Shires Vineyard - A Hobby Vineyard and Beehive in Derby
Shires Vineyard is a small, personal-scale vineyard and beekeeping project based on allotments south of Derby in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. Run by a single enthusiast, it began as a vegetable-growing hobby in 2000 and has since grown into a working micro-vineyard of around 80 grapevines and a productive apiary of Buckfast honey bees. What makes the project unusual in the UK wine world is that it is run openly as an allotment-scale hobby rather than a commercial winery, with candid accounts of cultivation, grape varieties, harvest practice, vine propagation and the realities of keeping bees in a built-up area.
Location and Origins
The vineyard sits on allotment plots to the south of Derby, an area missing a lot of the rain that other parts of the city receive. In 2000, two allotment plots were taken on from the local association to grow fruit and vegetables. After several years of trial, error and a growing understanding of the local microclimate, a third plot was acquired and in 2004 the first 36 vines were planted in three rows. The vineyard has expanded steadily since and now stands at 80 vines, producing more than enough wine for the family's own needs.
From Vegetables to Vines
Initially the choice of vines was driven by curiosity as much as by taste. The original block was set out as an experiment to see which varieties would crop reliably on a sheltered, level plot in a Derbyshire valley. Over the seasons, the collection has been refined: in 2021 the early German hybrid Siegerrebe and the variety Septimer were replaced with Rondo, Regent and Cabernet Cortis, and Solaris has been planted more widely because it is now the earliest ripening grape in the collection, followed by Rondo.
The Wines
Shires Vineyard produces white wine and rosé from its own grapes for household use. The wines are labelled as Reserve, Blush and Lutea. They are not bottled for commercial sale and pricing is not published. The wines are typically matured for around a year in carboys and then bottled for another year, with the expectation that they will continue to drink well for a further two years. Bulk and bottled wines are stored at 12 - 14°C.
Blending Across Varieties
Because more than one grape variety is grown, Shires tends to blend rather than bottle single-varietal wines. The approach has the advantage of smoothing out the impact of difficult vintages - if one variety underperforms in a cool year, others can compensate. It also means the character of the wine changes subtly from season to season, depending on what each variety contributes.
Grape Varieties Grown
The vineyard grows a mix of hybrid and classical varieties on their own roots (none are grafted). The principal varieties are:
- Seyval Blanc (Seibel 5656 × Seibel 4986). A high-yielding, later-budding hybrid that retains relatively high acidity and lends itself to sparkling base wine with light lemon and almond flavours. It is used at Shires mainly as the bulk of the juice, supporting the flavour of lower-volume varieties.
- Alzey (Madeleine Angevine × Riesling). The most reliable variety in the vineyard, producing large bunches of small golden grapes with a Muscat-like flavour that blends well but also stands on its own if given time to develop.
- Kanzler (Müller-Thurgau × Silvaner). A German variety rated as the producer's favourite for its intense fruit flavour when it does crop, although it is unreliable in poor seasons and very vulnerable to spring frost because of its early bud burst.
- Solaris (Merzling × Saperavi Servanyi). A recent German introduction producing tiny grapes with nutty, banana-toned flavours and extremely high sugar levels above 100° Oechsle. It is now the earliest ripening variety grown.
- Rondo, Regent and Cabernet Cortis. Added in 2021 to replace Siegerrebe and Septimer and to extend the ripening window with robust, disease-tolerant varieties.
Cultivation and Training
The vines are grown in rows running north to south, with a hawthorn hedge on either side to provide shelter from the prevailing wind while allowing good airflow. The vineyard is level and lies in a valley, so spring frost can occasionally damage emerging shoots. Training is by the Double Guyot system: a main stem is grown to a chosen height and two permanent lateral branches are tied out along the bottom wire. Vines are spaced 1.5 metres apart with six to eight buds per branch. Wires are fixed to preservative-treated posts at 30 cm intervals up to around 1.8 m, with a top wire tying the row together.
Ground Preparation and Soil
Vines need a "fighting chance" in the British climate, which means decent soil rather than the poor, starved soils sometimes suggested in older texts. Ground is cultivated and amended with organic matter before planting, with a general-purpose rose fertiliser used for its higher potash content. Magnesium (added as Epsom salts) and boron are the only micronutrients that have needed topping up over the years.
