Malthouse wine making

There's a beautiful vine outside our offices, lovingly tended by the Arboricultural Association (our landlords) which last September, had a mass of grapes, ripe for harvest.  We decided to make some Malthouse Wine - vintage 2013.

Here's Mike cutting some grapes.  We prepared the juice by pulping the grapes through a straining bag (a clean pillow case) into a bucket.  We added sugar and used a hydrometer to check the sugar levels (all impressions were that this was going to be a low alcohol wine from the start).

The juice was left for a few days, decanted into 3 demijohns and then we waited.

If you search 'making wine from grapes' online one result says, "It combines the process of fermentation with the creativity of the winemaker.  The fermentation process starts when yeast is added to grape juice.  The yeast consumes the grape's sugar and converts it to alcohol and carbon dioxide."

Exe Estuary Erosion Control

New video of the erosion control project on the Exe Estuary.  

Turkey Brook Landslip

After a large tree fell into the Turkey Brook at Forty Hall Country Park Estate, the bank of the brook was scoured out by fast flowing water.
Enfield Council contacted us to help with the revetment work and we came up with an unusual solution involving willow planting, gabions, infilling with soil and coir matting to keep the whole thing in place.
All looks peaceful and calm in this photo taken in June but in winter when the works were carried out, it was necessary to keep the water away from where we were working.  A temporary silt barrier was constructed from an impermeable curtain woven with a geotextile and floating oil boom, secured to the base of the riverbed.
The willow is growing well and the bank is much more secure than before - the clients are very happy with the result.

Quality assured!

For the past few months, we have been working towards accreditation in Quality Management for ISO 9001 and Environmental Management ISO 14001.

As a small, flexible company, we have been customer-focused from the beginning.  However, going through this process has forced us to implement better ways to keep on top of areas such as customer feedback and employee suggestions and really take note of issues that affect the smooth running of our business.