Anyone Own or Run a UK Vineyard?
Discussion
Horribly twee question, but does anyone own or run a small, medium or big vineyard, full-time or part-time or on the weekend, in the UK? Or abroad?
Any good or bad experiences? Worthwhile? Any profit in it? Is it just a hipster allotment? Does it take a lot or little effort? Any links? Any other thoughts?
Any good or bad experiences? Worthwhile? Any profit in it? Is it just a hipster allotment? Does it take a lot or little effort? Any links? Any other thoughts?
No, but my uncle established a small one on his arable farm in east anglia 3 odd decades ago. He put a lot of effort in, and the vines ( rivana .? ) did well. He won some awards and the wine was pleasant if well chilled, not unlike a decent 'alsace'. It sold quite well, but was comparatively expensive. At the peak it was producing 7k bottles a year (tiny vineyard) and he had a bottling plant / bonded warehouse - all the kit. But it never made proper money compared to the rest of the farm, and he closed it down and returned the land to arable crops. He was pretty sanguine about it, but did say that the tax breaks and subsidy perks enjoyed by European producers made it impossible to compete on price, even if he grew more grapes and scaled up.
Perhaps, post Brexit the will be an English wine boom ? But probably not. We can make decent wine here, but it has always been, and will probably remain a niche/ novelty product.
Perhaps, post Brexit the will be an English wine boom ? But probably not. We can make decent wine here, but it has always been, and will probably remain a niche/ novelty product.
There's a vineyard near to my parents house in Leeds, this place - http://www.leventhorpevineyard.co.uk/
I know they run visits etc so may be of interest to you depending on where you are?
It's been going for years, as long as I can remember, and you see the wine in some nice local restaurants. The fact it's downhill from a landfill site has always put me off a bit but they have a good reputation! They're obviously making it work all the way oop north here
I know they run visits etc so may be of interest to you depending on where you are?
It's been going for years, as long as I can remember, and you see the wine in some nice local restaurants. The fact it's downhill from a landfill site has always put me off a bit but they have a good reputation! They're obviously making it work all the way oop north here
This is only my opinion and I have zero experience but given land values in the UK, I would think that setting up something would require huge financial investment with very little return in the early years (vines take a while to start producing decent fruit). From various programs I have seen, the work involved, whilst hugely rewarding, is very hard. It's a great pipe dream that's usually only fulfilled by retired hedgefund managers, actors and sportsmen. If you're just interested in having a closer connection you can buy rows of vines (Three Choirs if I remember rightly) or offer your services to a local vineyard. Bon chance 
There's a vineyard that produces wine just outside Abergavenny. Been there for as long as I cam remember. http://sugarloafvineyard.co.uk/
I've had some bottles from there and it seemed pretty reasonable to me.
I've had some bottles from there and it seemed pretty reasonable to me.
coltonbob said:
There's a vineyard near to my parents house in Leeds, this place - http://www.leventhorpevineyard.co.uk/
I know they run visits etc so may be of interest to you depending on where you are?
It's been going for years, as long as I can remember, and you see the wine in some nice local restaurants. The fact it's downhill from a landfill site has always put me off a bit but they have a good reputation! They're obviously making it work all the way oop north here
"Oz Clarke states that he could recognise Leventhorpe Madeleine Angevine if given a glass anywhere:I know they run visits etc so may be of interest to you depending on where you are?
It's been going for years, as long as I can remember, and you see the wine in some nice local restaurants. The fact it's downhill from a landfill site has always put me off a bit but they have a good reputation! They're obviously making it work all the way oop north here
“Leventhorpe is a once tasted always remembered kind of wine” "
That sounds like some I once made.
A couple of years ago the Porsche Enthusiasts club did a visit to Hush Heath Vineyard near Staplehurst in Kent.
Whilst doing a tour of the vineyard we met up with the owner. He walked around with us & talked us through the process.
One of us asked was a business, a hobby or an obsession? He replied that it was an obsession, the work involved was horrific & I suspect the rewards not great. Did lovely apple juice though as well as some nice wine.
Whilst doing a tour of the vineyard we met up with the owner. He walked around with us & talked us through the process.
One of us asked was a business, a hobby or an obsession? He replied that it was an obsession, the work involved was horrific & I suspect the rewards not great. Did lovely apple juice though as well as some nice wine.
Edited by tr7v8 on Thursday 27th April 13:20
Family friend is a sales person at a privately run one. She advises the quickest way of becoming a millionaire is start off as a billionaire then set up a vineyard.
Huge initial investments, huge land requirements, no return for potentially years, massively weather dependant & you need to be down south to get the reliable weather!
It's an expensive dream....
Huge initial investments, huge land requirements, no return for potentially years, massively weather dependant & you need to be down south to get the reliable weather!
It's an expensive dream....
I was going to mention Three Choirs but someone has anyway. I think there is money in it as a business but it's all about the diversification. Three Choirs is an excellent example. The wine itself it pretty good but I suspect where they make the serious money is on the "experiences". The wife and I had a day there and thoroughly enjoyed it, tour of the facilities, tasting, lunch + a bottle of wine, then a self guided wander round the vineyard / nature trail. Really lovely way to spend a few hours. Can't remember the cost but I'm guess it was probably over £50 a head. The adopt a vine thing is also probably quite lucrative. The restaurant there is very good and open to all, they also have nice chalets that you can stay in dotted around the vineyard.
My great uncle decided he wanted a (non-UK) vineyard 50 years ago, spent loads of effort creating something completely from scratch and some years before getting anything out of it, and more years getting something good out of it. All basically on weekends and holidays.
Bailed out after a few more years having started what became a major regional industry.
Looking at what was there before and what is there now I think all those weekends were well spent. Wine's not too bad either.
As a general thing though you're potentially looking at loads of time, effort and expense for dubious return especially if you're buying into somewhere 'known'. There are easier ways to get a drink.
Bailed out after a few more years having started what became a major regional industry.
Looking at what was there before and what is there now I think all those weekends were well spent. Wine's not too bad either.
As a general thing though you're potentially looking at loads of time, effort and expense for dubious return especially if you're buying into somewhere 'known'. There are easier ways to get a drink.
Depending where you are in the country this one may be of interest to you -
http://www.eglantinevineyard.co.uk/Pages/default.a...
It's about half a mile up the road from me and has been there almost forty years, I'd never noticed it until a few days ago when I saw a tag for it on google maps whilst looking for something else locally.
http://www.eglantinevineyard.co.uk/Pages/default.a...
It's about half a mile up the road from me and has been there almost forty years, I'd never noticed it until a few days ago when I saw a tag for it on google maps whilst looking for something else locally.
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