Hebron Vineyard

Hebron Vineyard: A Regenerative Welsh Natural Wine Pioneer in the Preseli Foothills

Hebron Vineyard: A Regenerative Welsh Natural Wine Pioneer in the Preseli Foothills

Tucked beneath the brooding silhouette of the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, Hebron Vineyard is a small, hand-tended, regenerative vineyard that is quietly rewriting what British natural wine can be. Founded in 2010 by Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt after nine years converting an established vineyard into an award-winning, non-intervention organic estate in Andalucía, Spain, Hebron is the first vineyard in Wales - and the entire UK - to be Certified Regenerative by the leading farm assurance body A Greener World (AGW).

The thirteen-acre smallholding near Whitland, Carmarthenshire, planted with Solaris and Rondo grapes, is also home to the only commercial arbustrum in the UK - an ancient Roman method of growing vines up a living willow trellis. Every bottle that leaves the cellar is fermented naturally in Spanish tinajas (clay amphorae), bottled unfiltered by gravity, and made with as few additions as nature - and current EU law - will allow.

The Story Behind Hebron Vineyard

Paul Rolt and Jemma Vickers planted their first vine at Hebron in 2010, just months after returning from southern Spain with two young children and a clear vision of what they wanted to make. Their Spanish vineyard had been built on the same principles they now apply in Wales: no synthetic chemicals, no laboratory yeasts, no powdered tannins, no lab-grown acid adjustments, no animal-derived fining agents. Just grapes, fermented by the wild yeasts that travel in on their skins, raised in clay vessels, and bottled by gravity.

The first decade at Hebron was not easy. The early years were marked by rabbit attacks and over-zealous grass growth, but by the 2018 vintage the vineyard had produced enough quality fruit for a first release - a still red wine called "1" made from Rondo grapes, and a sister sparkling white called "Silver Lining" made from Solaris grapes using the méthode traditionnelle. Silver Lining was later awarded PGI status as a Quality Welsh Sparkling Wine.

Today, with the vineyard now Certified Regenerative by AGW and collaborating with one of the UK's most respected natural winemakers, David Morris of Mountain People Wine, Hebron produces wines that are both a faithful expression of its cool, damp, mineral-rich Pembrokeshire terroir and a manifesto for how wine can be made without compromise.

Location, Climate and Soil

Hebron sits at around 155 metres elevation, facing south and south-west, on the mineral-rich soils of the Preseli foothills in West Wales. The site's elevation and aspect give the vineyard good exposure to what little sun this corner of Britain receives, while the cool, wet maritime climate keeps the growing season long and slow. The Preseli Hills themselves are an ancient landscape of bluestone and glacial geology, and the resulting free-draining subsoils lend the wines a particular tension and mineral lift.

According to the winemakers, the wines "hold a special place in modern Welsh wine production" and are "excellent examples of Northern European cool climate, natural wine." The combination of elevation, soil and climate is what Paul Rolt credits for the brisk acidity and bright, savoury fruit character that defines the Hebron house style.

Viticulture: Regenerative, Non-Intervention, By Hand

Hebron Vineyard has never been treated with any synthetic chemicals. Every single vine is maintained by hand from pruning through canopy management to harvest. The only intervention in the vineyard is rolling the grass around the vines. The team cuts grass, prunes annually, manages the canopy by removing unwanted buds, and later leaves - but sprays nothing. No herbicide, no pesticide, no fungicide, no molluscicide, no synthetic fertiliser. They do not currently practise biodynamic preparations either.

Viticulture is formally described as Regenerative / Non-Intervention / Organic, and the vineyard holds the Certified Regenerative by AGW mark, a whole-farm assurance scheme that measures benefits for soil, water, air, biodiversity, infrastructure, animal welfare and social responsibility. At the core of the certification is a farm-specific, steward-led Regenerative Plan that is reviewed, approved and audited on an ongoing basis.

