Mai & Kenji Hodgson at Planque

We are excited to welcome at Planque Mai and Kenji Hodgson of Vins Hodgson from Rablay sur Layon, in Anjou.

Mai and Kenji met in Vancouver and they had already been working in wine between Canada and Japan when in 2009, driven by a deep curiosity to understand why french wine tasted so good, they left for France on a one year working holiday visa.

They spent months learning from some influential winemakers in the Loire, whose low intervention approach in the cellar was very different from the more conventional examples the two had been exposed to before. The experience was eye opening and essential in informing Mai and Kenji’s future as winemakers.

It was mentor Mark Angeli of Ferme de la Sansonnière who convinced them stay in Anjou, a hub of natural winemaking that could offer Mai and Kenji an unparalleled support system during their beginnings.

Since that first 2010 vintage, Mai and Kenji have been committed to a continuous investigation of the vineyard, its rhythms and language. This, alongside the adoption of low intervention practices in the cellar has lent to vibrant and uplifting wines that are full expressions of the land.

Join us for a lunch accompanied by Vins Hodgson's exciting back vintages by the glass, and many more available by the bottle. To celebrate the occasion Mai and Kenji will disgorge by hand their pét-nat, a naturally sparkling wine made the ancestral way by completing the fermentation in the bottle.

We will be serving our usual à la carte menu for the day, so please mention any dietary at the time of booking in order for us to accommodate them.

Should you need to cancel your reservation, we ask that you provide us with a minimum of 24 hours notice in order to prevent a charge of £25 per guest.