The Vineyard isn’t quite in keeping with the location but it is in keeping with the castle and it’s reconstruction:
Vines were first brought to this country by the Romans after AD280 when Emperor Probus decreed that vines could be grown outside Italy to give the troops something to do when they were not on duty. Although historically there would not have been a vineyard this far north, the one recently established in the lee of the castle is stocked with modern hybrid, frost hardy and early ripening variety of red grape, Vitus Vinifera x Vitis Amurensis. In time, this small vineyard should produce up to 1000 bottles of wine per year.
Just beyond the stone wall in the second picture you can see a glimpse of the maze:
The private maze was planted in time to reach maturity for the year 2000 millennium celebrations.
Information taken from the Bolton Castle guide book.
Always good to see a functioning vineyard. I try to provide English wine for guests who prefer whites over reds.
There is a local vineyard close to me, I need to check out their vintages.
Looks rather pathetic to be a vineyard compared to those I’ve become used to over my years here in the south of France – more like the backyard ones I see here
but still not too bad for that far north.
I don’t mean that in any nasty way but I have English friends that now have 10 hectares of vines that would be horrified to see that. One of their fields was like that 15 years ago, now it has rows about 1.5 metres apart with the souche about a metre apart. Their grapes go to the local cave and much of the wine ends up in Tesco in the UK. They produce approximately 3000 litre per hectare of extremely good red and 1500 litre of white.
You could say I’ve been spoiled over the years.
I think they have just added it as another garden feature, I expect they will use the wine in their restaurant.
Perhaps this one that is fairly local to me is more to you liking
http://www.flickr.com/photos/g_travels/3518440659/
Now that is a vineyard. I hope you get the local wine at €3 a bedon (5 litre reusable container) the same as we do.
I don’t imagine it would be that cheap, but you never know
I shall have to check it out. It is near to that church I mentioned that I didn’t quite manage to walk to a couple of weeks ago.
Looks a bit Cadfael to me. I can imagine myself in that vineyard years ago.
I can imagine you sampling the finished product
Is this Bolton Castle in Wensleydale? If so it was a restaurant when I was in the area many moons ago, I don’t recall a vineyard it was a struggling part ruin castle as I recall. I rather think a vineyard so far north is ambitious – but good luck to them.
Yes it is in Wensleydale and there is still a cafe/restaurant as you enter the castle. It serves very nice food.
I would have thought it was a little bit windy on that side of the castle for a vineyard, but I am sure they know what they are doing.
There’s always something so simplistically beautiful about vineyards..about seeing the grapes ripening on the vine. Lovely!
I love the way the light shines through the leaves which seem to be a particular kind of green.