Send us a text Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Laura Riches, co-founder of wine brand Laylo.  Laura was previously the marketing director at Naked Wines, the UK's largest direct-to-consumer wine brand and, during her tenure, was responsible for record-breaking years of customer retention through a focus on customer engagement and storytelling. In November 2020, Laura joined forces with Laura Rosenberger to create Laylo with the aim of reinventing boxed wine and making environmentally conscious drinking a no-brainer.  The design of glass wine bottles has b ..read more

Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Sandy Booth, life-long farmer and owner of B58 Winery in Beaulieu, Hampshire.  Sandy founded the B58 Winery off the back of his hugely successful soft fruit farming business, after realising that his knowledge and innovative approach to growing fruit in polytunnels could also be applied to growing grape varieties that aren’t usually, successfully grown in the UK climate.  Growing up in St Andrews, Scotland, Sandy learnt about farming life from his father, who worked on a cattle farm looking after Aberdeen Angus, but honed h ..read more

Welcome to a new series of The English Wine Diaries and my first guest to join me to talk about all things English wine in 2025 is Trevor Clough, CEO and head blender of Digby Fine English.  Trevor and his husband, Jason Humphries, launched their first Digby wines for sale in 2013 having swapped the corporate grind of London for Sussex, in the heart of English wine country.  Impelled to give English sparkling wine the same fanfare as its international counterparts, they developed a method of ranking England’s burgeoning vineyards to find the finest grapes going, carefully building th ..read more

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, f ..read more

Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Michael Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of Roebuck Estates – who make premium sparkling wine from their multi-vineyard estates in Sussex. Following university, Michael joined the Graduate Management Scheme of Marks and Spencer, and became the first trainee manager to be appointed to an overseas position in Paris. After a period as a buyer, he moved to Mars Confectionery where he worked as a National Sales Manager in the UK. What followed was years in the drinks industry working predominantly in premium branded spirits – he joined th ..read more

Welcome back to Series 10 of The English wine Diaries. Joining me on the first episode of this series are Katie and Umut Yesil from Riverview Crouch Valley Vineyard in Essex.   Prior to planting their vineyard in the now famed Crouch Valley, the couple ran a food and drink PR business in London, but following a conversation around the kitchen table with Katie’s father Billy – a third generation arable farmer – they decided to focus their attention on English wine.   In 2017 they set about converting 11 acres of land on the family farm into a vineyard, planting the tradition ..read more

My guest on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Sarah Massey, the esteemed head winemaker at Lyme Bay Winery in Axeminster, in Devon.  Sarah’s interest in winemaking was sparked at an early age and, after completing her Wine Business degree at Plumpton College, she embarked on a remarkable career, working harvests around the world before arriving at Lyme Bay Winery in 2019.  Sarah's leadership, expertise and innovative approach have been instrumental in shaping Lyme Bay’s reputation as a beacon of excellence within the English wine industry.  Having initially started ..read more

This week on The English Wine Diaries, I am joined by one of the most enthusiastic couples I have ever met when it comes to English Wine. America and Nick Brewer bought Oastbrook, their picturesque vineyard near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, in 2013. Formerly a Guinness hop farm, the estate has now been transformed by the pair into a stunning venue, not only to visit but also to stay, with a quirky Hobbit House, glamping experience and their newest venture a waterside lodge.  America, who is originally from Brazil, takes care of most of the vineyard work herself with Lora the vineyard do ..read more

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 wild ..read more

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 th ..read more