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SHROPSHIRE VINEYARDS
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Celebrating the winemakers of Shropshire and beyond

Shropshire's really starting to fizz!

29/3/2022

1 Comment

 
You probably didn't realise it, but there is an enormous range of sparkling wine produced in Shropshire and close by - and most of it is in that range that you might consider 'affordable'.
Below is a table that I've brought together and I'm not even sure I've got everything covered yet.
From my own experience, I've tasted the Carden Park Estate Reserve, Hencote's Evolution Sparkling, Kerry Vale's Sparkling Red, Rodington's Sparkling White, and Rowton's Pink Fizz and they're all very palatable.
I've been doing tours and tasting at Hencote recently and I know from the feedback, that the Evolution is going down very nicely with the customers there.
All of the fizz below is available on the vineyards' individual websites or, in most cases, a personal visit.
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Vineyard

Wine

Type

Style

Vintage

Price

Grapes

Astley

PNK

Rose

Dry

2018

--

Pinot Noir, Kerner

Carden Park

Estate Reserve

White

Dry

2017

--

Seyval Blanc

Colemere

Sparkling Red

Red

Dry

2018

£35

--

Colemere

Sparkling Rose

Rose

Dry

2017

£35

--

Colemere

Sparkling White

White

Dry

2017

£35

Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Grove Estate

Sparkling Red

Red

Dry

2018

£28

--

Grove Estate

Sparkling Rose

Rose

Dry

2018

£25

--

Grove Estate

Sparkling White

White

Dry

2019

£22

--

Halfpenny Green

Red Sparkling

Red

Dry

2018

£20.50

Rondo, Pinot Noir

Halfpenny Green

Rose Sparkling

Rose

Dry

2018

£20.50

Pinot Noir, Seyval Blanc

Halfpenny Green

Brut Sparkling

White

Dry

2018

£20.50

Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Hencote

Isadora Sparkling

Rose

 

2018

£35

Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay

Hencote

Evolution Sparkling

White

 

2019

£25

Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir

Kerry Vale

Sparkling Red

Red

Dry

 

£25

Rondo

Kerry Vale

Sparkling Rose

Rose

Dry

 

£25

Phoenix, Rondo

Kerry Vale

Sparkling White

White

Dry

 

£25

Phoenix

Ludlow

Sparkling White

White

Dry

--

£21

Seyval Blanc, Solaris

Montgomery

Montgomery Pink Sparkling

Rose

Dry

2018

£36

Rondo

Montgomery

Sparkling Rose

Rose

Dry

2018

£45

Pinot Noir Precoce, Seyval Blanc

Montgomery

Demi Sec

White

Dry

--

£41.50

Seyval Blanc

Montgomery

Montgomery Sparkling White

White

Dry

2017

£45

Seyval Blanc

Rodington

Pink Sparkling Brut

Rose

Dry

2015

£28

 

Rodington

Sparkling White Brut

White

Dry

2015

£28

Seyval Blanc

Rowton

Pink Fizz

Rose

Dry

2018

£25

 Pinot Noir Precoce, Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc
1 Comment

New life for Tern Valley vineyard?

16/3/2022

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Some interesting news about Hall Farm, Tern Hill, home of the derelict Tern Valley Vineyard near Market Drayton.
I noticed the farm had been up for sale with James Du Pavey estate agents, but now it is appearing on their website as 'sold subject to contract'.
I did give the estate agents a call to confirm, and I was told the sale was very near completion, with the vineyard included.
The asking price was £535,000 for the 4.5 acres of the land and buildings with planning permission for them to be rebuilt on their current footprints.
No clue as to who has bought the site or what their intentions are towards the vines.
As soon as I know, I'll let you know, but it strikes me the riverside site could make a really attractive addition to Shropshire's active viticulture scene.
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Can worms help your vineyard?

9/3/2022

1 Comment

 
One of the fascinating things about the Good2Great programme (see below) is the people you get to meet as part of the networking process.
One of those is Bridgnorth-based Luke Boxall from a company called Worm Soil, which specialises in Vermicast - the nutrient rich product of worms munching through organic material.
In fact, Worm Soil is soon to become Soil Nurture as a co-operation between himself and worm farmers in Austria and North America, who apparently have more than 20 years' experience of selling Vermicast products into vineyards.
If you don't think you know what Vermicast is, you're bound to have seen it. It's those little pyramids of soil you find on the lawn.
And, apparently, it's pretty potent stuff.
Says Luke: "The science behind it is all to do with the micro-organisms in the worm casts. Those are what provide the minerals and nutrients that plants need.
"Worms will eat anything that’s organic. There are limitations, such as if it’s too acidic - lemons or onions for instance. But they'll eat anything you can think of putting in compost, pretty much."
Luke describes it as like us eating a healthy yoghurt.
"
When worms eat an apple in compost, they are eating the microbiology around the compost - so they’re not actually eating the apple, they’re eating the micro-organisms that are composting that apple. When they pass that through, it comes with all dirt and all the organic material and basically they fill that organic material with microbiology."
The micro organisms in the worm's gut break down minerals and nutrients into a form that plants can absorb.

