Shropshire Star

Cheers! Award-winning vineyard celebrates 10 year anniversary

Its three cheers all around as an award winning vineyard near the Powys border celebrates its tenth birthday this week.

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Russell Cooke and Janet Cooke, new owners of award winning Kerry Vale Vineyard in Montgomery

Kerry Vale Vineyard, based near Montgomery, was planted in 2010, and the six-acre vineyard was first established a decade ago.

Boasting a hard-working and dedicated team, Kerry Vale Vineyard has gone from strength to strength, winning dozens of prestigious National and International Awards, attracting both local customers and tourists from around the UK.

The last 10 years have been very busy for the Shropshire based business, which has seen some attention from both local and national media, with reviews and editorial featuring in a number of publications ranging from The Independent to Your Woman magazine. They have been written about in a number of books, have participated in multiple radio interviews and gained TV coverage on BBC1, BBC2 and ITV.

Award winning Kerry Vale Vineyard in Montgomery are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. In Picture are the new owners: Russell Cooke and Janet Cooke

Owners Russell and Janet Cooke have recently taken over the vineyard and said they are keen to build on its successful reputation.

"We want to grow the business further and hope to encourage more local businesses to stock our wine," Janet said. "Our aim is to make our range more accessible throughout Shropshire and the wider UK.

"Since purchasing the business in February, we have received so much support from local businesses and lots of great feedback from our visitors. Like the previous owners, we love exceeding our customers’ expectations and take pride in the little things that make us unique and enhance our visitors experience. We believe that this sets us apart from our competitors."

Since planting the 6,000 vines back in 2010 the vineyard has welcomed thousands of visitors keen to find out about the place, sample the wine and learn about the impressive Roman history of the site.

Russell Cooke and Janet Cooke, new owners of Kerry Vale Vineyard in Montgomery

Kerry Vale Vineyards wine is stocked at number of local venues, from award winning restaurants, to National Trust sites. They have even showcased their wine at Westminster in The Houses of Parliament. The list of wine vendors seeking to stock these premium Shropshire wines is growing and with so many awards under their belt it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

Russell added: “The immense success of the past decade and the foundations for future growth are owed in great part to the Ferguson Family who planted and nurtured the vineyard so lovingly for the last ten years.

"We would also like to thank our dedicated team of staff and our experienced, extremely talented wine makers at Halfpenny Green Wine Estate. We are very much looking forward to the next chapter and seeing where the next 10 years takes us."

To celebrate with the team at Kerry Vale Vineyard, join them at the café week commencing Tuesday, July 21. For more information or to book a tour visit kerryvalevineyard.co.uk or call 01588 620 627.