Mark Heath food column: A tasting and tour at Hawkswood Vineyard

I don't know much about wine, other than the fact that I enjoy drinking it.

That, and I'm pretty adept at picking out the bargains from the cheaper end of my local Co-op's offering when the urge strikes on impromptu midweek drinking nights.

I also didn't know until recently that we have an award-winning vineyard tucked away in the heart of mid-Suffolk - but, once educated, I obviously felt it my duty to pop along to learn more on your behalf. And drink wine.

Hawkswood Vineyard is based on the outskirts of Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds, the retirement passion project of ex-surgeon Michael Rhodes and his wife Irene, a former nurse.

Michael and Irene Rhodes created and run Hawkswood Vineyard in Thurston (Image: Submitted)
It's just been named best vineyard in the East of England in the WineGB awards, while their Pinot Rose was heralded as the second-best rose in the country. Impressive stuff. 

The duo offer tasting and tours Monday to Saturday, so I - along with my equally enthusiastic wine-appreciating parents and wife - joined a group a couple of weeks ago.

As you may expect, drinking multiple highly-rated wines in the Suffolk sun on a Wednesday afternoon was bloody good fun, especially in the company of natural hosts Michael and Irene.

We'll get onto the wines themselves shortly, but first a few details about the vineyard, the smallest commercial winery in the UK.

Grapes on he vine at Hawkswood (Image: Mark Heath)
Hawkswood is based at their home, which dates backs to 1850 and was formerly owned by Nathaniel Hodson, the clever chap who created Bury's iconic Abbey Gardens.

They have 150 vines on site, with four different varieties growing in soil which is 89% sand - and thus excellent for drainage, I'm reliably informed.

Between them, the duo can process a tonne of grapes a day, with the fruit picked and processed in just one hour, something which is unusual in the trade and leads to extra freshness in the glass.

Incredibly, all the production is done on site by the pair, and the small scale of the operation means the wine is pretty exclusive stuff.

Just 4,000 bottles are produced annually, with some of it making its way to Bury's fine-dining foodie fixture Maison Bleue, plus fast-rising gastropub The Bull in Troston. Otherwise, you have to buy it direct from them, which makes it feel a touch more special still.

Mark Heath, left, with parents Pete and Gill, plus wife Liz, enjoying the tasting and tour at Hawkswood Vineyard (Image: Mark Heath)
Ok, those are the stats, let's get to the drinking. Michael holds court as we taste, admitting to our small and very engaged group that 'we made rubbish wines for the first five years.'

That experience clearly helped them refine their process, because these are definitely good wines now.

First up is the Bacchus (£20 a bottle) - their answer to the famous Sauvignon Blanc - and it is lovely stuff, incredibly fresh and light.

That's followed by the Solaris (£15 a bottle), which is a real flavour bomb, very sweet and fruity.

Hawkswood's Bacchus - delicious! (Image: Mark Heath)
The award-winning Pinot Rose (£20 a bottle) is next, another light offering which doesn't pack the sweetness I'd normally associate with a rose - in a good way.

That's certainly there in droves in their Rondo Pinot Rose (£20 a bottle), which is rammed with rich strawberry vibes and a smoky aftertaste.

All made for good drinking, and a most enjoyable way of spending an afternoon. For the record, we left with multiple bottles of both the Bacchus and Solaris tucked under our arms.

Hawkswood offer tours and tastings throughout the week. Visit their website - hawkswoodvineyards.co.uk - for more info and to book.  

Pizza Rosso offers excellent pizza from the roadside (Image: Mark Heath)
Perfect pizza - from a van

Regular readers will know that in recent months I've been on the hunt for the best value eats in Suffolk - a single dish for less than a tenner or a meal for two for £40 or less.

We've already talked about Wright's, Peck and Amigo's in Bury, plus The Grazing Sheep in Ipswich and Beach Street in Felixstowe.

Well, add mobile pizza purveyor Pizza Rosso to that list. The van tours mid and west Suffolk, offering excellent Neapolitan-style pizza at very reasonable prices.

The Carne from Pizza Rosso - superb! (Image: Mark Heath)
Our favourite is definitely the Carne (£12), but I can also highly recommend the spicy Diavolo (£9.50) and classic Margarita VIP (£9.50). Two is certainly enough for a meal for two, so very much qualifies for value eats.

Russ and his van stop in Elmswell, Woolpit, Thurston and Stanton, plus pop up at food festivals across the region. Look him up and, if he's in a village near you, go and say hello!

What a view - coffee and cake at the Green Wolf Cafe in Woolpit (Image: Mark Heath)
A new cafe with a view

Now the sun is out and summer seems to have finally arrived, there are few things nicer than coffee and cake at a Suffolk cafe, while soaking up some Vitamin D.

And we wandered to a very scenic new cafe last week, the Green Wolf in Woolpit.

Sat next to a lake, we enjoyed some good coffee - Earl Grey tea for me - and a superb, life-affirming Bourbon biscuit brownie. 

The Green Wolf is a vegan/vegetarian cafe with plenty of character and some beautiful views - certainly worth a visit.   

- As ever, if you'd like to feature in this column, recommend somewhere to me or just talk food and drink in Suffolk, email me at mark.heath@newsquest.co.uk.