ROSSITERS VINEYARD

Rossiters Wine is made and bottled on site from grapes grown at Rossiters Vineyard in Wellow in the West of the Isle of Wight, U.K.

There is no clear evidence one way or the other that vines were grown in England before the invasion of the Romans in 43BC. There is clear evidence that vines were grown in England between the arrival of the Romans and their departure at the end of the fourth century B.C. England then entered the Dark Ages and there is scant evidence of many vineyards in England until after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book records 43 vineyards in England, only 11 of which were attached to monasteries. The Normans produced an influx of skilled winemakers and also of religious orders—Carthusians, Cistercians, Augustinians, needing wine for their religious observances. They set up monasteries, planted vineyards and made wine. This was probably drunk in the winter and spring months as the practice of preserving wine was not widely understood. This meant that the considerable quantities of wine imported from the Continent frequently turned to sour vinegar en route. The monastic vineyards (possibly 200 or more) were concentrated in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Gloucestershire (at least 20 there). The monks used local peasant labour to tend the vineyards.

The Black Death (1348-1370’s) wiped out most of the peasants and some of the monks and the dissolution of monasteries in 1536 was the final blow. Between then and the outbreak of the First World War, the odd vineyard was still kept going (run by amateurs), but the climate seems to have deteriorated (spring frosts at flowering time) and the onset of oidium (powdery mildew) found in Mr Tuckers greenhouse in Margate in 1847 didn't help—fungicides at the time couldn't cope with it. There were a few vineyards planted during this period. The last adventure into commercial vineyard was the Marquis of Bute whose father seemed to own Cardiff.

The Marquis bought Castle Coch just outside Cardiff and renovated the Castle (interesting place) and planted a vineyard there, the first harvest coming in 1877. The wine sold commercially and in 1905 there were 3,000 vines bearing fruit. The Great War had an effect and the vineyard was grubbed up in 1920. The next 30-odd years saw the Second World War and the Depression of the 1930’s, all of which didn’t lead itself to growing vines. By 1939, apart from the odd vines on allotments, vineyards as commercial enterprises in England were essentially dead.

Then, starting a about 1949, three or four pioneering (?mad) Englishmen started the revival in English viticulture. These were Barrington-Brock who founded a research institute for vines at Oxted in Surrey, Edward Hyams, George Ordish, (an entomologist), and to a lesser extent Jack Ward, who founded the Merrydown cider company. The first new commercial vineyard was planted by Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones in 1951 at Hambledon and was the first example of a vineyard producing wine for sale since the closure of Castle Coch thirty years earlier. This was followed by Horam Manor (Jack Ward) and Gore-Brown at Beaulieu (planted in 1957) During the 1960’s several more vineyards were planted, including Cranmore and Adgestone on the Island, and several others. Many failed because of poor site selection, commercial unviability, death, retirement, divorce etc. There are currently (2006) approximately 350 vineyards in England producing about 2 million bottles of wine a year, of which about one tenth is red wine.

There are at least two well preserved Roman villas on the Island and (given our mild climate) it would be surprising if vines weren’t grown here. The first vineyard on the Island (dating from about 1780) was recorded in "The History of Ancient and Modern Wines (A.L. Henderson 1824):-

"Between thirty and forty years ago. SIR RICHARD WORSLEY, in order to give the experiment every chance of success, produced some of the most hardy species of vines, planted them in a rocky soil, with a south-eastern exposure, at St. Laurence, in the Isle of Wight and engaged a vine-dresser from France to superintend their culture. The result was, that, in one or two favourable years, a tolerable crop of grapes was obtained: but eventually the cold springs and early autumns weakened the plants, and blighted the produce, and the scheme was soon entirely abandoned. It must however, be acknowledged, that, notwithstanding the general mildness of the climate of the Isle of Wight, the spot chosen by Sir Richard was not the best adapted for a vineyard; for it is close upon the sea, and consequently much exposed to the cold winds which prevail in the Channel, especially at the time when the vine begins to bud."

St Lawrence was a pretty daft place to plan a vineyard (exposed to the South-Westerlies) and it all ended in disaster.

Cranmore Vineyard in West Wight and Adgestone at Sandown were planted in the 1960’s, and Barton Manor Vineyard, (near Osborne House) in the 1970’s. There were also small vineyards at Hamstead and Morton Manor. Only Adgestone still exists, and along with Rosemary Vineyard at Ryde (planted 1986) and Rossiters Vineyard here in West Wight (planted 1990) is one of the only three vineyards still functioning on the island.

Wines of distinction from the West Wight