Bath, UK / Est. 2019
OURSTORY
The purpose, vision and history behind Bath's first luxury sparkling wine since the Romans.
- Soil
- Limestone
- Place
- Corston
- Planted
- 2015
- Legacy
- Roman
01
Why ‘Minerva’?
Minerva — the Roman goddess of wisdom, the arts and strategy. Highly honoured by the Romans as the most revered of their goddesses, Marcus Terentius Varro considered her to be "ideas and the plan for the universe personified." A common depiction of Minerva is a tall, athletic woman in armour, accompanied by her sacred Owl — symbolic of her association with wisdom and knowledge.
02
A Centre of Excellence
In taking on the patronage of Minerva, the aims are clear: to inspire the next generation of farmers, artists, winemakers, innovators and creators — in particular women and girls.
To this end, plans are under way for a viticulture Centre of Excellence, to help empower the next generation in local communities, aiding them in embracing a changing world with open arms.
03
Spreading the Seeds
Just as much loved migratory birds must travel to learn and return anew, Minerva will encourage its young community to take their knowledge and experience from the Minerva Centre of Excellence — to fly the nest towards new adventures across southern seas.
New Viti-Pathways will be laid to vineyards in New Zealand, Australia and Chile, where that community can meet new life-long friends and build on their skills and character, all whilst enveloping themselves in the beautiful experience of newfound culture.
04
Bringing It Home
Wisdom is considered a virtue but really it is a whole way of living. Aristotle held that "it is evident that it is impossible to be practically wise without being good." Practical wisdom, then, is showing kindness to one another.
It's what the vineyard teaches — that spending time with friends and family brings the best opportunities for kindness out of all of us.
05
Minerva's Roots
A third-generation farmer, Emily Addicott-Sauvao grew up intrinsically connected to this land — the soil her parents cultivated for over 40 years to high acclaim, even granted special status by the wartime government.
Emily was never one to shy away from a challenge. She was the first farmer in the South West of England to grow quinoa, and in 2017 took over the tenancy of the farm her parents had cultivated.
06 · 2011
The Vine Finds Home
Following an intuition that the local terroir had something unique to offer, the idea to plant vines over Bath limestone was conceived on a trip to visit Emily's family in Beaune — the Burgundy winemaking region.
After a morning's wine tasting at the renowned Le Cellier de la Cabiote, Eddie remarked that the soil looked very similar to that on the farm in Corston. It was a throw-away comment at the time — "perhaps we should plant a vineyard along with the quinoa."
07 · 2015
Ten Thousand Vines
Four years later came the audacious decision to plant ten thousand vines at Corston, just up the road from the World Heritage city of Bath. A few thought it was crazy — but the Romans had grown vines in these very fields, and the planting carried on their legacy.
Nurturing ten thousand vines alongside the day job, in the belief that they would yield grapes for quality sparkling wine, was exciting, scary, and a long lesson in patience.
08 · 2019
The First Vintage
Minerva's first vintage was entrusted to Emma Rice of Hattingley Valley — twice UKVA Winemaker of the Year, and among the most decorated English sparkling winemakers of her generation.
The Minerva Sparkling 2019 went on to win a Decanter Award in 2023 — vindication for the soil Eddie first recognised in Beaune, all those years before.