Says Luke: "Humic and fulvic acids are highly present in Vermicast. They allow the plants to absorb minerals easier, and allow them to transport through their systems easier as well. So, therefore, not only are the micro organisms providing the right minerals and nutrients, they’re also providing an easier way for the plants to absorb it."
​Luke is keen to explore the possible benefits of combining Vermicast with Viticulture.
He's already run a trial with Rob and Laura Windsor, at Colemere and is hoping to garner interest from other vineyards in the Shropshire area.

He tells me he was recently down in the south east of England, where he met with a number of vineyard owners and bumped into Shropshire-based viticultural agronomist John Buchan, who looks like someone I definitely need to speak to for Shropshirevineyards.com.
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Luke and Steph Boxall
1 Comment

Taking it up a level...

9/3/2022

0 Comments

 
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My WSET Level 2 badge... Dead chuffed!
Where to start?
There's been so much going on since my last update that I'll need to take a moment to put it all in the right order...
Hard to think that as I signed off that update, I was about to start my Level 2 Wines and Spirits Education Trust course with Gary Carter DipWSET at the Shropshire Local Wine School in Shrewsbury.
Three intensive sessions later (and a whole bunch of tasting) I'm pleased to say that I passed!
As I write I'm still waiting for my badge and certificate, but I am at least starting to put some of that knowledge to practical use.
Just before Christmas I think it was, I saw an ad on Facebook from Hencote, who were looking for people to help with vineyard tours.
Initially they had the required personnel, but a few weeks ago I was contacted by Mark Stevens, co-general manager, to see if I was still interested. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and was lucky enough to follow Mark and then sommelier Sahara Gomez as they took a couple of parties round.
On Saturday, if the rota still applies, I'll be doing my third unaccompanied tour.
I always credit the lovely Wendy Gedney, who runs vineyard tours in the Languedoc in the south of France, for the inspiration behind my interest in wines. She famously told me that to do what she does, I'd have to know more about wine than just how to drink it. She was right. So I did learn a bit more and now I'm happily following (however tentatively) in her footsteps.
It's fascinating to get an insight into how a vineyard works, how the winery functions and how that all fits into the retail side of the business at a place like Hencote. And, after months of sitting in a box talking to myself, or someone distant on Zoom or Teams, it's great to actually talk to real people face to face.

The Rowton Vineyard Twins, Zoe and Melissa Evans have been busier than ever, popping up here and there with events, guerrilla wine bars and a couple of English wine tastings.
We attended one of the tastings where they showcased their test wines Pink Fizz 2018 and Solaris 2020 alongside wines from Hattingley Valley and Sixteen Ridges among others.
The scrawly mess on the right is my effort to keep up with them.
​Great food pairings from Mel, by the way.

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Looking to the future, I'm trying to figure out a way of turning Shropshire Vineyards into something more than just a website.
I am really keen to promote the wines and winemakers of Shropshire and surrounds, which is partly why I did the WSET course and why I was also hopeful of joining the tour team at Hencote to gain further experience.
Towards the back end of 2021 and early on this year, I enrolled on the Startup Masterclass programme run by Johnny Themans and team at Good2Great.
The course lasts eight weeks and covers just about everything a startup business needs to know. I wish I'd have had that kind of insight earlier, because while the course reinforced some of the things you kind of know when you're doing your own thing, it definitely shows you what you don't know and really should. Special shout out from me for two of their advisors, Eddie Allan and Sarah Bishop for their invaluable advice and support.

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Spreading the word...

19/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Flashback - November 19, 2021:
​A bit of multi hat-wearing for me this week at 
Shropshire Chamber of Commerce's Food and Drink Expo.
I enjoyed a chat with the ever-busy Beth Heath, chair of Visit Shropshire among her other roles, talking about Shropshire Vineyards and my hopes for giving our local winemakers a bigger audience.
I was able to swap some news news with the guys from 
Hencote who were displaying some of their award-winning wines.
They seem to have had a pretty good harvest, though like everyone, the weather may have pushed things back a little this year.

It was a pleasure to meet everyone, but highlight of the day, undoubtedly, was a brief "Hollywood Handshake" with Mr Shropshire Business himself, Carl Jones. Have to say, I'm quite enjoying getting back into this #networking thing.
Talking of which, I'm enjoying the Friday Hub meetings with Good2Great, with whom I'm also doing the Startup Masterclass on a Saturday morning.
And, the really exciting news is that on Sunday I start my WSET Level 2 course in Shrewsbury. Finally! Wish me luck.

The dynamic duo at Rowton, Zoe and Melissa Evans, have been trying something new again, with their pop-up wine bar at Rowton Barns (Park Farm) near Shrewsbury.
They're also looking to do a couple of tasting events with food and wine matching in the new year, so watch this space.

​I had a longish chat with Rob Grove, owner of the small but perfectly formed Grove Estate vineyard near Eccleshall the other day.
It's a lovely location, down the end of a long drive that you would hardly notice from the main Eccleshall to Stone road.
It has an interesting configuration, in that the vineyard is actually Rob and his wife's back garden.
​More to come when I have the time to re-read my notes.
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    Roy Williams is a former journalist, systems editor and has his name in small letters as the editor of a book about big data. You can see where the wine comes in...

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  • Home
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  • Terroir
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    • In the beginning
    • Recent additions...
    • Our friends in the north
    • The beautiful south
    • On the border
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  • Contact