Ben Adams

Hampshire, England

Ben Adams' path to winemaking has wound through London galleries and French vineyards before returning to the Hampshire landscape his family has worked for a century. After spending eleven years in London's art world, he pivoted to wine, landing in France's Corbières region with Le Clos Perdu, eventually managing 35 of their parcels across 17 hectares of organic and biodynamic vineyards. There he made his own wines from 2013-2015 under the Ben Adams label, developing a more progressive style.

Family prompted a return to England in 2017, where he began working with Daniel Ham at Langham, who he had met studying at Plumpton. He secured a 5.6-hectare tenancy on family land and in 2020, after a two-year cover crop program, he planted 8,100 vines—predominantly Chardonnay and Pinot varieties. His 2025 expansion added massal selection Pinot Noir and PIWI hybrids (Sauvignac, Souvignier Gris, Muscaris, and Reno), bringing his total to 13,800 vines.

With soils of chalk, flint, sand, and clay, he emphasizes natural balance over inputs. He maintains high grass cover to manage characteristic English vigour, uses homemade plant lacto-ferments, applies minimal copper, and picks later than most Hampshire producers.

The vineyard was certified organic in 2023, with an eye to biodynamic certification. His wines reflect both his artistic background and the site itself: the Mineral Geo Surfaces label—a play on the farcical nature of wine names—features his photographs of flint fossils from Enmill Field, the lieu-dit where his vines grow, tiled into a flint-shaped pattern.