HEREFORDSHIRE wine lovers are being invited to an award-winning vineyard in the county for a series of free tours and tastings as part of English Wine Week celebrations next month (Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, June 23, 2024).
The events are being hosted by Foxbury Fields Vineyard on Saturday, June 15, Monday, June 17 and Friday, June 21 to raise awareness of regional wine producers and wine tourism.
Bromsberrow-based Foxbury Fields Vineyard is co-run by Heather Williamson. She says: “English wine is booming, so it’s great to be able to provide behind the scenes tours and to give people the chance to sample some of the wonderful wines we make here in Herefordshire during English Wine Week 2024.
“Last year was one of the best our sector has ever seen. Before this, 2018 had been our bumper year. WineGB, the national association for English and Welsh wines, which we’re a member of, said 2023 was ‘near perfect’ for British wine production in terms of the weather, the subsequent harvest and the number of bottles produced.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how we all fare in 2024, especially with the warmer and very much wetter start to the year we’ve had so far, and we’ll be happy to chat all about this to our tour attendees.
“We’re so proud of our vineyard and the cultivation and land management we’ve implemented, as well as our award-winning wines and we’re keen to showcase them.
“We’ve been winning regional and national awards for our wines for many years and have a range of accolades from silver and bronze to highly commended from WineGB West going back to 2017.
“We were awarded with bronze medals last year for both our 2021 Bacchus and Ortega wines from WineGB and a silver for our 2022 Ortega and our 2022 Bacchus at last year’s WineGB West awards event, which had a judging panel of industry experts including leading wine journalist, Susy Atkins.
“It’s wonderful to host tours and to give people an insight into what we do and to shine a light on our vines and wines, as well as to promote all British wine makers. We hope lots of people sign up and come along to find out how an English vineyard operates and runs.”
English Wine Week also coincides with Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice, which fall on June 16 and 21 respectively, making it a fabulous way for wine enthusiasts to celebrate and could be a pre or post-Father’s Day gift experience.
Heather continues: “We’ll be offering our first 2024 ‘taste of Herefordshire’ tour onsite on Saturday, June 15 from 4pm to 5.30pm. We’ll then host another event on Monday, June 17 from 6pm until 7.30pm and a third tour on Friday, June 21 from 4pm to 5.30pm.
“Every event takes place at our vineyard, nestled at the foot of the Malvern Hills. At the end of each tour, guests can try our award-winning classic vintage English Bacchus and our wonderfully perfumed Ortega wines.
“The vineyard is a five-to-10-minute walk from our farm, so if anyone has any walking difficulties, but would like to come along, please get in touch before booking and we can discuss accommodating your needs.”
This year English Wine Week runs from June 15 to June 23. Organised by WineGB, the industry body that works to promote wines from across the country.
Foxbury Fields will be holding a tour and tasting on Saturday, June 15 from 4pm to 5.30pm, Monday, June 17 from 6pm until 7.30pm and on Friday, June 21 from 4pm to 5.30pm.
Each tour is free, but booking is required to guarantee a place, and lasts approximately 90 minutes to two hours. Tickets should be booked in advance via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-tour-tastings-at-vineyard-for-english-wine-week-tickets-906093940367.
For further details about Foxbury Fields Vineyard, please call 07974793367 or visit www.foxburyfields.co.uk