Interest in English vineland has never been stronger. According to Ian Hepburn of Private Property Search, not a week goes by without him being approached by another client interested in buying land in the South East for planting vineyards.
Most of the interest currently hails from northern France and China. Strutt & Parker land agents based in Canterbury have just agreed the sale of 117 acres of land handpicked from a farm for viticulture; the buyers are an established French wine house. Andrew Thomas of Strutt & Parker in Chichester (01243 832605) says: 'Established vineyards are in extremely short supply and if you have an existing vineyard that is performing well, then it pays well to sell the grape to an existing winery.
'The boom in interest has been quite breathtaking and many wineries cannot cope with demand. Hence why around 3,000 acres of bare land has recently been planted with new vines to meet this demand.'
To find out what it takes to become a wine grower in England, look out for Adam Lechmere's forthcoming piece in our June 6 issue of Country Life magazine.
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