English wine boom takes Co-op to Cotswolds

The Cotswolds have been identified as the latest hope for the burgeoning English wine industry, after the Co-op announced today that it is to plant vines near Cirencester. The planting will be the fifth in Gloucestershire and is expected to yield up to 20,000 bottles a year of sweetish white wine once the Ortega vines reach maturity, from 2014. The retailer, which also runs farms, hired a wine consultant to select the south-facing slope, which was previously used to grow grass for sileage and to graze sheep. The 2.4-hectare (6-acre) project is the latest addition to southern England's rapidly growing wine industry. The area under vines in England increased by almost 40% from 1999 to 2009, to 1,215 hectares, and production has increased from 1.8m bottles to 3.2m bottles a year, according to the English Wine Producers Association. "It's a bit of an experiment but it's one we are really looking forward to," said Christine Tacon, managing director of Co-operative Farms. "The conditions make it a good location to plant a vineyard." It is thought likely that the Romans made wine in the area, and a wood next to the farm is called Vines Brake. The Co-op also plans to plant wildflowers to encourage wildlife, especially bees. David Watson, the group's arable operations manager, said the geology – sandy loam over clay – was promising and the site was well-sheltered. "English wine has had a poor reputation, but there are some cracking English bottles out there," he said. "We have seen warmer, drier summers, albeit with spells of extreme rainfall, and that, combined with an improved understanding of home-produced wine, gives us belief we can make this work." Waitrose recently announced its own new planting of grapes to produce sparkling wine on its Hampshire farm. The wine critic and consultant editor of Decanter magazine, Steven Spurrier, has planted a vineyard in Dorset's Bride valley, and Christian Seely, the French boss of Axa's wine arm, which owns several Bordeaux vineyards, has also invested in a sparkling wine project in Hampshire. Most successful English plantings have centred on the chalky soils of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, where winemakers have focused on planting pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay, the grapes used for champagne.