Silverweed - friend or foe?

Ryan Mounsey
3 days ago
5 min read

I'll get back to this question in a bit!

So, what has been happening at Velfrey Vineyard since my last scribblings? Well rather a lot!

The older vines have been thoroughly enjoying the dry, sunny weather we've experienced during April and May. And the rain over the last couple of days will have done them the world of good, too!

So the vines are in a lovely place. They look green and healthy and the inflorescences are getting very close to flowering - so another spell of fine weather would be very welcome. Safe to say though we are at a 'so far so good' stage!

We've finished round one of bud rubbing - sounds rude I know - but basically we've been going through the whole vineyard knocking off any buds growing on the trunks of the vines. It's very satisfying to see them all tidied up and it helps them to put the resources where we want them to go and have the ideal shape.

We've now moved on to shoot selection and crown thinning in the Solaris. The Solaris is always the first to get going and the beautiful weather we've been having has really spurred them on! If you've been on one of our tours, you'll know that we normally tie two canes down to the fruiting wire - one on either side - leaving what is known as 'the crown' in the middle. We go through removing extra shoots from the crown which helps to keep the plant healthy and allows in more light to this area which is crucial to the fruitfulness of next year's buds.

And we've been planting!

New Solaris and Rondo vines arrived early May and the planting began! With the number of vines and the areas available for planting, we always knew we'd be putting them in by hand. Andy and Ryan have been inventive and ingenious with their techniques for getting straight lines and the vines into the ground!

The new site looks a bit like you would see in France - a block of vines here, another block there - bit like a patchwork quilt with a big old oak tree in the middle! And the vines are already budding - again, so far so good! Now for the rabbit guards....

Out tours have started and already we have welcomed people from far and near - including a journalist from Germany and the Rolls Royce and Bentley Club!

But what a week we had last week!

Some time ago we were approached by the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival organisers to ask if we would be interested in being a part of their BAFTA qualifying festival this year.

So on Monday, our Velfrey NV sparkling was served at the drinks reception for the premiere of the John Parr film 'A Pack of Five' - and we were lucky enough to be invited. 'A Pack of Five' was inspired by the poetry of the much celebrated Welsh poet and shepherd, Ellis Evans, who adopted the bardic name Hedd Wyn (which means 'Blessed Peace'). Hedd Wyn was a pacifist and, as a farmer at the start of WW1 he was entitled not to enlist but to remain on the family farm producing food for the nation, while also writing his acclaimed poetry. However, in 1916 conscription was introduced and with farms allowed to keep only one son at home, he enlisted so that his younger brother could remain on the farm - safe. Tragically, Hedd Wyn was killed on the first day of the battle of Paschendale. The film is a gem, now BAFTA nominated and inspired by the poetry of Hedd Wyn and the horrors he witnessed and experienced . It is a tremendously moving and thought provoking film; beautifully shot and directed.

Then on Thursday, team Velfrey split and went in different directions. Ryan and Sophie were in attendance at the Carmarthen Bay Fill Festival awards ceremony where Ryan awarded the prize in the Short Film category.

Andy and I headed to the Food and Drink Wales Awards in Lllandudno (via Bodnant Gardens I might add - laburnum arch spectacular!)

We were very proud to be a finalist in the Artisan Business category and although we didn't win, we were absolutely thrilled that our friends at Atlantic Edge Oysters did! They nurture the oysters in the sea just off Angle Bay and they have recently been awarded PGI status in recognition of the quality, Pembrokeshire origin and sustainability of their oysters. We have had the pleasure of being at a number of events with Jake from Atlantic Edge Oysters and as you can imagine his oysters and our sparkling Velfrey are very often paired together - especially as they are both PGI.

We were also absolutely delighted to see other companies we work with being recognised in the Awards this year as well:

Cradocs Crackers, which we use on our grazing boards, won Business Resilinece Award 2025.
Penderyn won large Drinks Producer.
Pembrokeshire Creamery won Scale-up Company.

And, thoroughly deserved, the family run Blas ar Fwyd won Wales Food and Drink Champion 2025. We've worked with Blas ar Fwyd for a number of years now with us sourcing produce from them while they also stock our wine. The founder, Deiniol ap Dafydd has been a judge at the Welsh Wine Awards and knowing how hard he, his family and his team work, this was a very well deserved award!

The award ceremony was a lovely night for meeting up with other Welsh businesses and I had the pleasure to be sitting next to David Wainwright from Wainright's Bee Farm who went on to win Food Producer of the year!

So to the question about silverweed - let me explain and see if any of you can help!

Earlier this month we hosted here at Velfrey Vineyard, the Welsh Vineyards Association AGM. It's always lovely to catch up with some of the other vineyard owners and I'm pleased to say (I think) Andy was re-elected Chair of the Association for another three year term.

What does this have to do with silverweed - I hear you ask! Well, one of the other vineyard owners told us she was trialling a plant as a weed suppressant under vine and when she looked out at our vineyard she exclaimed "you already have it!". Her theory is that siverweed is low growing, has a lovely yellow flower and acts by outcompeting the taller growing weeds which are a problem in the vineyard.

Now, we didn't know this and if I'm being honest we just saw it as another weed to try and keep on top of! Admittedly it is very attractive but does anyone know if it should be treated as a friend or foe? If it outcompetes tall weeds could it compete for nutrients with the vines? Do let us know if you have any thoughts!

Next week is Welsh Wine Week so we are off on our travels once again! Saturday we are doing a barrel top event at ND John in Swansea, then Monday 2nd June we have a Welsh Wine trade tasting event in Cardiff. Back home for a visit by some journalists and our tours. But the vineyards across Wales will have events running across the week and it is a great way to highlight the producers and their amazing produce.

So, why not raise a glass of Welsh wine to celebrate Welsh wine!