Mark Harvey: Your brand has real momentum in a category of large, well-established players. What is your unique proposition?
Jonathan White: At Gusbourne, we focus on making exclusively vintage wines using grapes solely picked from our own vineyards. We grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, which are the classic grape varieties for sparkling wine, and we believe that the only way to ensure the quality of our grapes is to grow them ourselves. That's why the grapes used in our winemaking are sourced solely from Gusbourne vineyards – a unique proposition not just in the world of English wine, but in the larger world of wine, too.
We have two vineyard sites in Kent and West Sussex that are blessed with very special terroir. We have two different sites as the geology and soil profiles in Sussex differ from those in Kent, giving our production teams a wider palette of possibilities.
Our Kent vines sit on Wealden Clay and Tunbridge Wells Sand, which are nutrient-rich and water- and heat-retentive. These qualities increase the ripeness of the fruit, building more muscular wines with roundness, fullness and body.
The soil profile in Kent combines with an exceptionally warm and dry maritime climate that enables us to regularly bring in the first harvest in England. Our Sussex vineyards sit on chalk and clay loam and chunks of flint. This softer, porous, alkaline soil gives wines brighter acidity, building elegance and poise. Our close proximity to the sea in both sites provides a distinctive salty tang to our wines.
These privileged growing conditions allow us to make wines that are exclusively vintage, which is very unusual in England. Each vintage is a unique expression of each growing season and presents an authentic reflection of a time and place.
What have you learned from the largest companies in your space – and what do you do differently to them?
A significant learning from the luxury sector has been the great interest in and desire for expertly crafted, understated British products in international markets. Over the past six years, we have grown our export business with a robust list of 35 countries now stocking Gusbourne wines. This rapid growth in export has enabled us to educate a wide global community about the exceptional quality of wines being produced in England, as well as our unique position in the market as a luxury vintage-only, craft-focussed wine producer.
How does your company benefit the wider community?
Long before our vineyards were planted in Appledore and far from the modern winemaking facilities and contemporary design of The Nest, the original Gusbourne estate was rather more medieval. Tracing its history back to 1410, the estate was then the domain of landowner John de Goosebourne. Now, some six centuries later, our elegant goosemark logo references the original de Goosebourne family crest, displayed in the church here in Appledore, with its three geese.
Our environment and the people who take care of it and produce, market and sell our wines are at the heart of what makes Gusbourne the business it is today. We see ourselves as custodians of the sites we operate in Kent and West Sussex, and actively engage with our local communities via our internal local community committee to support parish and district initiatives.
What is your approach to sustainability?
Working with nature, protecting soil, nurturing biodiversity, bringing livestock into the system through our winter sheep grazing initiative – these are the essential ideas behind regenerative farming, which is the key to a sustainable future for wine.
As a founding member of the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain Scheme, Gusbourne proudly carries the SWGB mark – an accreditation that’s only carried on wines made from fruit grown in vineyards and in wineries that meet exacting guidelines for sustainable practices.
For Gusbourne, a low-intervention, nature-first way of farming is key to our sustainable future.
Luxury brands tend to think in generations, not years. What is your long-term vision for the company – and what plans are you setting in place now to make that happen?
Our vision has always been to create the finest wines in the world. We use a detail-obsessed, sustainable approach to craft, sell and serve world-class English wines. Our strategy is to meticulously craft fine wines, enhance our luxury brand and reaffirm direct relationships with all of our customers. We make decisions that maintain a sustainable business.
Our commitment to the land and to maintaining our terroir as sustainably as possible will ensure its health and vigour for generations to come. We will continue to make vintage-only wines that are a direct reflection of an exact time and place in Gusbourne’s history. Our clear and established brand identity is one that generations to come will be proud to take forward.
What’s been your proudest achievement with your company so far?
In 2023, the Institute of Masters of Wine selected the inaugural 2014 vintage of Gusbourne's new prestige sparkling wine, Fifty One Degrees North. From all still and sparkling wines produced around the world, the sparkling wine was chosen to represent the 2010s in the ‘Old and Rare – Important Decades of Wine History’ tasting, staged to mark the 70th anniversary of the IMW. This felt like a seminal moment, just 19-years since our first vineyards were planted in Appledore in 2004.
Can you tell us one major hurdle you encountered with your company, and how you overcame it?
As we emerged from the enforced lockdowns of the Covid pandemic, it soon became apparent that The Nest, our cellar door and tasting rooms at our vineyards in Appledore did not have sufficient capacity to accommodate our consumers demands. The Nest provides us with an opportunity to connect directly with our customers and to show them the care, craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into every bottle of wine that we produce.
We adopt the same principles when hosting guests too, with our wonderful team providing our customers with first-hand knowledge of what makes Gusbourne so special. In the past few years, we’ve seen a large and consistent rise in the number of visitors we welcome to the estate. We’re open year-round and even in the cold, dark days of winter we have people coming to our warm and inviting tasting rooms to enjoy the wine, food and views across the vineyards and to learn more about what we do. I am relieved that we increased our capacity at The Nest several years ago and that we have been able to welcome so many guests since.
What is your key piece of advice you’d have for another luxury brand, like yours, looking to disrupt an established category?
Know what makes you unique, what sets you apart from the crowd, and make sure customers know as well. In a crowded marketplace, the individuality of your brand identity is key. Stay true to your brand values, too. Customers know when a brand deviates from their core USPs and it devalues the overall essence of the brand and chips away at its luxury status.