door of trying to sell this
01:21through Waitrose or Tesco or whatever. And our aspiration is to make the sparkling wine
01:25of the very, very highest level that sits alongside the brand that we've already created
01:31for ourselves on the breeding of horses. And it's very much going to be about membership,
01:35membership of our racing, bloodstock syndicates, local community. In the next, it'll be four
01:41or five years before we're able to make our own sparkling wine. We'll have our first harvest
01:45next year, but four or five years before we can actually drink that, because we're talking
01:50about an aging process of three, four years, at least 50% of the wine we're going to produce
01:55will be on Lees for five years. So it will be top table stuff. But in the interim, we're
02:00white labeling some of the very finest sparkling wine in the same way that Harrods or Bobby
02:04Nichols do. They don't have vineyards. Their experts go out and source some of the very
02:09finest sparkling wine. And we've cross-branded. We have our Nathaniel, which is our Blanc
02:16de Blanc. Nathaniel is a household name on the breeding side. He's known for being the
02:21sire of an able in his first crop and several other group one winners, including you got
02:24to me this year winning the Irish Oaks. And again, so, you know, connecting more of a
02:29story, if you like, between the wine and the horses. So on the back of the label, you'll
02:33then see there's Nathaniel's story. So there's something to read about as well.
02:37So the next couple of months, we'll have two additional sparkling wines. One will be named
02:42after our great broodmare Shasti, which will be a classic cuvee, a blend of Chardonnay,
02:48Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. And then we have a Rosé coming as well. And I think end
02:54of October, which is going to be named after our fairly young broodmare, but she's been
03:00responsible at first for one, the Philly's Mile horse called Elang-Elang. And that mare
03:06is rather amusingly called Shambolic, which I, you know, I think you'll explain to the
03:13viewers here exactly what that association connection with sparkling wine is. When you
03:18come here as a member of our wine club, part of our racing fraternity, you know, you're
03:23going to be participating in events, social events, seeing some of these beautiful horses,
03:29the foals in the spring, stallion parade, yearlings at this time of the year. And that's
03:34something you're not going to get when you're actually drinking any other sparkling wine.
03:39So that really is the vision. And, you know, it's looking for those cross-pollination points
03:43between what we will really achieve at the top table with the breeding of the finest
03:47race horses with the aspiration to make the finest sparkling wine.