Chardonnay

The dormant vines awaken and the first green shoots break from the bud. On the South Downs, growers watch nervously for late-May frosts, which in a bad year can claim most of a crop.

About eight weeks after budburst, tiny self-pollinating flowers appear. A warm, dry flowering sets the size of the harvest to come — the moment that quietly decides the vintage.

The berries soften and colour, sugars rise and acidity falls. Sussex's long, cool ripening season is what gives still wines from Bacchus, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir their bright, aromatic character.

Under Sussex PDO rules every grape is hand-picked, with yields capped at 14 tonnes per hectare. Pickers move row by row, selecting only sound, ripe bunches for the press.

Grapes are pressed and the juice is run into tank or barrel. Yeasts convert sugar to alcohol over days to weeks, creating the base wine. Still wines must reach at least 10% ABV.

The young wine rests on its lees, in stainless steel for freshness or oak for depth and complexity. Sussex rules require all lees-ageing to happen within the region.

Once the winemaker judges the wine ready, it is filtered and bottled — a step that, for Sussex PDO wines, must also take place within the demarcated region.

Bottles are labelled, often after further ageing in the cellar to settle and round out. Finally the finished still wine is released — the close of a journey that began with a single bud.