Hot weather prompts planting of Hertfordshire vineyard
25,000 bottles of English wine should be ready in just a few years
Last updated 19th Jul 2022
As the hot weather in Bucks, Beds, and Herts continues to cause problems across a number of industries, at Lockley farm in Hertfordshire, the conditions are perfect for their brand new vineyard.
Whilst the farm has been around for over 28 years, Lokkelebery Vineyard is just a couple of months old and was set up as a diversification tactic.
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The family owned business made the decision to plant the vineyard last year after they were finding it hard to grow cereals in one of their stonier, chalkier fields.
Along with the addition of the vineyard, they've also said they're thinking about changing some of their traditional crops like wheat, barley, and oats because of rising temperatures.
And they're not alone, as many farms in the south of the country are turning their hand to wine making and thinking about other ways to adapt to the changing environment.
At the moment, the vines at Lokkelbery are only a few months old and it will be around three years until the first bottles are produced. But Hannah Buisman, manager at the vineyard, says so far it's going really well.
Explaining what they've got in store she said, "we've planted around 25,000 vines of four different varieties. We've got Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Précose - your classic champagne variety."
Ms. Buisman is also enthusiastic about the future of wine making in England, adding, "there's a fantastic network now, which has been established by a number of pioneering vineyards particularly down in the South of England.
"A lot of expertise is being attracted now to this country due to the growth of the industry. So I think we could see some really exciting developments."