It’s a happy harvest at Exclusive Collection
Published on 14th October 2024
As the days shorten and the crispness of autumn settles in, we turn our attention to the harvest season at Exclusive Collection. From apples being pressed into juice at Lainston House to the budding vines at South Lodge, the transition from summer to autumn brings plenty of flavour and fresh produce across our properties.
Join us as we dive into the harvest season at Exclusive. We’ll start with apple harvesting at Lainston House, explore the kitchen garden, and share the latest from South Lodge's vineyard. And keep reading for a sparkling autumn offer to make your stay even more special!
At Lainston House, autumn’s star is undoubtedly the apple...
The orchards are heavy with fruit, and this year has been particularly bountiful. In fact, we managed to harvest a whopping 650kg of apples, which were sent to Mr Whitehead's Cider Company to be turned into Lainston’s very own apple juice. There’s something so satisfying about knowing that the bottled juice enjoyed in your room or featured in our delicious Apple & Ginger Spritz mocktail at the bar comes from apples grown just a short stroll away from where you're sitting.
But it’s not just juice we have on the go. Around 100kg of apples made their way to the Kimpton Apple Press, destined to become Churchwardens Apple Liqueur. This delightful liqueur will take two years to mature, but the wait will be well worth it! Once complete, we’ll receive around 50 bottles of this fruity treasure, and you can bet we’ll be raising a glass to toast the efforts of our team.
And of course, we couldn’t forget our very own kitchen team. They’ve set aside apples from three large trees for culinary experimentation, alongside pears from one of our pear trees. Who knows what autumn-inspired delicacies they’ll whip up? Apple pies, poached pears, or perhaps something unexpected - whatever it is, it’s bound to be delicious.
What's on in Stef's Kitchen Garden
While apples steal the spotlight, the kitchen garden at Lainston House is also a hive of activity. Our garden is buzzing with the last of the summer crops being harvested, and preparations for winter well underway. Currently, we’re saying goodbye to the runner beans, cavolo nero, kale, carrots, beetroot, and cabbages (both savoy and white) as they reach the end of their growing season.
But it’s not all about farewells; we’re also welcoming in the autumn crops - leeks and a few select pumpkins that have found their way in to the pastry kitchen, where they’ve been transformed into delicious pumpkin buns.
The polytunnel has been another point of excitement, with aubergines and chilli peppers still growing strong, much to the delight of our chefs. They’ve been busy turning these chillis into all sorts of sauces and preserves, offering a variety of heat levels. The Trinidad Perfume chilli has become a favourite, with its mild heat but rich flavour—perfect for adding a little zing, without setting your mouth on fire!
Now, let’s talk soil. We’ve just sown some Forage Rye as a winter green manure in one of the cleared beds, previously home to courgettes. This green manure will help prevent nutrients from leaching out the soil in winter and will be cut down in spring and turned into the soil, helping to improve its texture and organic content. It’s a great natural way to keep our garden healthy and thriving.
Big changes are also on the horizon for our fruit cage. Over the winter, it will be taken down and replaced with three smaller, more manageable cages. Our beloved pineberries (a unique white strawberry with a pineapple-like flavour) will be moved to a new raised bed, while the space they leave behind will be transformed into a herb garden. There’s never a dull moment here, and we can’t wait to see how the new layout helps us grow even more seasonal produce.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve now got a rocket composter up and running. This means that food waste from the kitchen, along with spent plants and grass clippings, are being transformed into nutrient-rich compost in just two weeks. It’s a wonderfully sustainable way to recycle, and it ensures that nothing goes to waste at Lainston House.
A sparkling future at South Lodge
The vineyard at South Lodge is a story of patience and promise...
It’s hard to believe it’s been over 2 years since we planted 19,300 vines, but we’re delighted with how they’ve grown. After undergoing shoot selection during both summers, where we encouraged the strongest shoots to grow into the vine trunk, the vines are looking healthy and robust. Over last winter, they were pruned back to two buds, and this year we’ll continue their development by pruning to a trunk and giving the vine some feed.
Although it’s still early days for our vineyard, we did have our first small crop of grapes this year. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough to produce wine just yet - but don’t worry, those precious grapes won’t go to waste. All the grapes will go to our skincare partners, Pelegrims, who will include extracts from our grapes in our South Lodge x Pelegrims range. And that’s not the only news on the Pelegrims front, we have a very exciting new product using the sap from our vineyard. Its nutrients and bioactive compounds support brightening, hydration and active anti-aging of the skin. Watch this space, the new product and launch into our spa treatments is coming soon!
Back onto wine, our first real harvest for wine production is expected in 2025, and we’re right on track. After the grapes are harvested, they’ll undergo the traditional Méthode Champenoise, where they’ll be aged in the bottle for three years before being transformed into single estate English sparkling wine. The anticipation is building, and by 2029, we’ll be raising a glass of our very own sparkling wine, made from grapes grown right here on the estate. Cheers to that!
Whilst we can't offer our own wine just yet, take a look at our Autumn Crush offer, where you can enjoy a complimentary bottle of Ridgeview sparkling wine, along with 10% off bed and breakfast until 30th November.
Enjoying the fruits (and veg) of our labour
While we’ve delved deep into the happenings at Lainston House and South Lodge, it’s important to note that across the Exclusive Collection, we pride ourselves on using locally grown produce from our kitchen gardens and nearby suppliers. Each of our properties has its own garden, carefully managed to grow seasonal vegetables, fruits, and herbs, all of which are used in the dishes served at our restaurants. Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword for us - it’s at the heart of everything we do. Whether it’s transforming food waste into compost, reducing our food miles, or partnering with local artisans, we’re committed to making a positive impact.
Our chefs work closely with our gardeners to craft menus that celebrate the best of what’s in season. It’s a true farm-to-fork experience, with the added benefit of knowing that the flavours on your plate are as fresh as they come.
As we head into the winter months, the work doesn’t stop - there’s always something to prepare, plant, or harvest. But for now, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the hard work of our teams and the delicious results that come from it. Whether you’re sipping on a glass of Lainston’s apple juice or enjoying a meal crafted with produce from our gardens, we hope you feel the love and care that goes into every bite and sip.
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