Worcestershire vineyard and hotel team up to offer tasting menu

For the past five years, the estate in Stourport has been run by the Haywood family and produces between five and ten thousand bottles of wine per year.

"We are slightly unusual in the world of English wine," says owner and vineyard manager Tim.

"English wine is generally 75 per cent sparkling and 25 per cent still.

"Here at Astley, the majority of our wines are still wines. They're made from grape varieties that are hardy to our cold climate and specialist grapes bred for the weather conditions we have here," he explains.

The vineyard was founded by the Bache family who planted varieties such as Madeleine Angevine and Kerner long before their potentials were realised.

Jonty Daniels bought the vineyard in the early 90s and turned Astley into a well regarded wine producer. When Jonty retired in July 2017, his mantle was passed over to the Haywood family.

Tim's son Chris, who previously worked at Harvey Nichols' wine shop, is the estate's winemaker and has ​WSET (The Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 3 (Distinction) qualification.

He has also been a judge at wine competitions and public speaker at numerous public events.

The team also includes Tim's wife Bev, his daughter Daisy and his daughter-in-law Matleena - as well as the vineyard dog, Finnish lapphund Otso.

They built a new tasting room, which opened in 2018, and run tours of the five-acre vineyard throughout the summer.

Astley is best known for its Kerner, which is a cross between Riesling and Trollinger and well-suited to an English climate.

Other grape varieties include Bacchus, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe and Sauvignon Blanc.

"All of these grapes have got a distinctive taste. Each year can be different from the preceding years because of the variable weather.

"What you have in a glass of English wine is grapes and sunshine. Nothing is added, nothing is taken away. It's a glass of that year's weather. That gives us the unique opportunities to make some slightly different tasting wines every year," says former finance director Tim.

The vineyard has been taking steps to become more organic and make all elements of the business as sustainable as possible.

Earlier this year, Astley, which sells directly to the public, at farm shops and to restaurants, was named best food or drink business in the Rural Business Awards.

The business has recently teamed up with Hogarths Stone Manor Hotel in Stone, near Kidderminster, to offer an evening filled with the best food and wine pairings Worcestershire has to offer.

On Friday, September 2, the two partners will welcome diners to go on a culinary and viticultural tour of the local area.

The hotel places great importance on using only the best local produce in their kitchen. A commitment to high quality that is shared by the award-winning organic vineyard.

“Since taking over this business, we have been dedicated to partnering with the best local businesses,” says Tim, who is trained in viticulture.

“Partnering with Hogarths Stone Manor is a wonderful opportunity to pair our unique wines with the delicious menu that their chefs are preparing for this special evening.”

During the event, diners will be served an explorative five-course tasting menu, combining locally grown ingredients with high quality meats and fish from the surrounding counties.

Alongside the five courses, Astley’s own wine maker Chris will take guests on a wine tasting journey. Offering the perfect pairing for every course, he will talk diners through the different wines and how they are made.

"We were delighted when the lovely team from Stone Manor approached us about this special event,” says Tim.

“Chris is planning some unique wine pairings with the delicious menu. It should be a fabulous night for any foodies."

The hotel's general manager Adam Bessant says the team was excited about the collaboration with Astley Vineyard.

"We are planning to host regular events with them, at both our Stone Manor and Solihull locations, to offer memorable experiences for foodies looking to explore the best of Worcestershire’s food and wines.”

Tim says the event is a great way to make the most of local produce and promote what the area has to offer.

"We're great believers that wine is a drink but it's also a drink that goes amazingly well with food. If you get the pairings right you can turn up the flavour and they complement each other.

"It's a bit more exciting that just the wine or just food," he tells Weekend.

To find out more about the event, visit hogarths.co.uk/stone-manor/whats-on/a-taste-of-worcestershire-evening or for more details on the vineyard visit astleyvineyard.co.uk.