From Tailoring to Terroir
In Kent, England, Sophie Evans farms three hectares using biodynamic practices, herbal teas, and essential oils. From forgotten vines to a new British wine wave — no chemicals, no compromises, and always learning.
From Savile Row to the Vines
Born and raised in Willesden Green, North London, Sophie's first creative pursuit wasn't wine — it was fashion. She trained in bespoke tailoring and pattern cutting, working as a garment technologist. But she found herself in offices ordering people around rather than using her hands, and the dream was put on pause.
Her wine journey began at London's legendary Terroirs wine bar, where she discovered natural wines that "had energy and emotion and felt alive." She was hooked. Quitting her job, she embarked on an 11-year journey of working and studying across Europe and America to learn how to farm and make these wines.
After completing her degree in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton College, Sophie worked with producers that shaped her vision: Deirdre Heekin at La Garagista in Vermont (where she discovered medicinal herbs in vineyards), Michael and Melanie Völker at 2Naturkinder in Germany (learning about hybrids and manual labor), and Tillingham in Sussex. In 2022, she returned home to Kent, finding a hectare of forgotten vines with a horse stable to make wine in. Her first harvest was picked surrounded by friends and family — that good energy, she believes, is essential for the wines.
"I wanted to be outside, growing, learning and tasting from these producers who cared for the environment, were doing things differently and were incorporating things like herbalism into their vineyard practices that you could TASTE in the wines."
— On discovering natural wine
The Land Speaks, I Listen
Sophie now farms three different sites in Kent, each with its own personality. The first is an old cow farm with heavy clay soil — older vines that grow vigorously and require careful recovery after being abandoned. The other two are younger plantings on steeper slopes with chalk and flint soils. She didn't plant them herself, but she's guiding them with the same attentive, hands-on approach.
The farming is biodynamic, but with a distinctly herbalist twist. Sophie treats her vines with teas, ferments, and essential oils — mostly sourced from plants grown on the vineyard sites themselves. She uses fennel for powdery mildew, marjoram and lavender for botrytis control, and sage for general vine health. These aren't just inputs; they're conversations with the land.
Sophie's research and field trials found fennel particularly effective against powdery mildew. She makes ferments and teas from plants grown on site, creating a closed-loop system of plant medicine.
Her dissertation at Plumpton focused on essential oils for botrytis control. Lavender showed the strongest antifungal effects. She sprays it post-pruning, making the vineyard smell as good as it feels.
Sophie is adamant about not disturbing the soil. She does most work by hand — pruning, harvesting, hand de-stemming, foot crushing. Only spraying and occasional mowing see mechanization. The land tells her what it needs.
"I feel strongly that the land tells us what it needs if you just pay attention. You can see the plants react to certain sprays which I love."
— On intuition in farming
Plants Healing Plants
Sophie's approach to herbalism in the vineyard was inspired by her time with Deirdre Heekin at La Garagista in Vermont. There, she walked through vineyards where herbs grew between the rows and into the vines — daisy fleabane with its antifungal properties, lavender, fennel, all interacting with the grapes. It was a lightbulb moment: if plants can heal humans, they can heal other plants too.
Her dissertation at Plumpton College focused specifically on essential oils as treatments for botrytis. While the lab study was cut short by COVID-19, her anecdotal findings were clear: lavender had the most significant impact on slowing fungal growth. She continues these trials in the field, experimenting with different herbs and ferment preparations.
🌿 The Herbal Pharmacy
Lavender, fennel, marjoram, sage — all grown on site or sourced from the vineyard ecosystem. These aren't replacements for synthetic chemicals; they're a completely different philosophy of plant health, one based on observation, intuition, and the belief that plants communicate their needs if we learn to listen.
Herbalism isn't just practical for Sophie — it's philosophical. "Using plants as medicines and to keep our bodies generally healthy has always worked for me," she explains. "It made sense that plants could also treat other plants." This approach connects her to the ecosystem in a way that synthetic viticulture never could.
Zero Waste, Maximum Care
Sophie's commitment to sustainability extends beyond the vineyard into every aspect of her operation. She bottles exclusively in second-use glass — bottles that have been used before, cleaned, and reused. Some carry quirks from their previous lives: engravings, embossed logos, slight variations in color. These imperfections are part of the charm.
She also works with her UK distributor Under the Bonnet to use second, third, and fourth-use cardboard boxes. "It seems ridiculous to me that they often only get used once," she says. The goal is a closed loop: keeping glass on the island, reducing carbon footprint, challenging the perception that wine packaging must always look pristine and new.
Every Sophie Evans wine bottle has lived a previous life. Some carry engravings or quirks from their first use. The carbon savings are significant, and Sophie believes the bottles look "interesting on a shelf" — each one unique.
Working with Under the Bonnet, Sophie uses cardboard boxes that have made multiple trips. The logistics are still being perfected, but the principle is clear: in a world drowning in waste, every reuse matters.
Her vision is ambitious: "If we could keep most of the glass on this island and create more of a closed loop, that would be a dream in terms of carbon footprint." It's a challenge to the wine industry's obsession with polished new packaging, and a practical step toward genuine sustainability.
The Sophie Evans Wines
All wines are made without chemicals — "a reflection of the year in the vineyard." Hand de-stemmed, foot crushed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and glass demi-johns. No fining, no filtering, minimal or no sulfur. Bottled directly from tank roughly nine months later in second-use bottles. Production is tiny — typically 180-298 bottles per wine.