ABOUT US

Lost in a Field is on a mission to rescue the fast disappearing heritage grape varieties planted in the UK in the last century and to craft them into delicious, low intervention pét-nat using traditional winemaking methods. Established by Tim Wildman MW in 2021 with help from Darcy Gander.

This is our Great British old vine story, seen through the technicolour prism of the German cross heritage grape varieties planted in the 1960s, 70s and 80s by eccentric amateurs.

Back then the nascent British wine industry was based on a Burgundian model, of small plots established by grower-maker vignerons working out of garden sheds and garages, a stark contrast to the modern era of corporate brands and business models.

Along the way we’re helping to rescue abandoned and neglected old vine plots through the Lost Vineyard Preservation Society. This is our grassroots movement, bringing together local communities and the UK wine trade through volunteer programs, crowdsourced funding and collaborations with like-minded businesses through events such as Lost Under the Stars camping weekends and Harvest Tea Parties.

We are Lost in a Field, think different, drink different, join us on our mission!

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.”

The Wine

2024, a very English vintage - cool and challenging.

Lost in a Field "Frolic" 2024 pét-nat is a blend of two white heritage grape varieties and one red PIWI variety from three vineyards in two different English counties, Herefordshire in the west and Kent in the east.

After a run of increasingly warm English vintages, 2024 was a reminder that England is still England; marginal, unpredictable and deeply vintage-sensitive.

Of the the pool of eight grape growers I work with across six counties, only two had fruit that would reach the required level for 9.5% alcohol, and then only just. Unfortunately our lovely old vine walled vineyard of Triomphe d’Alsace in Wiltshire, which we usually use for colour, had lost its entire crop to disease pressure, so for only the second time we included a red PIWI variety for colour; 2% of the early-ripening Cabernet Cortis from Kent.

We were nervous when the fruit came in. The juice looked low in alcohol and high in acid, but just like a similar situation in 2022, following a healthy fermentation and time in tank and bottle, the wine has bloomed and blossomed into a beautiful and classic example of Lost in a Field “Frolic” pét-nat. Sadly quantities are minuscule, just 1589 bottles, our smallest production ever by more than 50%.

We felt luckier than some producers who came out of the challenging 2024 vintage empty-handed, and we have to thank the tireless work of those growers who nursed their fruit to ripeness, and the team at the winery for handling such a small volume and producing a wine we are proud of.

The 2024 ended up having a slightly higher pressure than previous vintages of Frolic, so is wonderfully foaming when opened and poured into the glass, but doesn’t gush or spill over. The colour is a delicate, pale pink coral. The aromas are all strawberry and red cherry, with a touch of fennel that nods to the cooler vintage. The palate is gossamer light and delicately textured, the bubbles are foaming and mouth-filling, with the overall impression being of gentle cranberry and redcurrant fruit in a wine full of light, air and freshness.

Fruity, fun, fault free, zero sulphur English pét-nat made from heritage grape varieties from old vines.

Drink the rainbow!

“Tastes like summer, and dangerously drinkable - Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com

From one and a half tonne of fruit we made 1589 bottles, our smallest vintage ever

Alcohol 9.5% Free SO2 0g/L Total SO2 6 g/L Residual sugar (RS) 1.0 g/L

You can find availability of the bottles on our Stockists page

Our trade distribution partner is Les Caves de Pyrene

Full descriptions and information in the downloadable tasting notes below