• Red. The production of good red wine is more challenging. However, some very promising early ripening red vine varieties have also been developed, and we have planted an acre over the last four years; sufficient ultimately to produce 4000 bottles. Our main variety is Rondo (pictured on the right), with a smaller number of Regent.
• White. White grapes require somewhat less sun to ripen than red, and from our experience over the last twenty years, white wines of good quality can be produced quite consistently with careful vineyard management.
Since our objective is quality foremost, we have consequently concentrated initially on white wine production. An early finding was that Müller Thurgau, which was then the most widely grown grape variety in Britain, is unsuitable for this area. It is very prone to disease and its wood does not ripen adequately to provide a sound growing framework for the following year. Our trials showed that Reichensteiner and Huxelrebe should complement each other well and thrive in our conditions, and so were selected as our main varieties.
