{"id":8813,"date":"2025-08-06T11:53:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T10:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/?p=8813"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:53:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T10:53:59","slug":"anton-kuts-a-sommelier-among-the-vines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/es\/anton-kuts-a-sommelier-among-the-vines\/","title":{"rendered":"Anton Kuts: A Sommelier Among the Vines"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a moment when you approach Lympstone Manor from the winding lanes above the Exe estuary – a sudden break in the hedgerows, and there it is: a chalk-bright Georgian manor rising from Devon\u2019s Triassic soil, surrounded by young vines and older dreams. The house, once known as Courtlands and owned by the Baring banking family, had fallen into ruin by the time Exeter-born chef, Michael Caines MBE acquired it in 2014. What followed was not simply a restoration, but a reimagining – a country house fit for the 21st century, complete with bedrooms named after estuary birds, shepherd huts for those preferring to sleep under the stars, and an estate vineyard overlooking the sea. \u2018The vine likes to see the water,\u2019 says Caines. \u2018Most of the great vineyards of Europe are near rivers. So why not the Exe estuary?\u2019<\/i><\/h3>\n

The first 17,500 vines – Chardonnay, and Pinots Noir and Meunier – were planted in May 2018, and the inaugural harvest arrived in 2020. From that vintage, the Triassic Pinot Noir garnered Gold for Best Red English Wine at the International Wine Challenge. By autumn of that year, after 36 months on lees, Lympstone\u2019s debut sparkling, Classic Cuv\u00e9e 2020, was debuted. It\u2019s in this extraordinary setting, somewhere between the vineyard and the table, that Anton Kuts has found a new kind of purpose. \u2018The experience I am gaining at Lympstone Manor is absolutely priceless,\u2019 he says. \u2018It\u2019s not just a job. It\u2019s a way of life.\u2019<\/p>\n