Word on grapevine is that it’s a fine drink (From Worcester News)

Word on grapevine is that it’s a fine drink

9:14am Friday 11th April 2008 in Features By Jack Blanchard

IT'S the sort of thing people spend their whole lives talking about - the sort of thing you never actually get round to doing.

You've had enough of that desk job in the city. You fancy doing something a little bit different, a bit more self-sufficient, a bit more outdoors.

There's already something rather romantic about just jacking it all in one day and going in search of the good life. But if you're on the look-out for a truly romantic profession, you'd do well to take a leaf out of Richard Tomkinson's book.

"I used to work for HSBC in Birmingham," Richard tells me, looking out across the rolling hills with a wry grin. "I was a project manager for them. It was well, a little bit different to all this."

All this', by the way, is Richard's new place of work.

The 59-year-old former banker and his wife Rita have spent the past five years lovingly cultivating their very own vineyard, starting from scratch to produce what is now a magnificent collection of some 1,500 vines sprawling across the hillside behind their home.

When you think of the great wine-growing regions of the world, you probably don't think of the little village of Fernhill Heath, just a mile or so outside Worcester. Like me, you might not even have realised you can grow proper vines up here in the often-damp and drizzly West Midlands.

For the Tomkinsons, now the producers of Worcester's very first commercially-available bottles of wine, getting that simple message across to people is often the biggest problem they face.

"It's all about trying to get the love of the wine into other people," Richard says, waving a bottle of his 2006 vintage enthusiastically.

"People's initial reaction tends to be urgh - English wine'. But it's ridiculous, because everybody who actually tries our wine is generally blown away by it."

The couple's radical venture began back in 2003, when the land behind their house was put up for sale by a neighbouring farmer. As luck would have it, the south-facing hillside proved to be the perfect environment for cultivating vines. As the plants flourished on the newly-established Rose Bank Vineyard, so their numbers grew and the autumn of 2006 saw the harvesting of the first commercial crop.

"We had everyone down to help us with the picking," Richard says. "It was all volunteers - friends, family, even my 83-year-old stepmother helped out."

Once the grapes were ready - all three-and-a-half tonnes of them - they were taken by lorry to be crushed and fermented in a personalised vat at the Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire. Richard made regular trips over to monitor the wine's progress, and make important decisions about strength and sweetness.

And 12 months later, the wine returned - 2,500 gleaming bottles of crisp, fruity English white.

There are currently two varieties - the Rose Bank Phoenix with its flowery bouquet, and the Rose Bank Madeleine Angevine, promising a citrussy aftertaste'.

The varieties are expanding along with the business, with plans in place for a limited-edition sparkling wine this summer, and a Rose Bank Rosé likely to follow soon after.

Richard firmly believes English wines have a healthy future in an increasingly environmentally-conscious world. "It's a local product," he says, simply. "People are thinking more and more about their carbon footprint, about food miles, about buying locally. But it's not just that - it's a fantastic product in its own right, a good wine with real appeal."

Standing in the picturesque vineyard looking our across the Malvern Hills, it's easy to see the attraction for the grower, too.

"It is unbelievable," Richard says, shaking his head in wonder at the scene before us. "Being out here, working outside, learning as you go and overcoming each problem, finding out more from the different people you meet. This is my job."

Rose Bank wine is available from various farm shops and delicatessens around Worcester, including Gwillams Farm Shop on Ombersley Road, Jenades Deli and Café on The Tything and Laylocks Garden Centre on Bromyard Road. To buy a bottle direct from Rose Bank Vineyard or to organise a guided tour of the grounds, call Richard and Rita on 01905 451439.

WINE FILEWine-growing was first introduced in England by the Romans.

Monks were the first great English wine producers, with a large number of monasteries having their own vineyards.

The 11th Century Domesday Book records nearly 50 vineyards across southern England, including several in Worcestershire.

The practice declined steadily throughout mediaeval times, and showed no signs of recovery until a revival in the mid-20th century.

There are now 362 registered vineyards in Britain, stretching as far north as Lancashire and beyond.

English wine production in 2006 totalled around 3.3 million bottles.

However, The UK remains the largest importer of wine by value in the world. In 2004 this country imported the equivalent of 1.8 billion bottles.