Climate change, the ideal chalky terroir and increased investment in the UK industry mean English wines are increasingly seen as world class, beating Champagne in international competitions.

Production of English sparkling wine is expected to double in the next decade.

Wiltshire is primed to benefit from that boom, so much so that savvy farmers are turning their attention to the noble grape.

There are around 15 vineyards in the county now, all optimistic for the future.

They are also planning a Wiltshire Wine Trail to tempt visitors past their gates and in to the tasting rooms.

Paul Langham at a’Becketts in Devizes is leading the charge to connect with tourism marketing to raise the profile of Wiltshire wines. He has ambitious plans to build a visitor centre too, as well as a winery.

Currently all Wiltshire grape producers send their fruit harvests to contract wine makers outside the county.

Paul left a desk job in a credit reference agency to follow his dream into the vineyard more than 20 years ago. “I just thought I can’t spend the rest of my life on the corporate ladder wearing a suit,” he said.

“We went in feet first and read a lot and learned a lot. Now we have awards at international level for our wines. That is very satisfying!”

He says there is a huge future in English wines and that eight-10 million vines will come into production in the next few years in the UK. 20 years ago, there were 850 hectares devoted to vines and now there are 3,500 hectares.

“We are on chalk here,” he added. “The same stuff as in the Champagne region of France.”

Whitehall has one of the largest vineyards in the South West of England. With interest in English wine growing, former dairy farmer Peter Self and his wife Claire decided to plant vines on the south side of the farm.

“The original idea was to produce small batches to sell through the garden centre chains at Lacock, Bristol and Woodborough,” said daughter Charlotte. “Lacock wines are now being sold to restaurants and hotels in the area.”

The vineyard was planted in 2017, with 16,000 Rhondo, Bacchus, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes on 11 acres of Nethercote Hill.

Peter ran a dairy herd on the land until 25 years ago, before stowing his milking stool and throwing his lot in with the garden centres.

The family took on a neighbouring vineyard to get them into wine production as their own vines matured. Now they are well and truly in business with a brace of top industry awards for their premium wines to add to their success story.

The quick route to market and wine production has also been adopted by the new kids on the block. The McConnell family, who run the Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm in the south of the county, decided to switch the use of 10 acres of grazing land into vine production.

They dug their vines in three years ago and hope for their first home grown grape yield next year. But they have jump started their wine making plans by buying in grapes to produce their first sparkling wine, Bluestone.

“We are literally working it out as we go,” said Nat. “We have a brand now with our Bluestone sparkling wine, but we are now thinking of ways to develop the wine business alongside the farm and the cafe.

“We want to work with the land and work with nature to do this. We are doing lots of walking, getting to know how the vineyard works so we don’t work the land so intensively.

“I think these days people want to know how their food and drink is produced, so I would imagine this will become a key part of how we do the wine business.

“We really like the idea of a wine route too as we are already open to the public with the farm.

"It is all new to us, but we are all very excited about the future.”

Although the outlook for Wiltshire vineyards is promising there is no doubt that Covid has thrown up challenges for winemakers, not so much in the production but in getting the wines to market.

Many vineyards offer tours and tastings, usually by appointment only. To book a tour of some of the vineyards featured here, go to www.abecketts.co.uk

www.bluestonevineyards.co.uk

www.quoinsvineyard.co.uk

whitehallvineyard.co.uk