We go back to early 2020, when we were still in the early stages of creating our vineyard. At that time, we had no name for it yet. As we were planting the vines in the land of Hungerhill, we were interrupted by the discovery of numerous seashells and fossils, which covered the land. This sparked our curiosity, and we began to question how they ended up there. Could there have been a sea in Bedfordshire millions of years ago ?
As it turns out, our speculation was correct, and we dug deeper into the subject in December 2021, during breakfast at our home in France. We discussed branding, logos, and various ideas, but we wanted something symbolic that made sense. We began to explore the vineyard's roots and the land where our grapes grow. We wanted to know what had happened there before we started the vineyard and the farm. Why was our soil filled with Jurassic fossils and ammonite?
Through research, we finally discovered the answer to this little mystery. Our vineyard is located in the Marston Valley, which was a warm, tropical, and shallow sea 150 million years ago. Traces of its existence can still be found today. To honor this history, we decided to name our wine after it, using a mix of French and English, as the word for "sea" in French is "Mer". Furthermore, we discovered that Marston's name has changed numerous times throughout history. In the 11th century, it was known as Merstone, a name we all fell in love with. And thus, Merstone wine was born.
Why the name "Merstone" ?
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