History - Ancient

The Romans planted vines in Britain and since then vineyards have been an integral part of rural England. But for all sorts of reasons they slowly declined until by the 19th century only one or two remained. The annexation of the Bordeaux vineyards during the reign of Henry II provided wine aplenty and hundreds of little ships with their quota of casks in the hold plied their way up-Channel and beyond. Later the monastic vineyards suffered under Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries and were abandoned. As time went by transportation of goods to and from Europe became easier and viticulture declined even further. The need for a home-based wine industry had disappeared.

History - Modern

Around the middle of the 20th century Edward Hymes and Ray Barrington-Brock began experimenting with grapevine trials and started the re-birth of viticulture in England. Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones planted the first commercial vineyard in 1951 at his estate in Hambledon, Hampshire. There are now about 400 vineyards across the south of England and into Wales.

History - Modern continued...

Peter Hall planted his vineyard at Breaky Bottom in 1974 at a time when there were only a dozen or so growers in the whole country. He had come to realise that there was a good potential for grape growing and winemaking in the UK where the climate is very similar to that of the near continent (The Loire, Champagne and much of Germany). Modern plant breeding and selection meant that early ripening varieties were becoming available and the demand for clean, elegant cool-climate wines was growing.

Peter had other links with good wine and food which encouraged him to take the undoubted risk of making wine in the UK. He has a French mother who is a fine cook and his grandfather had been a famous restaurateur with a fabulous cellar. Wine had always been part of family life.

Seyval Blanc is the main grape variety grown at Breaky Bottom. Peter says that it makes the clean Loire-style wines for which he has become well known. It is fairly neutral in character with a keen acidity but when bottled fully dry and left to mature it develops a wonderful depth and complexity. His Seyval Blanc 1990 won a GOLD MEDAL in the International Wine Challenge in 1993. It is also the variety with which he makes his amazing Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Brut, first launched with the 1994 vintage. A small portion of the vineyard is planted with Muller Thurgau. This variety is a Riesling / Sylvaner cross and when bottled dry and aged produces a fine perfumed Alsace-style wine. Peter was also able to make a delicious Late Harvest wine with Muller Thurgau in 1995 when the conditions were perfect for the development of "Noble Rot".