Shropshire university launches its first wine - using grapes grown just outside Newport
Edgmond‑grown grapes have produced Harper Adams’s first bottles of vino.
A Shropshire university has celebrated the bottling of its first commercially available wine.
The new Buttery Hill Rosé is one of two debut wines made from grapes grown on the Harper Adams estate in Edgmond, just a couple of miles from Newport.
The vineyard was planted in 2023 and has already delivered two harvests. Professor Frank Vriesekoop, from the Harper Food Innovation department, has been closely involved in its development.
He said: “It is quite a fulfilling feeling - the fact that we planted a variety of vines in 2023, and by 2024 obtained a small harvest that yielded our first rosé wine from across all our varieties, is very satisfying. That 2024 rose is now bottled and available for drinking.
“Then, in 2025, we were able to achieve a proper harvest that has gone into three main batches for future wines. The first batch - a still white wine - has now been bottled and is an extremely pleasant dry white.”
With a changing climate opening new possibilities for wine growing in regions such as the West Midlands, leaders at the university hopes it can act as an anchor academic institution for viticulture in the region and beyond.
Professor Vriesekoop said the site has been designed to act as a classroom, a laboratory and a production vineyard, allowing students and industry entrants to work hands-on with a wide range of grape varieties - from traditional vines to newer, disease‑resistant types suited to the Midlands climate.
The vineyard also supports research into soil management, rootstocks and planting techniques, while producing wines that demonstrate what future growers in the region could achieve.
A short course in viticulture has already been launched, aimed at farmers and landowners exploring vineyard development as part of diversification plans.
Professor Vriesekoop added: “Having a teaching and research vineyard at Harper Adams provides the British wine industry - and those hoping to enter it - with an educational platform that is within reach, with no need to travel as far as previously to see and get that information.”
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.