Shrewsbury vineyard owners have 10,000 reasons to celebrate
It's been a vintage year for the owners of a vineyard in Shropshire thanks to a harvest of rich quality grapes – likely to produce almost 10,000 bottles of wine.
Martin Millington, owner of Wroxeter Roman Vineyard, said despite them not having a bountiful harvest, it's been one where the grapes have been a good quality.
He said: "The harvest this year is not necessarily the biggest we've had but the quality of the grape is very good and here the quality is what we look at.
"The ripening process has taken longer this season which means higher flavours and textures. The longer it takes the more complex the flavour is.
"You also find when you're working with mother nature it's very rare for the quality and quantity to go together. It's the nature of the beast."
Mr Millington said they have only seen the two go in hand in hand for two out of the 25 years the family-run vineyard near Shrewsbury has been in operation. He said: "Our ethos is different to other vineyards, we're a small vineyard and we aren't all about the quantity of grapes, we're all about high quality wine which you don't tend to always get from a large harvest."
Mr Millington and his wife Amanda, who have been running the vineyard for five years since Mr Millington's parents retired, are now looking ahead to the festive season. On November 2 they will open up their annual pop up shop in the top level of the Darwin Shopping Centre.
Mr Millington said: "We're looking forward to it, it's something we've been doing for 20 years."