Two alternative varieties form the backbone of the vineyard's plantings:

• Rondo - a dark-skinned hybrid grape created by crossing Zarya Severa and St. Laurent. It is early-ripening, frost- and downy-mildew-resistant, and grafted to the water-resistant rootstock S04 to tolerate the higher rainfall of West Wales. It produces a ruby-red wine, equally suited to rosé and red styles.
• Solaris - a disease-resistant white hybrid developed in Germany in 1975 from Merzling and a crossing of Zarya Severa and Muscat Ottonel. Named for the sun, it ripens earlier than almost any other wine grape, making it ideal for cool-climate sites like West Wales. The vines are grafted to S04 rootstock and are notably prolific, requiring careful canopy management to channel the vines' energy into fruit rather than leaf.

The Arbustrum: Vines on a Living Willow Trellis

Hebron Vineyard is the only commercial site in the UK - and one of very few in the world - to maintain an arbustrum, the ancient Roman art of training vines on a living trellis. The Latin collective is arbustum, the singular arbustra. Around 400 vines are grown through a living willow trellis that is coppiced as part of the farm's regenerative agroforestry cycle.

Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History that "the wines of the highest quality are only grown upon vines attached to trees, and that even then the choicest wines are produced by the upper part of the tree, the produce of the lower part being more abundant; such being the beneficial results of elevating the vine." Hebron's design, using willow as the living support, is described as globally unique, with a zero-carbon-footprint support system that yields additional health benefits for the vines themselves.

Winemaking: Tinajas, Wild Yeast and Zero-Zero

From the 2021 vintage onwards, Hebron's wines have been made in collaboration with David Morris of Mountain People Wine, a highly experienced biodynamic and natural winemaker based in South Wales. The collaboration means the grapes no longer need to cross the border - as the vast majority of Welsh fruit still does - to be made into wine.

Hebron's signature fermenters are Spanish tinajas, the traditional clay amphorae used across the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. Paul Rolt and Jemma Vickers made their very first natural wines in these clay vessels at their original vineyard in Spain over twenty years ago, so the move to tinajas in Wales is a deliberate homecoming.

The standard winemaking protocol, common to all current releases, is:

• Whole-bunch pressed on harvest day.
• Settled for 24 hours, then racked to tinaja (amphora) via gravity.
• Natural spontaneous fermentation with vineyard yeast.
• Unblocked springtime natural malolactic fermentation.
• Stirred on gross fermentation lees regularly according to taste.
• Racked to tank after 12 months.
• Bottled by gravity without any additions.
• Held in bottle pre-release for 6 months.

For the rosé, a micro-dose of sulphur (25 mg/L) is added just before bottling, with a free sulphur level of 15 ppm in bottle. For the white, no sulphur is added at all.

Hebron's stated goal is a Zero-Zero wine - zero intervention in the vineyard and zero intervention in the winery. Three wines have so far achieved this goal: Natural Amphora Rondo 2021, Tiriol Field Blend 2022, and Natural Amphora Solaris 2023. Full winemaking transparency is published for every wine, with each ingredient listed.

Conventional UK winemaking can legally use up to 60 different additives - including animal products, PFAS "forever chemicals," synthetic dyes, enzymes and processing aids - most of which do not need to be declared on the label. Hebron's policy is to use none of them.

The Wines

All current releases are Vegan, made in Wales, and produced from grapes grown exclusively on the Hebron estate. Tasting notes are provided by Cathryn Bell of Ómós Digest, Sommelier and food-pairing consultant at Wine Rover.ie.

Natural Amphora Solaris 2023

A 100% Solaris, made with no additions in the vineyard or the winery - a true zero-zero wine. Spontaneous fermentation in ceramic amphora, unblocked malolactic, 12 months on the lees, bottled by gravity without sulphur. Only grapes, nothing else. 10% abv. £35.00 per bottle (includes P&P) - available via the online shop.

Natural Amphora Rondo Rosado 2023

A 100% Rondo rosé, also made solely from estate grapes, with a single micro-sulphur addition (25 mg/L) before bottling. Whole-bunch pressed, spontaneous fermentation, 12 months on the lees in tinaja, bottled by gravity. Bright, savoury, lightly chilled. 6% abv. £30.00 per bottle (includes P&P). Currently sold out.

Natural Amphora Rondo 2021

100% Rondo, the first wine made in amphora in Wales since Roman times. Spontaneous fermentation shared between amphora and American oak barrels, 11 months on lees, bottled by gravity. A light, aromatic, food-friendly red with notes of beetroot, bilberry, cranberry, rosehip and a delicate bitter finish. 11% abv. £30.00 per bottle (includes P&P). Currently sold out.

