Dunesforde Vineyard: Meet the wine growers who have brought Tuscany to Yorkshire with their Dales vineyard

“James studied Italian at university and having spent a lot of time in Tuscany found Castello di Potentino vineyard where he’d help out. James encouraged us to go out as a family. We stayed in a gorgeous castle drinking wine, eating olives and freshly made pasta. It was a romantic lifestyle that’s easy to fall in love with and we did. We looked into setting up something over there.

Tuscany didn’t happen but having turned their attention to England’s and Yorkshire’s vineyards Dunesforde was born and the first wines were produced in 2018 and released in 2019.

“It was pretty amazing we actually found what has proved to be an excellent site for our vineyard in Upper Dunsforth,” says Peter, whose parents Ian and Mandy are the vineyard owners.

“I was born here and my parents’ house is next door but one to what is now the vineyard. You could say we have our roots in our boots.

“What we found was that the field had quite a few of the right characteristics to work for grape growing, with one of the main ones being that it was just a little bit warmer than the surrounding area and with heat and sunlight being pretty big issues that was critical.

“We planted 6000 vines using four grape varieties and at the same time my brother went to study viticulture at Plumpton College, East Sussex. It was James who got us started and was our first vineyard manager.

Dunesforde’s first grape harvest couldn’t have been much better timed. Temperature and weather conditions prevailed in the months beforehand and brought about what many consider to be the best harvest for many years.

“It certainly was fortuitous for us,” says Peter. “The conditions proved just as right as they could be and it brought about what looked like being a really auspicious beginning.

“As we didn’t have the expertise to turn the grapes into wine we had to find a winemaker and found Halfpenny Green Vineyards in Staffordshire who’ve been going since 1970s and asked if they’d make our wines. They’ve been doing so ever since.

“Our first wine was released in October 2019 and Solaris, one of our four varieties, was taken up by Frances Atkins at the renowned Yorke Arms in Ramsgill. It was such a coup for us, a Michelin star restaurant with our first ever wines. It had far exceeded our expectations. We hadn’t anticipated it. We’d just hoped our wines would be okay.

Dunesforde has continued its success since but Peter says the great timing of their first harvest was unfortunately not matched by what happened just over a year later.

“We had a bit of a stumble because our first wine was released in October 2019 and just a couple of months later the world was effectively shut down for about a year and a half.

“We’d opened our doors, bushy tailed and bright eyed ready to say here we are and within a couple of months people were getting worried and by March we were in lockdown.

“We weren’t really able to get our name out as we would have wanted and there are still a lot of people, even nearby, that have absolutely no idea we exist.

Peter, his parents and the rest of the team that now operates Dunesforde were undaunted and are clearly purveyors not just of wine but also of a glass being always half full rather than half empty, as Peter says.

“In some way what happened proved advantageous because we had to shift to experiences, such as tours and tastings, all conducted outside and as a result we built a beautiful terraced area of the vineyard where everyone can sit amongst the vines. We opened a wine bar on a Friday and Saturday during the summer months and we’ve since added corporate hospitality days and experience days.

Dunesforde Vineyard wines picked up its first Silver Medal in 2020, first Gold Medal in 2021, and in 2022 took the title of Best Regional Wine in the Midlands & North of England. Peter says they have plans for the future for their still and sparkling wines.

“We put our focus on making sure we have the healthiest and highest quality fruit so that we can make the best wines we can. We’ve set a standard which we need to maintain. I would like to plant more vines but we would need to find somewhere else that gives us the same quality and maintains the characteristics of the wine we have.

“We’d also like to bring wine making in house. That’s in our 3-5 year plan. We are working hard behind the scenes on our winemaking skills.

Peter says that Dunesforde is developing something that is more than just wine. It has also already become something of a community.

“It’s something we’d not thought about initially but everyone who comes here feels part of Dunesforde. When we started we had a handful of volunteers from the village, last year we had over 200 through the year. We now have this wonderful community.

“Where we see our future is both as a vineyard producing excellent wines and as, we hope, an outstanding addition to the local community for all sorts of things. We host talks, guest chef evenings, experience days. We’ve got a really nice venue in a lovely spot in North Yorkshire. There are some really great things we can do here as well as growing gorgeous grapes to make great wines.

Peter says his mum’s contribution is a major reason behind the very personable feeling generated at Dunesforde, and his brother’s influence is still very much part of its present and future.

“Mum does all our ‘meet and greets’ because she’s probably the most friendly person in the world. I do all our wine experiences, so when anybody wants to talk about wine, it’s me. We’re really keen on helping people see that wine can be fun and enjoyable. Some people put wine on a pedestal, but it shouldn’t be. It should be something you get a great deal of enjoyment from.

“This was James’ dream. He spent time in South Africa, California and Tuscany and now works for job working for a very prestigious winery in Marlow. We talk a lot about the wines and how we’re developing them. Our story is still just beginning.

The name Dunesforde comes from the two villages Upper and Lower Dunsforth in the Domesday Book.

https://www.dunesforde.com/