Joining me on the last episode of season 11 of The English Wine Diaries is Mark Darley, founder and owner of All Angels Vineyard in Newbury, Berkshire.

Mark and his family became custodians of Church Farm in 2009 and, while it was still earlyish days for English wine back then, talks around the dinner table soon turned to planting a vineyard.

When the farmland was analysed as ideal for growing grapes for outstanding English Sparkling Wine, and the first vineyard planted in 2011, Mark decided to swap his daily commute to the city, where he had been a corporate lawyer for 35 years, for a life in viticulture.

Mark's love of wine goes back to when he started collecting at the age of 25 and his personal cellar now runs to many thousands of bottles. The opportunity to make his own wine seemed particularly fitting as a plan for retirement – although he uses that term loosely as running All Angels (along with his three labs, Skeena, Copper & Kasi) is indeed a pretty full-time job.

Over the past decade, All Angels has totted up a number of industry awards and the vineyard, which is named after the parish church nearby, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its first vintage with the release of a rather special classic cuvee.

We talk about the historic significance of All Angels, the high-tech methods they use to handle frost in the vineyard, and a wine in the making that Mark may not see come to fruition within his lifetime.

To find out more about All Angels wines and how to visit, follow them on Instagram @allangelsvineyard or visit allangels.com.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.

Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Luke Spalding General Manager at Everflyht Vineyard in East Sussex.

With a background in wine studies from Plumpton Wine Division, and having worked at nearby vineyard, Ridgeview, Luke joined the Everflyht single vineyard estate in 2019 just two years after owners Ben and Sam Ellis planted the first vines.

As well as planting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier on their land, which sits at the bottom of Ditchling Beacon, they also set aside acreage for biodiversity and have since planted trees, hedgerow and integrated wildflower meadows within the vineyard.

It is here where Luke’s passion for regenerative farming has come into its own. At Everflyht, he blends data-driven expertise with hands-on application to champion regenerative viticulture by creating sustainable practices that not only benefit the environment but produce award-winning – and may I add blinking good value – premium sparkling wines.

We have a very honest discussion about how Luke got into wine, why he believes you can should never be dogmatic when it comes to making wine and his hopes for the Royals to one day visit Everflyht.

Catch up with Everflyht's new releases and other news on Instagram @everflyht and at everflyht.com. To hear more about how the Everflyht story began, listen back to owners Ben and Sam Ellis' on episode 41 of the podcast.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.

On today’s episode of the English Wine Diaries is Laura Robinson and Mathew Abbey from Burn Valley Vineyard in Norfolk.

Laura’s family moved to Crossways Farm in North Creake in October 1989, but it wasn’t until 2016 that they decided to plant vines on their land, harvesting their first crop after the hot summer of 2018.

Since then, they have built and expanded a winery and developed a portfolio of still, sparkling and sweet wines and vermouths.

Laura, who has a background in forensic science, works with her sister, Sam, to run the vineyard while her brother, Jack, farms the surrounding land. Mathew, who has been working in the wine industry for over 17 years including a decade in New Zealand’s top wine regions, joined the team in 2019.

This year they won the Independent English Wine Award trophy for their 2022 Chardonnay, shining a spotlight on Burn Valley and the wider region of Norfolk as a future hot spot for the grape and still winemaking in the UK.

We talk about their growing, diverse portfolio of wines, how they feel Norfolk has grown as a wine region over the last few years and the wines they would like to make in the future.

To find out more follow @burnvalleyvineyard on Instagram or visit burnvalleyvineyard.co.uk.

NB apologies, we had slight audio difficulties recording this episode.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.