Vine Development - Years 1 to 3
In year one only a single shoot is allowed to grow so the young plant puts its energy into a strong root system and main stem. Any embryo flower buds are removed at 15 - 20 cm to prevent weakening. In year two a single shoot is again retained and the stem should reach around pencil thickness and about 2 m by autumn. From year three the training method diverges into either a high or low canopy Double Guyot, and a single bunch per vine may be carried if the plant is vigorous. From year five or six the vines are allowed to carry as many bunches as they can ripen.
Propagation
The vineyard propagates its own vines from hard-wood cuttings taken at pruning time. Cuttings of about 30 cm are cut just below a node at the base and at an angle 2 - 3 cm above a node at the top, bundled, labelled and stored cool over winter. In early spring they are rehydrated, set in a V-shaped trench in a raised bed, and grown on until autumn when the rooted vines can be lifted and "heeled in."
The Grape Harvest
Harvesting decisions at Shires are guided by refractometer readings and by acid levels, not sugar alone. The target is a maximum of 11% potential alcohol, ideally closer to 10%, with enough acidity to give the wine a backbone. A table of optimum picking periods in relation to sugar and acid guides the work. Picking is done with snips or scissors into plastic boxes with solid bases, the grapes are crushed in a mill and pressed in a homemade press, and fermentation is carried out in a temperature-stable environment with appropriate yeast and pectic enzyme. Wet grapes are never picked because the juice is diluted.
Beekeeping at Shires
Beekeeping was added to the project in 2011, after a change in allotment rules prompted the owner - whose great-grandfather was a beekeeper - to start keeping hives. The apiary is run with Buckfast bees, a strain acquired from a tutor who was downsizing her collection of seventeen colonies. Hives are named: "Lucy," "Lizzy" and "Lu Lu" are the queens of the first year.
First Year
The first year was an eventful initiation. A swarm had to be collected from a neighbour's currant bush in cold May weather, a queenless colony was rescued by hand-emerging a queen from a sealed cell on the glove, and a second swarm was boxed from a goji berry trellis. The 2012 summer was cool and wet, but the three hives still produced a remarkable 190 lb of honey. Mouse guards went on in October and Ambrosia syrup and varroa treatment were applied before winter.
Second Year
Year two was dominated by an exceptionally cold spring and a swarming colony that had to be moved through a cardboard box and into a fresh brood box. Despite the weather, the bees built up well on oil seed rape forage and the season ended with three hives headed by virgin queens and brood frames filling again as autumn approached.
Honey Production and Food Safety
Surplus honey from the apiary is sold under the label "Derbyshire Honey." The producer is classified as a Primary Food Producer under Food Standards Agency guidance, and a HACCP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points) plan has been drawn up and approved by the local Environmental Health Officer.
The Market Place - What Is Available to Buy
The market place is a small, occasional outlet reflecting the modest scale of the operation. All items are subject to availability.
- Derbyshire Honey - light and floral honey from the apiary, offered at £3.50 per 1 lb jar. Collection only, ordered via the contact form.
- Vine cuttings (ready prepared) - £1 per cutting plus £5 postage and packing. All varieties grown at the vineyard are available.
- Rooted vines - propagated on their own roots (not grafted), £5 each plus £5 postage and packing, dispatched in November. Orders need to be placed in advance.
Advice is always free.
Visiting Shires Vineyard
Shires Vineyard is a hobby project rather than a commercial winery, and there is no cellar door, restaurant, tasting room, formal tour programme, or scheduled events. The wines are made for the maker's own use and are not released for general sale. Visitors are asked to make contact in advance before turning up.
How to Get in Touch
Contact is via an online form only. No phone number, email address, postcode or street address is given, and the vineyard has no social media profiles of its own.
Useful Resources
Several national bodies are connected with the work carried out at Shires Vineyard:
- UK Vineyards Association - the trade body for English and Welsh wine producers.
- The National Honey Show - the UK's premier honey competition and exhibition.
- British Beekeepers Association - the national beekeeping body.
- Derbyshire Beekeepers Association - the local association covering Derby.
Final Thoughts
Shires Vineyard is best understood as a working record of a small English allotment vineyard and apiary rather than as a destination winery. The project is unusually transparent for a hobby venture, with candid accounts of swarms, frost losses, season-by-season grape performance and the realities of food-safety paperwork.