The husband and wife team behind a Shropshire vineyard say they are delighted with this year’s bountiful harvest.
Russell and Janet Cooke of Kerry Vale Vineyard say they are pleased with the quantity and quality of their grapes which were picked by the family, their workforce and a fantastic team of local volunteers.
The group brought in a whopping 12 tonnes of grapes over three days from the 5 acre site on the Shropshire / Powys border.
Owner Russell said: “The last month has been incredibly busy, but also very exciting. Harvest time is the culmination of a years worth of work on the vineyard, and determines our future wine production capabilities. This year’s harvest has been very successful and I’m really looking forward to tasting the fruits of our labour, once the pressed grapes have been turned into wine.”
The Shropshire based Vineyard, located just outside of Montgomery on the Welsh border has been ‘very lucky with the weather this year’ says Vineyard Supervisor Andy Longman. “Despite our late start due to a cool April, just the right amount of sun and rain at the necessary times has led to good growing conditions”.
It seems Shropshire may have bucked the national trend as reports suggest the nationwide picture is not quite so positive.
Kerry Vale Vineyard has harvested three grape varieties this year; Rondo, Phoenix and Solaris. Each grape variety ripens at different times which means grapes could be harvested over four weeks. These grapes will go on to make a range of Red, White and Rose, sparkling and still wines.
Owners Russell and Janet Cooke extended a huge thank you to all the volunteers that helped them this year. “We really couldn’t have done it without them,” says Janet. “We have such a lovely group of vineyard friends and we all had a fantastic few days picking together. It’s such a satisfying feeling to see your bucket filling up with grapes as you pick. If you have an interest in wine, it’s a great way to understand how the process begins and how the grapes are grown.”
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