“The vines arrived and the rest is history.” Those are the words of Hannah Buisman, one of many famers across the UK to make the step into the wine industry by diversifying their farming business to create a vineyard.
Buisman is the second generation on Lockley Farm, Hertfordshire, which has been in the family for 35 years. As an arable farm, production had previously focussed on wheat, barley, oats and beans.
But Lockley Farm has always been a place of ambition and the idea of planting a vineyard was a long-held dream that finally became a reality in 2022, thanks to a combination of favourable climate changes and Buisman’s return to the farm during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Buisman said, “We knew we wanted to be growers, but we wanted to make our prices rather than take them. This was a way to have a crop where we could set the price and something we were genuinely interested in, as opposed to other diversifications like a solar park for example.”
After approaching a number of different consultants – who did all the analysis and ‘checked out the farm’ – they decided it was time to give their plans the green light.
“We decided fairly quickly that we wanted to go ahead so after the wheat came off from 2021, we started the soil prep for the vineyard. After that it was nine months of further prep time. The vines arrived and the rest is history.”
The first vines were planted on the 15-acre plot in May 2022, and Lokkelebery Vineyard was born. Producing mainly still rosé wines alongside English sparkling, the Buisman family opted for Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir Précose grape varieties.
After a labour-intensive period of nurturing the vines began – Hannah said the family and local volunteers were ‘out on their knees’ pulling excess shoots – they managed to produce fruit in just their second year.
“It’s nerve-wracking sometimes,” said Buisman. “But I think because we have got so much else on, you can’t really think about it. It feels like it’s gone so quickly and suddenly we have wine on the way.
“We’re listening to the environment. If it says we can produce a sparkling but not a still wine, then so be it. We’re not going to force it.”
Diversification into vineyards has proven to be a popular route for many, and recent figures show that the largest English vineyards increased their revenues by 15 per cent last year.
It is an industry that has seen mass growth over recent years, with the sector’s output rising by 77 per cent last year to 161,960 hectolitres, which is the equivalent to 21.6m bottles.
David Harrison, Viticulture Specialist at NFU Mutual, expects a continued growth and knows the importance of that upward trajectory. He said, “Vineyards and wineries are a growing and important business within the UK. The latest figures from WineGB show an increase of 74 per cent in the number of vineyards and wineries in the UK over the last five years – with just shy of 4,000 hectares under vine in Britain.
“This is still increasing as the popularity of wine tourism grows. We expect wine tourism to experience widespread growth as people from both Britain and abroad continue to visit our vineyards for that luxury and informative experience.”
And for Hannah and Lockley Farm, the future looks bright and full of ambition. Already offering tours of the vineyard, they want it to become a hub for fine wine, food, the arts and wellness.
“We want to explore those areas,” Buisman said. “From yoga in the vineyard to developing a wine club, the sky is the limit.
“We would like to develop a Wine Club where members would have access to exclusive dinners with a chef and sit in the vineyard, creating memorable experiences connected with local food producers.
“It’s not an easy industry. I think people think it’s a quick, big earner – but it’s a heavy investment and you need a lot of time. You’ve got to be passionate about it and love what you’re doing,” Buisman concluded.