Behind the vine
Kristin Syltevik - Oxney Estate - East Sussex, United Kingdom
When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?
I had been working in PR in London and was looking for something different. We were in France, traveling in red VW camper van, and I was thinking ‘What am I going to do next?’. We were in Bordeaux - next to some beautiful vineyards - and I thought this will be fun, challenging, exciting, that's definitely the first region that caught my attention and made me think about a career in wine.
What story does your wine tell?
We’re the largest organic estate in the UK, so it’s a story about what organic wine can be. I’m passionate about sustainability and renewables and environment and the world we live in. And the wines reflect the environment. They tell a story about England, about the English climate, about variability (different summers/autumns). Vintage English wine is so exciting because it is so variable, so I know each vintage is telling the story of that year.
With sparkling, it’s something special. English sparkling wine is making the everyday special. I'm going to open it and it’s a celebration.
Who is a woman that inspired you?
My father's mother had a hotel. It was important in shaping my thinking that I could have my own business because she had her own business.
Also women in England wine - we are supportive of each other. There’s a great community here.
What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?
Lots of people get geeky and opinionated about wine - that they are the ones that know everything. But wine is something that everyone can enjoy. There are a thousand misconceptions about wine, but it's something everyone should enjoy. Listen to what you think is good, and what you like. There was a sommelier who visited and said 'I get so bored with the obsession about what pantone color is a rose', and there’s a fascinating the amount of PR/marketing that has gone into us thinking certain things like that about wine. But it doesn’t need to be that way, and it shouldn’t. Wine has may angles, the complexities are what make it great.
“Wine almost creates a 5th dimension. Its flavours, smell…It’s a massive olfactory experience”
— Kristin Syltevik
What great things about wine do you think people should remember?
Wine is something you have that creates a good moment. Wine is a good memory. Moments where you know you opened that particular bottle, or ordered XYZ, and it adds to the memory. Wine almost creates a 5th dimension - good place, with people, eating and drinking something nice. Its flavours, smell, and a massive olfactory experience. Do you remember the smell of your grandmother's house? The memories of smell and taste, adding to our lives as the completely wonderful and complicated creatures we are. Wine shouldn't be about snobbery or knowledge or grapes (of course it is all of that), but it’s about the memory.
What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?
Working in wine is physically really demanding.
Women are great at doing a ton of stuff at the same time - we're juggling 10000 priorities at the same time. To dash around the vineyard, the winery, the marketing, deliver bottles of wine, women's skillsets are well-suited to that energy.
Where can women find your wine?
We sell it on our website: https://www.oxneyestate.com/shop
Also, if you come visit, we sell at our cellar door. We’re also in Abel and Cole and Waitrose in SE. That's important because people should get it. I wanted to make sure my wine was accessible to everyone. You can enjoy it at restaurants like Lady of the Grape in Covent Garden, or buy it at Wild & Lees or The Grocery in Shoreditch.