Natural Amphora Solaris 2021

100% Solaris from a very bright, fresh vintage. Described by Cathryn Bell as "Vinho Verde meets Carmarthenshire." Citrus, green apple, elderflower, white flowers, with a faintly spicy pistachio and maize finish. 11 months in amphora. £28.00 per bottle (includes P&P). Currently sold out.

Tiriol Field Blend 2022

A zero-zero field blend of 65% Rondo and 35% Solaris, fermented in stainless steel with 11 months on the lees. Beets, cranberry, pomegranate, hibiscus, cured meat, light-bodied but high-acid, low-tannin, low-alcohol (9% abv). A famously food-friendly wine that pairs with everything from Welsh rarebit to Asian spice. Sold out.

Silver Lining 2018 (PGI Welsh Sparkling)

Solaris, méthode traditionnelle, 0 g/L dosage - a non-dosé or brut zéro Welsh sparkling wine. Tasted by Davy Żyw (ex-sommelier at La Gavroche, Mayfair) and David Darlow MW, who described it as "Exceptional quality from a hybrid variety. High quality tirage and outcome. Recommend: NIL 0 g/L sugar at disgorgement = Non-Dosé, Brut Zéro, Brut Nature or Brut Savage. Time on lees perfect." Cellaring potential 5 - 7 years. Now sold out.

Cellar-door collection on any bottle is available at £25 ex-gift-box or £30 inc. gift box. The team also offers local delivery on request.

PGI Status: Quality Welsh Wines

Hebron's 2018 vintage "Silver Lining" was awarded PGI status as a Quality Welsh Sparkling Wine. PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) is a European Union indicator of quality and authenticity based on regional origin and traditional production. Wines bearing the mark have met certain technical requirements and have passed a formal organoleptic (tasting) assessment. The accreditation is the same family of protection that links Clotted Cream to Cornwall or Pork Pies to Melton Mowbray - and which now links Quality Welsh Sparkling Wine to Hebron.

Visit: Tour, Tasting and Tapas

Hebron's signature experience is the Vineyard Tour, Tasting & Tapas, hosted by Paul and Jemma. The visit begins with a walk through the regenerative vineyard - Paul is generous with his time and answers questions about everything from canopy management to amphora winemaking - and ends in the "Black tin shed," the vineyard's comfortable tasting room.

The experience includes:

• A guided tour of the regenerative vineyard and the UK's only commercial arbustrum.
• A guided tasting of the natural wines of Wales currently available in the cellar.
• A tapas menu thoughtfully curated by Jemma to pair with the wines, inspired by the couple's time in Spain and made with local produce, garden vegetables in season, and small-producer ingredients.

A sample tapas menu (which changes regularly) might include goats cheese with strawberries and toasted pine nuts; padron peppers with whipped feta and preserved lemon; crispy crumbed courgettes with caper, parmesan and anchovy mayonnaise; falafel with hummus, pickled chillies and sauerkraut; roasted squash with Perl Las blue cheese and crispy sage; marinated tomatoes with sherry vinegar and basil; and crumbed lamb strips with salsa verde. All dishes are served with home-made bread. Vegetarian and vegan diets are catered for with notice.

Wine writer Fiona Beckett, who has reviewed for The Times, The Guardian and National Geographic, called it "one of the very best vineyard food and wine pairings I have experienced." A 2025 guest independently wrote: "Amazing experience! Thought provoking and some of the best food we have eaten in Wales, beautifully prepared and paired deliciously with the natural wine. Highly recommended." WSET graduates M & T Harrison summed it up as "one of the best UK wines we've tasted… your passion is infectious."

Pricing and Booking

• Tour, Tasting & Tapas: £40 per adult.
• Tours are mixed for smaller groups and couples until the tour date is full.
• Larger parties (12+) should contact the vineyard in advance.
• Participants must be at least 14 years old for the wine tasting portion.
• Visits must be pre-booked at least 2 days in advance.
• Vouchers are valid for the 2026 season from 3 May to 26 September 2026.

Bookings are made through the online booking calendar. An eGift Card is available for £40, delivered by email - a popular present for natural wine lovers.

