Aristocrat’s once-mocked Yorkshire vineyard finally comes of age

‘We’re flying the flag – not just for England, but for northern England and people here are proud’

WHEN the late Sir Rerebsy Sitwell first decided to plant a vineyard on his north Derbyshire estate he was greeted with, to put it politely, a certain degree of scepticism.

There were plenty of locals who laughed at the aristocrat’s efforts, declaring roundly: “You’ll never make wine round here lad!”

But, 50 years on, not only is the Renishaw Hall Vineyard celebrating its half century, it is also picking up plaudits for the quality of its product.

Back in 1972 Sir Rerebsy had a vision of cultivating “a little piece of Italy” a stone’s throw from Sheffield. At first the wines he produced in a dilapidated walled garden were, even he would admit, not exactly quaffable.

But within a couple of decades the vineyard – with the help of friends and colleagues from France and Italy and experts from the Cristal and Pol Roger champagne houses – was producing award-winning varieties. In 2021, its 2018 Walled Garden Rosé won a gold medal at the Wine GB awards, with its 2017 Classic Cuvee picking up silver and its 2017 Classic Cuvee Rose and 2020 Walled Garden White each winning bronze.

The seeds for the winning streak were sown a decade ago with the arrival of Kieron Atkinson, a former Army officer who turned his hand to viniculture after returning to university.

“When I arrived at Renishaw Hall, English wine was just starting to change and people were starting to open up to it and feel more comfortable buying it,” he said. “I wanted to be part of that process of taking the industry forward.”

The impact of climate change has been marked. The number of growing days at Renishaw has now reached the levels enjoyed by the Champagne region in the early 1970s. And the increasingly hot summers mean grapes can be grown with a high enough sugar content to produce red wine.

Renishaw, home to the Sitwell family since the 17th century, maintains a fierce pride in its grapes’ northern roots, adorning its bottles with labels declaring “Wine of England; North”.

Even Sir Rerebsy’s daughter Alexandra was initially sceptical about whether her family’s home-grown vintages matched those of the Continent.

But now the mockery of Sir Reresby’s neighbours has been replaced by admiration and local pride.

“We’re flying the flag not just for England, but for northern England, and people around Sheffield are very proud of their locality and what it has to offer,” said Mr Atkinson.

Alexandra Sitwell says her father would have loved the way things turned out for his vision. “It’s quite an achievement to have reached 50 years for this modest site,” she said. “I’m sure my father would be delighted to know of the wine’s continuing success.”