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SHROPSHIRE VINEYARDS
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Celebrating the winemakers of Shropshire and beyond

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

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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.
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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
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Taking it up a level...

9/3/2022

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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

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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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Timely contact from pioneer Oliver

18/4/2021

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Carden Park's vines soaking up the spring sunshine on April 19
I've been having an interesting email exchange with Oliver Richardson, from Wem, who by a strange quirk of geography is Secretary of the Welsh Vineyards Association.
Turns out I am a mere whippersnapper in the wine website field. Oliver tells me he started his, which can be found here, back in 1995. You can get in touch with Oliver by email, here.
Oliver was filling me in a bit about his background and suggesting a couple of updates.
For instance, he believes the Vyrnwy vineyard may have closed, and certainly I couldn't raise their website this morning.
He was also a little mystified by the situation at Morville St Gregory, whose website he believes is off-air. I did find their wine on offer at the Mynd Hardy Plants website, here, which suggests there's still plenty of white, sparkling white and rosé to be had.
He also suggested a couple of additions to this site in the form of the Grove Estate at Eccleshall, a few miles from that wildest of wild frontier towns, Newport,  and Carden Park just over the Cheshire border not far from Whitchurch.
The Grove Estate, owned by Rob and Liz Grove, launched their first Rondo in 2016, and their website is here.
Carden Park is an impressive spa facility, which includes golf among other distractions.
The vineyard was created in 1988 and reinstated 20 years later to improve the vines, which are Seyval Blanc and Pinot Noir. You can find out more here.
I guess if I'm to include The Grove and Carden Park, they'll be included in the On The Border page. I can see a couple of trips out very soon.
So, thanks to Oliver for his interest, I look forward to keeping in touch with him.
April 19 update... Actually Oliver has me bang to rights. Just noticed that Carden Park is in the SY postcode too!!
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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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