Stay: The Barn at Hebron Vineyard

Guests visiting the vineyard can stay on-site in The Barn at Hebron Vineyard, a spacious, lovingly converted traditional dairy barn that took two years to renovate. The barn sleeps up to 8 guests across three bedrooms (two double rooms, one twin, plus a sofa bed in the lounge) and is as cosy for couples as it is for larger groups. Travel cots and high chairs are available.

Inside, you will find two wood-burning stoves, all modern conveniences, and a generous initial supply of seasoned oak, ash and willow logs sourced from the smallholding. The barn has its own spring, so the tap water is local spring water. There is good reliable Wi-Fi (including Wi-Fi calling), though mobile reception can be patchy given the rural location.

The thirteen-acre smallholding includes vineyards, gardens, re-wilding areas, tree swings, dens, streams and ponds. There is a patio with a portable barbecue-come-fire-pit for evenings under the stars. A sister catering company called Sauce offers home-cooked meals and feasts on request, using high-welfare meat and organic vegetables - much of it from the garden.

Eco-credentials are central: the barn was calculated to have a negative carbon footprint on completion of the renovation, thanks to shared solar PV and solar thermal systems. The Barn is listed on Airbnb with Superhost status, and is also bookable directly through the vineyard.

Transparency and Sustainability

Hebron's commitment to transparency is unusually thorough for a small winery. The vineyard publishes a full ingredient list - for some wines, the answer is simply "grapes" - alongside a candid acknowledgement that, in the UK, up to 60 different additives can be used in conventional winemaking without being declared on the label.

In Time for Transparency, Paul Rolt draws on UN data that 40% of the world's agricultural soils are in degradation, and cites a 2008 study showing that pesticide residues turn up in every bottle of conventionally-farmed wine tested. The conclusion is that the only way to rebuild trust is total openness about vineyard inputs and winemaking processes - exactly what Hebron practises.

In How 'low' can you go?, the unregulated phrase "low intervention" is examined and found wanting: without a benchmark, the term has begun to be used by vineyards that still apply routine synthetic sprays. The fact that Hebron has never used any herbicide, pesticide, fungicide, fertiliser or biodynamic preparation is the benchmark the team sets for itself.

Why Natural Wine?

Hebron's argument for natural wine is simple and uncompromising. Natural wines, made without synthetic chemicals in the vineyard and without laboratory inputs in the winery, are the only wines that can honestly claim to be a true expression of place. As Master of Wine Isabelle Legeron has put it, natural wine is a continuum: at the centre, growers make wines with nothing added and nothing removed; as you move outwards, additions and manipulations begin, and the wine becomes less natural until you reach the boundary of conventional winemaking.

Hebron sits firmly at the centre of that continuum. The team is also alert to the health and environmental arguments: a detailed Additives in Wine breakdown lists the conventional additives and processing aids (from collagen and isinglass to PFAS "forever chemicals" and laboratory yeasts) that natural winemaking avoids.

Visiting Hebron Vineyard

Hebron is in the small village of Hebron, near Whitland in Carmarthenshire - a quiet corner of West Wales that combines the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the Preseli Hills, and the Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire coastlines. From the vineyard, you can walk to secret coves, sandy beaches, hill walks, and a string of small food producers and artisan shops. The closest major towns are Narberth, Haverfordwest and Carmarthen.

what3words for the cellar door: ///lamplight.installs.polished.

Contact details:

• Email: admin@hebronvineyard.com
• Telephone: 01994 419415
• Mobile: 07923 432391

Follow Hebron on Facebook and Instagram for the latest vintages, vineyard updates and tour availability.

Final Thoughts

Hebron Vineyard is, in many ways, the most ambitious natural wine project in the UK. It is a single smallholding that brings together regenerative certification, an ancient Roman viticulture revived on a global first, a fully transparent natural winemaking philosophy, an on-site tasting room and tapas experience, and a beautifully restored self-catering barn - all in the heart of West Wales. The wines themselves are rare, individually numbered and made in tiny quantities, so availability changes month by month. If you are visiting Pembrokeshire, want to taste some of the purest natural wines in Britain, and enjoy a properly thoughtful food and wine pairing, Hebron should be high on the list.