Worthenbury Wines

<body bgcolor="#000000"> <p><font size="2">Short history of wine growing in the UK<br> There is evidence that the Romans brought the vine to Britain. Although <br> detail is somewhat sketchy Emperor Domitian passed an edict around <br> AD85 banning the growing of vines in England, so something must have <br> upset him! This wasn't repealed for 200 years.<br> <br> A thousand years later, the Doomsday book recorded the existence of 38 <br> Vineyards, most of which were attached to monasteries. There are also <br> other historical references to vineyards throughout the Middle Ages, but by the beginning of the 20th century there was little or no interest being shown in viticulture. This was probably due to our unpredictable climate and close proximity to the established vineyards of Europe. A few stalwart enthusiasts rekindled interest in vine growing after the <br> second World War, and the first modern commercial vineyard was planted at Hambledon in Hampshire in 1951.<br> <br> History of Worthenbury wines<br> We started to research our vineyard in North Wales in 1990.<br> The number of vineyards across England and Wales listed in a guide at <br> that time was over 350, but most were not commercial ventures.<br> The house has an acre of land which had previously been used for the <br> training and grazing of horses. We know very little about caring for <br> horses and even less about backing them, so we needed something <br> different. The land was low lying, south facing and the soil was suitable; so we thought " We know how to drink wine, how about trying to grow <br> some!"<br> <br> With only an acre of ground, production was always going to be low, so <br> our approach was quality, not quantity. Much English and Welsh wine is<br> produced from grape varieties which have been carefully selected to <br> survive our climate, but which are not generally well known. We instead<br> went for the classic grape varieties Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and<br> Pinot Noir, which will grow in North Wales but will only ripen one year in ten. They, therefore, needed a helping hand, and are grown in long poly tunnels which create a micro-climate inside much warmer than the <br> prevailing weather outside.<br> <br> After a year of travelling, talking and tasting, we planted our first vines in the spring of 1991-907 vines a few inches high planted in neat rows. We then went on holiday and returned to wonder why they weren't <br> growing. Answer Britain had suffered one of the worst late frosts for 25 years and this in June!<br> <br> The fact that it caused pain in the classic French regions of Burgundy <br> and Bordeaux was of little comfort. We lost all but 130 Sauvignon Blanc!<br> <br> The following year we showed some caution and only replanted half the <br> area, these prospered and so it was full steam ahead again. Our first two tunnels were erected over the oldest vines in 1994 and we now have a total of ten with four more still to go.<br> <br> The first vintage, from the surviving Sauvignon, was produced in 1995, <br> and we are now cropping from all three varieties, producing quality red <br> and white wines. Our capacity will never be high, but our quality is, and to reflect the unique aspect of this vineyard project, every bottle of our wine is individually numbered.<br> <br> The Wines<br> The wine is made by the award-winning Australian winemaker John<br> Worontschak at his winery in Twyford, Berks. Each October a group of willing volunteers gathers to help us pick the crop. They have become quite expert over the years and they are invaluable,-we suspect that the supper afterwards is the main attraction.<br> <br> The grapes are transported to the winery as quickly as possible to <br> ensure freshness, where it's over to John and his team. The grapes are <br> stripped of the stalks, and then pressed to extract the juice which <br> is run into large vats to be fermented. The white skins are discarded- the red are reintroduced to the pinot juice to colour the wine.<br> <br> 1999 White<br> John blended the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes together and<br> has produced a really interesting wine. It's an unusual blend in the UK <br> but is much more common in South Africa. Both Chardonnay and Sauvignon are dry wines on their own- together they've produced a slightly more medium to dry wine with lovely bouquet and full bodied taste. It will stand up to stronger meats and cheeses as well as normal <br> white wine fare. Alcohol 11%<br> <br> 1999 Red<br> This is 100% Pinot Noir.<br> The wine was lightly oaked in new French barrels for four months in <br> early 2000. This has produced a distinctly Burgundian style of red wine<br> with the lighter red colour and bouquet of that region. Pinot is a notoriously challenging grape variety to cultivate and produce good wine, and this first vintage from our vines is a great start. It was entered in the United Kingdom Vineyards Association annual competition earlier this year, and we were delighted to awarded a bronze medal. Alcohol <br> strength 11%.<br> <br> The Flying Pig<br> We spent some time deciding what to grow on our piece of ground, and <br> after we'd finally settled on vines, announced our momentous decision <br> the family across a Sunday lunch table.<br> <br> The reaction was less than stunning, lead by our then 18 year old son <br> who announced-'Yeh! That'll be right- and there'll be a flying pig on the label! Well 10 years on there is!! You'll find it on the individually numbered neck label, and it's also quietly hidden away on the back of each bottle. Initial doubt and derision has turned into our mascot!!<br> <br> E-mail<br> (I'll leave the detail of this section to you Neil. We talked about a data sheet to fill in, and a submit button at the bottom the link directly to say <br> 'sales@worthenburywines.co.uk'.<br> Phone or Fax.<br> Phone 01948 770257. This will connect you to our phone/Fax/Answering service. All orders will be confirmed by e-mail or post, and will be dispatched within 24hours.</font></p> </body>