Reviewing the award-winning wine made by the hidden gem winery in Staffordshire
It's a hidden gem, nestled inside the Staffordshire countryside, and has become a popular producer of wines of fine vintage and strong flavour.
Halfpenny Green Wine Estate in Bobbington has been producing English wine in the area for 40 years, with recent wines such as the 2019 Chardonnay winning a silver medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
The estate, which can be found just off Tom Lane heading towards Halfpenny Green Airport, started out with a half acre planted by farmer Martin Vickers in 1983 and now covers 30 acres, with vines visible across the area.
A visit to the estate provides visitors with the opportunity to see the vines as they drive in, with the crest of the hill on the way in providing a stunning view of the vineyard, as well as the visitors centre and the factory itself.
The factory holds two massive rooms with more than 170 vats, many of which were full of different wines in various states of fermentation, as well as a main room at the back for bottling and labelling the different wines and a number of oak barrels full of white, red and rose wines.
The estate is one of the top 20 producers of English wine in the country, something which has been viewed as a curiosity or an eccentric hobby over the years, but which has seen wines of high quality produced over the last 20 years.
During English Wine Week, which runs from June 17 to June 25, winemakers such as Ben Hunt have been keen to talk about the qualities of English wine, as well as what makes their vineyards so special.
