Renishaw Hall's wine producer toasts four awards

Renishaw Hall’s vineyard manager has spoken of his delight after wine produced from grapes grown on the estate scooped four awards.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

In the 2021 WineGB Awards Renishaw Hall won gold for its still rosé, silver for its white sparkling and bronzes for the still white wine and pink sparkling.

Kieron Atkinson, vineyard manager and wine producer, said: “I am really pleased to have won the awards – especially the gold!

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Competitions are a great way to benchmark our wines against the rest of the country and whenever we have entered awards we have always done well.

Vineyard manager Kieron Atkinson toasts the success of Renishaw Hall's wine. Photo by Jen MilesVineyard manager Kieron Atkinson toasts the success of Renishaw Hall's wine. Photo by Jen Miles
Vineyard manager Kieron Atkinson toasts the success of Renishaw Hall's wine. Photo by Jen Miles

"My first medals came from wines produced in 2011 at the 2012 WineGB awards and the 2013 Decanter World Wine awards, these were for still and sparkling wines. I tend to enter competitions every couple of years and we have won numerous silver and bronze medals since.

"Much of the success of our wines comes down to the age of the vineyard, the vineyard will be 50 next year, which makes us one of the oldest vineyards in the country. Having older vines means that our fruit is more complex as the roots are much deeper in the soils in comparison to younger sites.

"We grow a real mix of grapes on our two hectare site, ranging from Madeleine Angevine, Solaris, Muscat, Rondo, Cabernet Cortiz, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Phoenix, Seyval Blanc and Pinot Noir. Having this range of fruit means that we can change our blends from year to year to suit the English weather and make the best possible wines every time. So in a really good year we will make a red wine, but the year does have to be excellent for this to happen. Our climate is most suited in my view to sparkling, still white and rosé wines.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"One of the great things about having a wide variety of fruit is that it gives the wines greater complexity than if you are just making wine from one type of fruit - wine making is like cooking in that you can layer up the flavours by using different grape varieties and when you combine that with different wine making techniques it will lead to interesting results and delicious wines.”

Kieron, 43, studied wine production for a foundation degree in science at Plumpton College. While at college he volunteered to help out at Renishaw Hall vineyard and became tenant of the vineyard in 2011.

He said: ”I have just started an urban winery in Darley Abbey that I am really excited about. We are the only one in the region, the next nearest is London and we will be producing a whole host of different wines and ciders. The aim is to be the best small producer in the country, and to offer winery tours and group experiences so that people can come and look at the process and understand where flavour comes from and how it is produced, this could be the secondary fermentation process or what influence does oak have on wine and cider. I have just bottled in the traditional method a bourbon barrel fermented cider, the taste is mind blowing, really complex - cooked apple, marzipan, chocolate – totally delicious.”

Renishaw Hall picked up its latest awards during this month’s English Wine Week, organised by WineGB.

Related topics: