Isn’t it great when something pops up on social and it interests you to do more…?
I saw a post about wine growing in the UK which wasn’t far from Peterborough, so it sparked my curiosity further. So, last week we went along to the The Rutland Vineyard to see for myself.
It’s located in the beautiful backroads of Ketton just up the A1 not far from Stamford. It started off a lovely sunny day as I entered into their small cafe. Well decorated and set out with tables, chairs and tall bench seats. The menu is small; concentrating on wine, cheese, cakes & donuts, ice cream along with tea and coffee.
We opted for a sharing cheeseboard. This came with three types of cheese, which I’m sure would have gone nicely with a lovely glass of wine, but as I was drinking it was a cappuccino instead. The first was a creamy ‘Tunworth’ followed by a strong ‘Sparkenhoe Red Leicester’ ending up with ‘The Duke’ (not for me as I can’t eat veined cheeses. Accompanied with grapes, pickles, crackers and butter.
The service was fab from Lizzie and the waitress. Alas our choice of sitting outside on the patio was scuppered as it started to rain. ☹️ but it was still nice inside.
There’s a view of the vines directly as you draw into the carpark and from your seats in the cafe. They’ve just done some planting of more vines which will hopefully harvest well next year. Currently they are doing their red harvest as we speak.
There’s an opportunity to sponsor a vine so how could I not? We Love Peterborough now sponsors 164 Cabernet Noir! (Normally sponsorship is at the beginning of the year) We received a calendar, cap, certificate, along with a complimentary bottle of wine and coffee!
Whilst you’re there you can go fur a walk around their trail… the Jurassic Way! Why is it called that? Because it’s located on Jurassic limestone soil. It’s not far away that Britain’s largest ever Ichthyosaur, discovered in Rutland Water, measuring more than 10 metres long. It was discovered during maintenance work on Rutland Water in February 2021 where it once swam the oceans over 180 million years ago! Wow.
They also do vineyard tours in the spring. It’s a guided walking tour among the vines of which after you are treated to some amazing English wine tasting. I think I’ll be back for that in May!
So if you’re interested in a bit of wine, grown on English soil, why not pop along and take a look? www.therutlandvineyard.com
