From Vine to Bottle
You may have heard the sad news: Carr Taylor Vineyard has closed its doors. Beyond the disappointment for wine lovers and lost tasting vouchers, local home grape-growers – like me – faced a new challenge. Who would turn our humble backyard harvests into delicious wine?
When I moved to St Leonards four years ago, my tiny garden already had a productive vine. For four seasons, Carr Taylor transformed its modest grapes into wine, creating novelty Christmas gifts with labels I proudly adorned with my own face! It was a small joy, but a meaningful one.
This year, my vine was groaning under an unusually early and bountiful harvest. On hearing of Carr Taylor’s demise, I turned to a local Facebook group for advice, and soon a kind member pointed me to Downsview Vineyard near Crowborough. A bit of a trek, but with grapes beginning to fall, I couldn’t wait.
A Sunday full of friends, children, ladders, and laughter resulted in 84 kilos of grapes delivered to Downsview Vineyard the next day. As I said goodbye to my harvest, I couldn’t help but imagine the transformation ahead: from tiny courtyard vine to a glass of wine in Spring.
For others in the same situation, Downsview Vineyard welcomes inquiries at [email protected]. Even small garden harvests can become something truly special – a reminder that great wine sometimes starts in the most unexpected places.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply