On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries podcast is Tommy Grimshaw, head winemaker at Langham, in Dorset. 

Tommy developed a love for English wine after a summer holiday season spent labelling and bottling wine as a teenager. He left school to work a harvest at Sharpham Vineyard – now known as Sandridge Barton – in Devon and there, he progressed to Assistant Winemaker. 

He joined Langham in 2019 and worked alongside Daniel Ham with the aim of producing world class sparkling wines without fining or filtration and minimal SO2 additions. In January 2020, at the age of 24, Tommy took on the role of Head Winemaker, making him the youngest head winemaker in the UK.

As well as producing and developing Langham’s award-winning, minimal intervention wines, Tommy has judged for the Independent English Wine Awards, has been included in the Harpers 30 Under 30 list and was named their Commitment Champion for his dedication to the industry.

We talk about Tommy's love of hands-off winemaking, why the landscape of the Jurassic Coast, where Langham is situated, is so perfect for creating sparkling wine (despite the rain!) and his hopes for more young people to join the English wine-making scene. 

You can follow Tommy on Instagram @tommy_grimshaw and find out more about Langham at langhamwine.co.uk.

This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.

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