Midland Press: Birmingham's Urban Railway Arch Winery
Location and Setting
Midland Press is a Birmingham-based urban winery, and one of a small but growing number of producers who make their wine in the middle of a city rather than at the vineyard where the grapes were grown. The winery is located inside a Victorian railway arch at Unit 17, Shaw's Passage, Birmingham B5 5JG - an atmospheric, temperature-stable environment that runs alongside the active rail lines just south of the city centre. The choice is far from incidental: the thick brick walls and shaded aspect of the arch keep cellar temperatures cool and steady through both summer heatwaves and winter frosts, allowing the team to ferment and age small parcels with minimal mechanical intervention. For visitors, the setting is also unusually cinematic - there is something quietly compelling about tasting English sparkling wine while the arches of a city viaduct frame the room.
The arch itself sits inside a wider network of brick-built vaults that have, over the last decade, been repurposed into studios, restaurants and breweries as part of Birmingham's creative quarter. Midland Press now sits among that community of makers, contributing one of the more unusual products to come out of the city - English wine, made on site.
History and Philosophy
Midland Press was founded in 2024 by Richard Stenton. It is a deliberately young project, and its small scale is part of the philosophy. The winery exists to support "the evolution of English wine" - that is, to explore the styles, grapes and methods that suit the marginal climate of the British Isles rather than to mimic classic European regions. Midland Press has rapidly built a reputation among Birmingham's best restaurants, boutique bars and independent wine shops for two distinct signatures: a portfolio of light, perfumed reds and textured, lees-driven whites. These are styles well suited to modern British food, and well suited to a small-batch producer working in a constrained space.
The short, intense history of the project - founded in 2024 and already producing five distinct wines by the 2024 and 2025 vintages - is a useful reminder of how quickly the English wine scene is now moving. Midland Press joins a wave of newer producers who are pushing away from the imitation of Champagne or Sancerre and instead leaning into what English vineyards, growers and winemakers can do that nobody else can.
Grapes and Sourcing
Midland Press does not own its own vineyards. Instead, the team works closely with a network of growers who have planted vines in optimum sites across the middle of England. The winery focuses on three grapes in particular:
- Pinot Noir - including Pinot Noir Précoce, the early-ripening clone that performs well in cooler English seasons.
- Pinot Blanc - sourced for one of the winery's flagship barrel-fermented whites.
- Chardonnay - though not currently bottled as a single-varietal release, it sits within the winemaking palette.
The winery also incorporates hybrid varieties with a long history of small-scale planting across the Midlands - varieties such as Reichensteiner, which the team uses for their sparkling wine. The growers the team works with are pioneering and talented, having chosen their sites carefully, and the sourcing spans Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Essex for current releases.
Sourcing map of current releases
- Outer City Limits, Orange 2025 - Muscaris from a single vineyard in north Herefordshire.
- Outer City Limits, Red 2025 - Pinot Noir (early clone) from a single vineyard in North Worcestershire.
- Silent Crowd 2024 - Pinot Noir Précoce from North Worcestershire, adjacent to the Outer City Limits red parcel.
- Pinot Blanc 2024 - Pinot Blanc (ancient Alsatian clone N81) from a single vineyard in the Crouch Valley, Essex.
- Verse 24 'Col Fondo' - Reichensteiner from a vineyard site in North Herefordshire, surrounded by orchards and hop farms.
Winemaking Approach
The Midland Press philosophy is built around three words: minimal intervention. In practice that means working with indigenous yeasts wherever possible, avoiding fining and filtration, fermenting in small batches and ageing on the lees for as long as the wine needs. Every wine in the range is bottled on-site by hand, unfined and unfiltered. This is unusual for an English producer working at this price point, and it gives the wines a raw, slightly cloudy character that is meant to be there.
The cellar cycle
Wines at Midland Press are fermented either in old French oak barrels or in small stainless steel tanks, depending on the style being targeted. After fermentation they are aged on the lees - sometimes for as long as eight to ten months - and the final blends are hand-assembled from individual small batches. Because the winery is small and the barrels are few, the team can taste and blend every parcel personally rather than relying on automated analysis.
The winery's signature whites tend to be lees-driven and barrel-fermented, drawing on the texture and weight that old oak and extended lees ageing give to white wines. Their reds, by contrast, are deliberately light and bright - designed to be served slightly chilled, with carbonic maceration used for the brighter fruit profiles in the Outer City Limits range. The sparkling wine, Verse, is bottled with a small tirage for a second fermentation in bottle, in the ancient Italian col fondo style, with the sediment deliberately left in the bottle.
The Wines
By mid-2026 the Midland Press range consists of five wines, all bottled by hand at the Shaw's Passage arch. Prices include 10% off any mixed case of six or more bottles; UK mainland DPD delivery is £7.20 per order and free collection is available from the winery. All wines are suitable for vegans.
Outer City Limits, Orange 2025 - £26.00
An aromatic skin-contact white made from 100% Muscaris, sourced from a single north Herefordshire vineyard. The fruit underwent four weeks of cool carbonic maceration to lock in its aromatic profile, followed by five months of ageing in stainless steel vats. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Tasting notes describe juicy peach and zingy ginger on the nose, with a sophisticated structured finish of Earl Grey tea. It is fresh, clean and intensely expressive - a showcase for the orange style at 10% ABV. View Outer City Limits, Orange 2025.
