First things first a big hello! For those of you who don’t know me I’m Adrian and I’m proud to be the new owner of Valley Farm Vineyards, Suffolk. It is going to be something of a family affair, as you can see from the photo above with my son, Alex, who’s mad enough to run this alongside me. After 30 odd (sometimes very odd!) years in the building trade, I decided it was time to hang up my steel toe-caps and put on my wellies to try something new (and more relaxing?).
Something else about me, I don’t really use social media so this side of things is new to me and something of an experiment, as are these blogs - so please bear with me!
Excitement soon turned to trepidation with the realisation that this was actually happening when the keys were handed over last week. I’m not sure growing grapes is quite the same as building a house (maybe in a few weeks I can make a clever comparison here - I'll keep you updated!). To make matters more interesting I decided to do all this in the middle of a global pandemic… good a time as any?! At least I have some quiet weeks to get into the swing (grapevine) of things. Luckily Elaine and Vanessa (the previous owners with the expertise) will be guiding me through my first year.
Anyway, here are some things I’ve learnt in my research and first few days of ownership:
Grapes need as much attention as children - they are prone to pests and diseases and need constant care
Talking to the vines makes them grow better (I’m told). Walking the vines is apparently a very important part of the process.
You can’t drink all the wine!
Maybe I’ll rewrite this in a few months to a year and see what’s changed.
If you have never heard of the Valley Farm Vineyards before then we are a small award winning vintage wine maker specialising in white wine and rose. Set in the heart of the Suffolk countryside, we offer tours of our stunning vineyard as well as weekend getaways as well as a selection of nice walks starting at or going through the vineyard.