Waitrose has become the first retailer to plant its own vineyard and held a special ceremony at its Leckford Farm Estate in Hampshire on Friday 22nd May. Estate Chairman Sir Don Curry (pictured far left) and Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price (pictured far right) were joined by Leckford Estate General Manager Iain Dalton (centre left) and Waitrose Wine Manager Justin Howard-Sneyd (centre right).
Leckford is located on gently rolling hills either side of the River Test and enjoys a sheltered southern aspect where the soil has just the right balance of chalk and clay loam for the 15,000 grapevines that have been planted on 4 ha of land.
The Waitrose vines will grow for three years before the first crop of grapes, followed by a two year wine-making and maturation cycle for the production of a high quality sparkling wine which will be on Waitrose shelves by 2014.
