THE VINES

The Vineyard is situated alongside the ancient Roman City of Uriconium (Wroxeter), which is located between the hill of Wrekin and the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It nestles in a sandy sheltered plateau near the River Severn and is approximately 180 feet above sea level. The Vineyard was planned in 1987 when the vines were ordered and the land was prepared and the vines were planted in 1991, with five varieties all grafted on a range of root stocks descended from American root stocks.

The vines and varieties and the root stocks were chosen for their vigour and suitability of the site and bearing in mind the variety of the vine to be grafted onto it. They were planted in rows 7 feet apart and at spaces of 4 feet, and were allowed to grow to a height of 7 feet. The plantation was North to South so that the morning sun caught the one side and the evening sun the other. Thus having maximum sunshine on the rows.

A micro climate was created by having a bare vineyard floor and the very spacing of the rows of vines, giving shelter to each other. The system of growing at Wroxeter is called a 'guyot' system.

The varieties of vines planted were :

- DUNKELFELDER
- DORNFELDER
- REGNER
- MADELEINE ANGEVINE
- REICHENSTEINER
- PHOENIX (Planted in 1997)