Meet Our Winemaker: José Quintana
If you have ever tried one of our Urban Winery wines and thought “yep, that is doing something interesting”, you have already met José. He is the winemaker behind our small batch wines, now made at our new Canada Water Urban Winery.
Who he is
José grew up on a farm which explains a lot of things. He is practical. He understands land. He is comfortable in mud. And he is the first to say that nothing good happens in a winery unless the fruit was cared for properly outdoors.
He trained at Plumpton College where he graduated with First class honours, Top student and a Marks and Spencer scholarship. Before winemaking he ran an estate agency which turns out to be surprisingly useful when you need a winemaker who can also run a business meeting, fix a broken pump and write a budget.
He has worked at some great English wineries like Westwell, Henners, Davenport and Wiston as well as doing harvests in Spain. Since 2019 he has also judged for IWSC, so he tastes a lot of wine and brings those ideas back into our cellar.
How he makes wine
José’s approach is simple.
Grow the best fruit you can.
Add as little as possible.
Let the wine taste like the place it came from.
This means wild ferments, low intervention, no added tannins or enzymes, and minimal filtration. If he can avoid fiddling, he will.
He produces around fifteen thousand bottles a year across ten to twelve small lots. They are all made with English fruit from vineyards in Kent, Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Essex.
The Wines to Know
José’s winemaking shows itself across the range, from the clean and bright Bacchus with its wild ferment and long lees rest to the soft, gently oaked Ortega that keeps its richness without ever feeling heavy.
His Rosé brings that fresh, pale style with a touch of barrel texture, while Dios Mío leans into skin contact and old oak to give Bacchus a more savoury, textural edge. Things get livelier with Pét Not and Bricolage, both wild fermented and bottled with all their natural energy intact, one slightly hazy and crunchy, the other whole bunch and zero sulphur.
At the more serious end you will find the barrel fermented Chardonnay with its focused acidity and the lightly oaked, whole bunch lifted Pinot Noir that stays true to what English Pinot should taste like.
Why he fits Vagabond
José was doing minimal intervention before it was fashionable, but not in a romantic, barefoot way. Just because it works.
His wines are clean, precise and naturally expressive which fits neatly with the Vagabond idea of giving people something honest to taste by the glass.
Come Meet Him
You can meet José properly at our Winemaker Sessions at Canada Water. They are relaxed, friendly and ideal if you want to taste wine with the person who made it and ask anything from “why wild ferments” to “how do you actually punch down skins”.
We also run Urban Winery Tours & Tastings where you can try four of our wines right next to the tanks they were made in. If you want to understand José’s approach, this is the best way to do it.
