Grape Expectations

It used to be regarded as complete madness to produce wine in England," explains Jonty Daniels, who bought Astley Vineyard in 1993 with partner Janet Baldwin. "That view has changed in the last two years, but even today, the cultivation of grapes in this country is something of an experiment."

He points out that the erstwhile snobbery about English wine stems from the fact that England does not have a continued history of wine producing, whereas European producers have around 2,000 years of tradition to fall back on. Although the Romans did introduce grapes to northern Europe, countries like England and Germany remained better known for their beer.

"In southern Europe wine was the drink of choice, but if you went into a bar in England in 800 AD you would drink beer," says Jonty. "When wine did become popular further north, it was in any case mainly restricted to the wealthy classes."

Wine in England did enjoy popularity, but production in this country died out completely in the mid-19th century, courtesy of the phylloxera bug. The native species, which lives in the soil and feeds on vine roots, did not cause any problems, but when its American counterpart arrived on these shores it spelled disaster for the British wine industry.

"English and European vines had no resistance to the American phylloxera, and they also succumbed to imported diseases such as mildew," Jonty says. "In modern times, the problem has been solved by grafting European vines on to American roots, so that the bug can feed on them without damaging the rest of the plant."

It was not until after the Second World War that some pioneering growers began to think about producing wine again - including Michael and Betty Bache at Astley. They planted the five-acre vineyard in the 1970s, and it now produces up to five varieties of grape leading to nine different wines.

"On a global scale, five acres is very small," Jonty reflects. "England has a large number of small vineyards and a small number of large ones! Keeping things small means that we don't have to employ huge numbers of people - which we couldn't afford unless we had a much bigger operation anyway."

Astley Vineyard relies on help from the local community when it comes to harvesting the grapes, and luckily its neighbours are more than happy to pitch in, enjoying the fact that their village is famous for something a little different from the norm.

"It's vital for us to have local people on hand because they are sometimes required at short notice - the harvest is very dependent on the weather," Jonty says. "Rural communities are dying out in England, so we are really very lucky to find willing helpers every year."

The harvest - or harvests, as each grape variety is picked separately - takes place during September and October, and the grapes are then transported as quickly as possible to the Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire where they will be turned into wine over the next six months.

"Being the area's dominant vineyard, Three Choirs has the technology that we need, but the wine is still very much ours," Jonty stresses. "Martin Fowke, the wine maker, allows us to make important decisions during the process but also gives guidance when required."

These decisions include choosing the pressure at which the grapes are crushed, whether to crush whole bunches or have the grapes mulched first, and the temperature of fermentation. As Jonty explains, any small variation will affect the taste of the wine.

"The art of winemaking is predicting what the wine will taste like," he says. "You taste the grape and imagine what it will be like in 18 months' time, although you can't always be sure, which is what makes the process so interesting. Wine is very much about the place where the grape was grown."

Jonty's 30-year background in farming - he was a farm manager in Hertfordshire before taking over at Astley - has proved invaluable in the wine industry; he also took a college course on growing and winemaking, but says that he was able to pick up the rest as he went along.

"With all crops, you have to find out what they want and need, and you can do certain things to influence the outcome," he points out. "Each grape is subtly different, and wine is very responsive to small changes, especially in a smaller vineyard - larger producers create a consistent blend every year but our wine has no recipe."

Jonty was able to learn the key elements of his new trade, but he says that it would be almost impossible to be a wine producer without having a good palate. "It's something you have to be born with," he says. "Experts like Oz Clarke can genuinely taste all the flavours in a wine - although certain descriptions such as 'gunsmoke at dawn' are just showbiz talk. You can develop a palate, but there are some people whose palates are so useless they might as well be drinking cocoa!"

Astley's range of white wines runs the gamut of flavours from dry to sparkling, as well as a very successful sweet variety called Late Harvest. This is made by leaving the grapes on the vine for an extra month, with their more shrivelled state yielding a concentrated juice and a different taste. 96 per cent of all wines produced at Astley since 1996 have won awards in various competitions at international (International Wine Challenge), national (United Kingdom Vineyards Association) and regional (South West Vineyards Association) levels, and the vineyard itself is recommended in Rick Stein's guidebook.

Selling direct to consumers from the on-site shop is beneficial to the fragile economics of a small producer, and 90 per cent of the wine is sold in this way. Other local outlets include Hodge Hill Farm Shop in Kidderminster, and Astley wines are also on sale at restaurants and hotels in the area, such as The Elms at Abberley and the Mug House in Bewdley.

"If you buy the wines direct from the vineyard you'll get the best price and see the full range," Jonty points out. "We can offer informal tours and tastings, so customers can get a flavour of the process of wine production."

So what will the 2006 vintage be like? Jonty isn't sure yet how this year's conditions will have affected the taste, since predicting the outcome is not an exact science. He says that hot summers are actually not that good for English grapes, which have been cultivated to withstand lower temperatures than those found in Europe.

"If hot summers become common, English vineyards will have to be redesigned to cope," he says. "There are signs that the climate is changing, for instance a reduction in frosts - the last time our vines were damaged by frost was back in 1995!"

Jonty also states that global warming will eventually have a huge effect on world wine production. Areas traditionally associated with grape growing will become too hot, and the industry will necessarily move north. This forecast, coupled with the changing image of English wine, is one reason behind the 25 per cent increase in acreage of vines planted in England over the past 12 months.

"Two or three Champagne houses are already buying land in the south of England in readiness for the future," Jonty reveals. We can expect an increase, too, in decent English reds as the temperature climbs - to create a successful red wine, the grape skins need to be fully ripe, something that is still a difficulty in England.

"We've done everything you can do with a white grape!" says Jonty. "But we just want to continue producing the best wine we can."

Astley Vineyard

Crundles Lane, Astley,

Stourport-on-Severn DY13 0RU

Tel: 01299 822907