Our Story

Pioneering Spirit

Fiona and Niall Shiner had been living in Hong Kong for 18 years when they returned to Britain to take on Niall's parents' property at Amberley. Niall continued with his career, but mother-of-three Fiona decided to plant some vines at the property following a comment by her mother-in-law that the Romans could have grown vines there! 

The first acre of vines was planted in 2007 and Fiona threw herself into studying viticulture and learning how to drive a tractor! Despite a disastrously wet first summer, the vineyard grew well and Fiona bought a farm on the hill opposite, gradually planting more vines for still and sparkling wines. In 2016 a former farm building was converted into a winery and press area and Jeremy Mount was appointed winemaker. A third vineyard site at Stonehouse was acquired bringing the total area under vine to 58 acres. There is a vineyard listed at ‘Stanhus’ in the Domesday Book - you can read more about the History of the area here.

Fiona is too humble to admit that it took a lot of guts and determination to plant vines in the Cotswolds in the early 2000s. Almost all England’s vineyards were (and still are) concentrated in the southeast of the country and there was very little support available locally. Her belief that the location, aspect and soil were right for vinegrowing has literally borne fruit and now she is producing over 100,000 bottles of still and sparkling wine a year. People living in the Cotswolds are very proud of the Woodchester wine produced here and the awards prove that the southwest can be just as good as the southeast!

More than 10,000 visitors a year now wind their way up the narrow single track roads that lead to the vineyard. Sitting in the spacious tasting room, looking out over the limestone valley, you could be in the Loire Valley.