When I first decided to plant a 'proper' vineyard it was going to be in Andalucía. I was 62 at the time and had just been made redundant from the “day job’ in IT. I still had some consultancy work but, in my heart, I knew I’d never have (or want) another job which involved turning up somewhere every day to work for someone else. It felt very strange, part joy and part guilt, but that was where I found myself, so let us get on with it.

 

I was not a complete vineyard virgin, though I had been incompetent. Indeed, now I know a bit more about it the scale on my incompetence astonishes me. In 2010, on a small northwest! facing bank my wife wanted taming, on a whim I planted seventy-five Solaris vines. Solaris vines, once they get to three or four years old, should produce enough grapes for a bottle of wine or more per vine. If you visit I will happily explain my incompetence in detail but at this juncture this is sufficiently illustrated by the fact that in the following five years I managed to produce six 75 cl bottles of wine – and I cheated with two of those.  

 

However, things have improved dramatically. The during the days that the looming redundancy progressed from possibility to certainty it concentrated mymind as to what to do next. The idea of planting a 'proper' vineyard had taken hold but I thought “wouldn’t it be so much easier somewhere with a bit more sun? Like Andalucia!”. I could enjoy my retirement going out to Spain whenever I felt like it to spend time pottering around in the sunshine, tending the land, meeting people and enjoying myself. Then I would come back to the UK with a few bottles of this wonderful wine and turn up at the houses of friends saying “this is from the vineyard in Spain”, to general admiration and envy. I know Andalucia quite well, and I wasn’t thinking rolling hillsides filled with my vines for as far as the eye could see. Just to plant a few hundred and make a bit of wine, though commercially, not just a hobby. There would be a bit of hard work involved on the land, but not too much. And I’d do all myself of course. Why not? I like gardening.

 

After looking for six months I found the right plot of land (a long story) and set about the legal process of buying it, only to then find out that the complexities of The Common Agricultural Policy make it nigh on impossible to cultivate a new vineyard in Andalucia, the rest of Spain and for that matter most of mainland Europe as well (why didn’t anybody tell me at the start?). Determined to continue in one way or another, I looked again at Anglesey, thought “What the heck” and learnt how to grow vines properly in the UK. In spring of 2016 I planted again in our field, still only 400 vines – Solaris and Rondo, varieties adapted to cooler regions – but this time I hope I’m doing a better job. This is the first phase, if it works I’ll plant more. Come and see how I’m getting on!!  

 

But there’s more!! I love Spain and I liked the idea of spending a good part of my retirement travelling there – why couldn’t the vineyard in Anglesey reflect this? Think of all the things you associate with Spain, why couldn’t I bring a few of those back here? Ceramics, leather products, olive oil, bullfights? Well not the last but I have succeeded with the other three. I’ve had amazing travels in Andalucia, found stunning products, each with their own story, and brought them back to Anglesey to sell. When you visit I'm sure you will love them.  

 

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