Category: News

15 December 2013

It feels like a good start for 2014 with a Silver Medal for our 2010 Sparkling Rosé in the International Wine Challenge 2014 Tranche 1.  Following this we received an invitation from Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch to participate in a live tasting in their Premium Champagne slot.  How excited we were to hear guest celebrities Leigh–Anne of Little Mix and Chris Hadfield, retired Canadian astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, both preferred our Sparkling Rosé to the other two more expensive champagnes featured on the show.

4 December 2013

 

2 December 2013

Christmas is nearly here and the birds are having a feast at Lily Farm.  The holly trees are almost stripped bare of berries and it won’t be long before these pictured, are gone too.

We have the perfect celebration fizz, our award winning 2010 Sparkling Rosé and for the first six customers who visit the vineyard and make a case purchase, we have a special Christmas offer, a FREE bottle (one of the few we have left) of our SWVA Trophy Winner 2011 Lily Farm Red.

For a present that is slightly different we offer Gift Vouchers for a Guided Tour of the Vineyard priced from £12, or check out our hand knitted clothing made from 100% wool.

The Shop will be open every Friday and Saturday 10.30 am to 4.00 pm.  Orders and payment can also be made by phone with free delivery to Budleigh Salterton and the surrounding area.

Have a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.

20 November 2013

A nerve racking ending to this year’s growing season due to the lack of sun and humid weather conditions which could have wiped out the entire crop overnight, however, we are delighted with the 4.5 tonnes of grapes harvested from our one acre site.  The Seyval Blanc grapes were the last to be picked, shown here in the press at the winery at Bagborough in the expert hands of our winemaker Steve Brooksbank, they will be used to make a sparkling wine.  We are looking forward to tasting our new wines in January next year.

A big THANK YOU to all our friends who helped pick grapes this year, we would not have managed without you, it is great to see you return year after year and some of you, at every harvest.

19 September 2013

We are excited and delighted to have been awarded The Sunny Bank Trophy for the Best Red Wine at the South West Vineyards Association Competition.  Judging took place at Manstree Vineyard, Shillingford St. George, Exeter and a memorable Awards day was held at Furleigh Estate, Salway Ash, Bridport.  Our first trophy award in a commercial wine competition alongside some of the best winemakers in the UK.  Our 2010 Sparkling Rosé achieved a Silver and 2012 Rosé a Highly Commended award.

These wines are all available to purchase in our Farm Shop at the vineyard.

17 August 2013

The recent good weather has been a tonic for the vines and Seyval Blanc have excelled themselves, so much so, that we are removing some grapes so that ripening of those left takes place.

The second release of our Sparkling Rosé 2010 has been awarded a Silver Medal in the English & Welsh Wine Of The Year Competition 2013, the judges tasting notes read “Pale peach, persistent bubbles and cordon; fresh bread notes, cranberry and strawberry fruit; mouth-filling mousse, lively and well defined, fruity but delicate, spicy finish and good length.  Delightful.”  For sale at the vineyard priced at £23.50 a bottle.  We are also lucky to have a 2012 Rosé our only wine following the poor harvest of last year and this is priced at £9.95 a bottle.

As usual, we have a lot of birds in the vineyard and I could swear that they are looking with excitement and expectation at the developing feast of grapes before them, so the next job is to protect the forthcoming harvest with nets before they dive in.

19 May 2013

600 new vines have been planted and the vineyard has increased in size by 40%, just short of 2000 vines,  an area of half a hectare.

New wines for this year will be our 2012 vintage, a Rosé and the second release of our 2010 Sparkling Rosé which has spent 22 months on its lees.  As soon as the labels are printed they will appear on our shop shelves.

25 May–2 June 2013 is English Wine Week and Gala Week for The Lions Club of Budleigh Salterton.  The vineyard will be open every day 10.30 am – 4.00 pm and a Guided Tour followed by a free tasting of our Fine English Wines, price £6 per adult, will take place every day at 2.30 pm.  Please book by contacting 07977 057864.  Light refreshments will also be available.  This year our chosen charity for a donation will be the Budleigh Salterton Health Centre Charity.

Budburst is late this year so the vines have some catching up to do.  Fingers crossed for a good growing season and a bumper harvest.

27 March 2013

Last Monday we participated in the local producers event ‘Secrets of Devon’ held at The Britannia Inn and Restaurant in Knowle Village.   The afternoon turned into quite a busy affair with local businesses and Councillors dropping in.

Meanwhile, at Lily Farm, we have finished pruning 3 weeks later in the year than normal and it was hard work in the cold weather.  Not surprisingly we do not expect to see budburst for a while yet.

Looking on the bright side we are preparing to plant another 600 vines which will include a new variety for our vineyard, namely Reichensteiner, a white grape to compliment our current white wines which is good for blending and  sparkling wines.

We open for the new season from Thursday 28 March 2013 and our Shop opening hours will be every Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10.30 am to 4.00 pm.  Guided Tours will take place at 2.30 pm but as we are a working vineyard booking is required by contacting 07977 057864.

Alan and I look forward to welcoming you to Lily Farm Vineyard.

1 December 2012

Christmas drinks should not be left down to luck at this time of year when you want your wines to be as good as your food.  Celebrate with Lily Farm Sparkling Rose’ – just perfect for those wanting to add some extra fizz to the festivities.

For a present that is slightly different we offer Gift Vouchers for a Guided Tour of the Vineyard priced from £12, or check out our hand knitted garments made from our own sheep wool to keep you warm during the Winter months.

The Vineyard Shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday every week to Christmas 10.00 am to 3.00 pm and as a Special Christmas Offer we have doubled our case purchase 6 bottle discount to 10% until 22 December 2012.   Orders and payment may also be made by phone on 07977 057864 with free delivery to Budleigh Salterton and the surrounding area.

Have a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.

8 October 2012

It seems that we only put the nets around the fruiting wires yesterday and already they  are down again as on Wednesday 4 October we welcomed our regular pickers, with one or two new faces, who had come to help us pick our grapes.   What  GREAT FRIENDS you are and once again, THANK YOU, we could not manage this so well without your help.

We met at 9.00 am for tea, coffee, brioche, muffins and a chat followed by instruction and safety talk from Alan with a 9.30 am start in the vineyard.

The morning went well with the only shower of rain materializing just as the pickers finished and came in for lunch.  There was a lot of ground to cover as due to the weather this year we had fewer grapes to pick and we decided to pick Rondo following on with Pinot Noir Precoce as they will be blended by Steve at Bagborough Winery to make a rose’ wine this year.

We picked half a tonne of grapes, not a lot for all the work, but we did have a harvest and we still have the Seyval Blanc left to pick which should be ready in early November.