After 2 lovely days walking
Glyndŵr's Way, we had another lovely, sunny day so it seemed a shame not to go out and enjoy it......with a Sassy drive to vineyards of course!
Halfpenny Green Vineyards
High on our list to visit has been
Halfpenny Green vineyard as it is a very well established and very highly praised vineyard. This is where many of the newer vineyards, like Kerry Vale, Llaethlliw - and the next one on our visit list today, Rodington to name only 3, take their wine to be made and bottled. It is in a beautiful location and it was much fun finding it along little windy lanes, perfect for a Sassy ride! The vineyard was first planted way back in 1983 so it is one of the oldest established and with its now 30 acres it is also one of the largest in the UK.
Its wines have won many awards and continue to do so. We were therefore excited to finally visit...however, although they are doing enormously well, we were a little disappointed. We went to look at the wines displayed - along with lots of other British drinks, gins and vodkas etc, but no-one asked us if we needed help. The restaurant and retail units though were very busy - and maybe if we had booked a tour, our experience would have been better. As it was, we just decided to take a couple of the reds to sample - choosing the Penny Red, a blend of Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Triomphe Rondo and Regner
and Penny Red Reserve, a blend of Rondo, Pinot Noir and Dornfelder. Interesting that the Dornfelder grape is used both here and Wroxeter. They also have a 2014 Rondo but at £29.95 we thought it rather expensive. We sampled the Penny Red that evening and have to say it was really very good - so maybe the Rondo could be worth it for a celebration!
Rodington Vineyard
So, as we were in the area, we had decided that we would go to visit
Rodington Vineyard with their Blue Tractor wines which we had sampled at the Ludlow Food Fair and thought it very promising. It was a bit of a mission to find the vineyard but well worth the getting lost bit! We don't have a satnav in Sassy so in the end relied on the old, trusted method - ask a local! We discovered that the local council is working with them at the vineyard to get signage put up so I think finding the vineyard will become easier.
What a wonderful welcome we received from the Chahal family! Although they were busy picking, they took the time to even provide us with a cheese and pie lunch - really so kind. Manjit spent quite a lot of time telling us about the hard work they have all put in and about their plans for this beautiful location.
We sat sampling the wine and enjoying the lunch in the sunshine overlooking the vineyard with the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc in one direction....
...and closer to us in the other direction overlooked by the Wrekin....just spectacular!
The 10 acre vineyard was bought only in 2005 when Ramdass Chahal, her father, wanted to get back to agriculture and after much discussion and advice, decided to plant vines which were first planted in 2009! The blue tractor, Bernie, is sitting in front of the vines and the building which will become the winery. The adjoining shop is quite well kitted out already and very spacious.
The tractor which features currently on the wine labels is symbolic for the family as it reminds Mr Chahal of early memories of farming. However the label will shortly be changed with the tractor taking a less central role - think he will always be special to the family though! It took the usual 3 years until their first harvest and so now the vineyard is producing its 4th year of wine production and have already won awards, no wonder! The sampling was extensive - Chris was the taster as I was driving! I did manage the odd sip! White vines grown are Ortega, Solaris, Bacchus and Seyval Blanc and the red Rondo. The Solaris was very tasty - with that elderflower hint which it gives. And a blend of Ortega and Solaris was also really good...
..as was the Rosé, made from the Rondo, skin and all. Then came the reds - the first was a Rondo which had no sugar added which tasted really good and the second a medium one with sugar added in the winemaking process, I think because the grapes were picked a bit earlier, and seemed to be a very easy to drink wine. We took our leave with samples in hand - we will order more when the card machine is up and running....and be back to see the progress which won't be far off I feel sure! The family have asked for help picking on their Facebook page and had a good response - still Ortega grapes waiting to be picked....
but nearing the end of the busy picking season now .......
Wroxeter Roman Vineyard
So last on our visits today was
Wroxeter.
It was actually quite late in the afternoon as we arrived, finding Martin the owner pressing red grapes! You can book for a tour here too. The vineyard here is about 9 acres and was established originally by Martin's father in 1991.
Martin went on to continue the tradition and is now a well experienced winemaker with a great deal of knowledge....and many awards. The vineyard is in a lovely position again, in sandy soils very close to the Roman city of Viriconium -
well worth a visit in its own right.
Our first question for Martin was, Is there any Shropshire Red left? The answer was that is was unlikely!
Luckily as we searched in the mixed boxes on display, we did find 3 bottles - how good is that! We then tasted 3 whites (well mine were only sips), including the Regner which is a new one to us, an Italian grape, and was really good...
...along with the Solaris and a Madeleine Angevine. Then came a rosé, and almost finally the Roman Red.
Lucky for us, Martin was just sampling the newly bottled red (which we had heard about at the Ludlow Food Fair), a blend of Rondo and Dornfelder and it was really smooth and tasty...of course we had to bring a bottle home. It doesn't even have a name yet! An interesting thought that Martin shared with us was about the corks. His thoughts are that a cork is much more preferable to use because the wine is continually evolving in the bottle and with a cork this process can continue whereas with a screwtop, what you bottle is what you get, it doesn't allow the wine to breathe and change with age. Having saved the Shropshire Red for a year, I can really believe that is the case....
What a fascinating day - and Sassy loved it! Bit chilly by the time we got home with her hood down but it was well worth it! Looking forward to the next visit - hope you are too!
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