Sharpham Winery has announced it has relocated its winemaking operation to the Sandridge Barton Estate at Stoke Gabriel in South Devon.
The new premises is on the other side of the River Dart, directly across from its current location and will enable Sharpham Wine to increase and continue to improve its output.
The multi-award winning winery, which has been located on the Sharpham Estate for 40 years, recently moved to a new winery next to Sandridge Barton’s large vineyard, which has supplied the majority of Sharpham Wine’s premium wine-making grapes.
Duncan Schwab, the head winemaker for Sharpham for 28 years, has been appointed the company’s new chief executive officer, replacing Mark Sharman who has retired after 32 years within the business.
Duncan Schwab said: “After nearly 40 years making wine on the Sharpham Estate we have outgrown our old home and so have seized the fantastic opportunity to transition the wine making team across the river to the new site. It made complete sense to continue and expand our existing collaboration with the vineyard at Sandridge Barton – also on the banks of the River Dart. This secures both our long-term future and development, and at the same time we are proud to continue to produce our unique range of wines from the Dart Valley.”
He added: “It is a very exciting time for Sharpham Winery. I feel Devon is fast becoming the new Burgundy of the UK. We are planting more Burgundy clones, our season offers the ideal cool climate, slow ripening long seasonal conditions and we are gaining a reputation of producing top quality red wines. With the new investment here at Sandridge Barton, we are now in a position to go forward and really put high quality British red wines on the world map. We have the perfect vineyards, a brand new state-of-the-art winery and we have climate change bringing us warmer conditions. All these things are coming together to give us an incredibly exciting future.”
Sharpham Wine recently won several medals at the recent Wine GB Awards including prestigious Golds for its Pinot Noir red and its 2019 Bacchus Stop-Ferment.
Sharpham Wine’s popular visitor centre will continue to operate at its present location on the Sharpham Estate and remains open in the run up to Christmas for tours, tastings and purchases.
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