Pinot Blanc 2024 - £29.00
A 100% Pinot Blanc from a single vineyard in the Crouch Valley, Essex, using the ancient Alsatian clone N81. The cooler 2024 vintage brought excellent freshness to the fruit. The juice underwent a remarkable full eight-month spontaneous fermentation in old French oak, building body, depth and texture alongside subtle oak character. Bottled on-site, unfiltered and unfined. The result is a fresh yet complex dry white with notes of green apple and Comice pear, at 11% ABV. View Pinot Blanc 2024.
Silent Crowd 2024 - £26.00
A fragrant, light-to-medium-bodied red made from Pinot Noir Précoce grown in North Worcestershire, from the parcel next to the Outer City Limits red. Fermented with indigenous yeasts from the vineyard, the wine was held at cool maceration temperatures and aged for 10 months in used French oak. Tasting notes pick out lavender and dried flower aromas, a big hit of red cherry and cranberry, and a silky smooth texture with a fresh finish. Bottled on-site unfined and unfiltered, at 11% ABV. View Silent Crowd 2024.
Outer City Limits, Red 2025 - £26.00
The second vintage of one of Midland Press's most recognisable wines - a limited run of just under 1,700 bottles. Made from 100% Pinot Noir (early clone) from a single North Worcestershire vineyard, the 2025 growing season gave a boost in intensity while preserving the wine's signature ultra-light character. The fruit underwent carbonic maceration for three weeks at a cool constant temperature inside the viaduct arch, followed by five months in stainless steel vats. Bottled on-site, unfined and unfiltered. Best served chilled to lightly chilled, with notes of wild strawberry, raspberry, and a deeper herbal and earthy edge. 13% ABV. View Outer City Limits, Red 2025.
Verse 24 'Col Fondo' - £28.00
Midland Press's 2024 sparkling wine, made in the ancient Italian col fondo method - meaning "with bottom" - where the second fermentation happens in the bottle and the sediment is deliberately left in. The grapes come from a vineyard in North Herefordshire surrounded by orchards and hop farms. The juice underwent a spontaneous fermentation in old French barrels before being bottled with a small tirage on the premises. Made from 100% Reichensteiner, a German hybrid variety long planted across Britain by the pioneers of UK viticulture. The result is an unfiltered, unfined, lightly sparkling wine at 10.5% ABV, with notes of green apple, pear, hazelnut and baked bread, refreshing fine bubbles and a slightly cloudy appearance. Currently out of stock. View Verse 24 'Col Fondo'.
Visit the Winery - Tour and Tasting
Midland Press is open for visits by appointment, and the producer runs a regular public Urban Winery Visit & Tasting at the Shaw's Passage arch. The experience is an engaging and relaxed deep dive into the wines - over the course of an hour or so, the team guides visitors through how the wines are made, the story behind them, and a broader look at the English wine scene. The tasting includes four wines, a walk-through of production processes, an introduction to the vineyards the team sources grapes from, and a session on the winemaking philosophy.
What to expect
- Duration: approximately one hour.
- Format: standing tasting - comfortable shoes recommended.
- Price: £25 per person.
- Location: 17 Shaw's Passage, Birmingham B5 5JG.
- When: regular Saturday afternoons and occasional Thursday evenings, with new dates released periodically throughout the year.
- Note: warm clothes are recommended during winter months, as the arch cellar stays cool year-round.
- Refund policy: tickets for this event are non-refundable.
Private tours and tastings for small groups can also be arranged by emailing the winery directly. Book an Urban Winery Visit.
Gift Vouchers
For visitors who can't make a set date, Midland Press sells an Urban Winery Visit Gift Voucher, priced from £25 to £150 depending on the number of attendees being treated. Vouchers are delivered by email within 24 hours of purchase and are valid for 12 months. The recipient joins the regular Saturday afternoon - or occasional Thursday evening - tasting session and is walked through the wines and the winery in the same format as a standard booking. Buy an Urban Winery Visit Gift Voucher.
Where to Find the Wines
The Midland Press range is sold direct from the producer's online shop, with free collection from the winery and £7.20 flat-rate DPD delivery on UK mainland orders. A 10% discount is applied automatically to any mixed case of six or more bottles. The wines are also stocked at selected restaurants, boutique bars and independent wine shops across Birmingham and further afield, including venues that have helped define the producer's reputation for light reds and lees-driven whites.
Contact and Practical Information
- Producer: Midland Press Ltd
- Address: Unit 17, Shaw's Passage, Birmingham B5 5JG
- Opening hours: by appointment only - the public tour is the easiest way to visit.
- Registered as: a limited company in England and Wales under company number 02275629.
- Social: Instagram · Facebook
Private tour and tasting enquiries can be made by emailing the winery directly. A mailing list offers news of new releases and upcoming tasting dates.
Final Notes
Midland Press is, by design, a small producer - five wines, one railway arch, one winemaker. But the scale is part of the point. In a country where English wine is having its strongest vintage on record, the team is choosing to work in tiny parcels, from hand-selected growers, with indigenous ferments and no fining or filtration, in a city-centre cellar built into Victorian brick. The result is a portfolio that is unmistakably English in climate, unmistakably Birmingham in character, and - for visitors able to book onto a Saturday afternoon tasting - one of the more unusual winery experiences currently on offer in the UK.