Another good year for West Midlands vineyard which has grown into one of the largest in the country

A dream to create a vineyard that would match continental sites has seen Halfpenny Green Wine Estate near Stourbridge go from humble beginnings to one of the country’s most significant wine producers.

Owner and founder Clive Vickers planted the first vines on a tiny half-acre plot with his late dad Martin, a farmer, back in 1983 and the vineyard has since grown into a multi-million pound operation and a popular visitor attraction.

After another long, hot summer that produced a bumper crop of grapes - the estate has had a good year - possibly one of the best in its 43-year history.

This year’s harvest, which saw pickers out among the vines from late August to the first week in October, produced around 90 tonnes of grapes which are expected to yield around 80,000 bottles of wine which will hit the shelves next year.

The site’s state-of-the-art winery, which can process nearly 1,000 tonnes of grapes a year, also bottles and produces wine for more than 80 other vineyards across England and Wales.

The business, which also offers consultancy to other vineyards, invested in cutting-edge pressing machinery from Italy after a gloomy and rainy 2024 and this has significantly boosted its production capacity - making the operation one of the biggest in the UK, capable of bottling 500,000 bottles a year.

In addition to the vineyard, the estate - which is run by Clive and his wife Lisa and an 80-strong team of staff - also includes a popular restaurant plus a well-stocked wine, deli and farm shop.

The 30-acre site, which is nestled in the South Staffordshire countryside in Bobbington, also hosts three fishing lakes, plus 16 independent businesses and the popular Wild Zoological Park - a small, family-run zoo.

Managing the venture, which has become a major tourism hub in the area, is a labour of love for Clive and Lisa who hope their two daughters Imogen and Emily will eventually join them in the running of the business and take the helm one day.

Both are currently busy honing their skills - with Imogen, aged 23, having taken a role with BerryWorld’s production team after graduating in Agri Food Marketing Business, and Emily, aged 21, is currently on a gap year while studying Agri Business Management at Harper Adams University.

Both have grown up immersed in the vineyard and have long-term ambitions to follow in their family’s footsteps.

Clive said: “They both want to be here. Hopefully they’ll be coming back in the next five years.”

Charming but challenging

Running such a venture in a charming English countryside setting may sound romantic, he said, but it’s not without its challenges.

There have been plenty of reasons to toast its success this year with the bumper harvest and lots of awards won but like many independent and hospitality businesses - the estate, which is open 362 days a year, faces an uphill battle against rising costs and tax increases including the employer National Insurance hike.

Clive said: “All this seems to be going against us and visitors have less disposable income. I’ve never seen it this bad.”

Despite the pressures the Vickers won’t compromise on quality - their very business depends on it.

“Maintaining the highest standards is very difficult but hopefully people appreciate what we’re doing,” Clive said.

Lisa added: “We work seven days a week. It’s just what we do and I wouldn’t change that. I can be in the vines one day and in the shop the next. It keeps me out of mischief.”

One of Lisa’s big projects this year was working with an interior design agency to revamp the restaurant.

She worked with leading London based interior design agency PARKBENCH on the extensive makeover which has given the busy eatery a more contemporary feel.

Fitted out with oak tables overlooking the vines outside, it features a striking wine bottle installation and a welcoming space, named Martin’s Snug, a tribute to the estate’s founder Martin Vickers who died in September 2024, aged 82.

The estate also created a limited edition wine in honour of Martin, a pioneer of English winemaking, whose passion and vision to create ‘a vineyard on a par with continental sites’ has shaped its evolution into the gem it is today.

So what’s next for the estate?

The gift shop is jam-packed with seasonal treats ahead of what’s expected to be a bustling autumn and run-up to Christmas period, with Lisa and her team busily hand-wrapping all of the festive hampers in preparation.

The grapes picked during this year’s harvest have all been crushed, with the liquid placed in vats to start the fermentation process. In around six months time the wine will then be bottled ready to hit the shelves in the spring, offering vino fans a chance to find out what a good year tastes like.

Who knows what next year will bring, Clive remarked among the vines where pickers continued to soak up the sun as they picked their last few grapes on October 6 - the penultimate day of harvest.

“What is a typical English summer these days? We don’t know what’s normal anymore,” he said.

The summers and harvest seasons have certainly gotten longer these past two years - something the deep rooted vines at Halfpenny Green have appreciated.

Whether it will be a third consecutive scorcher - and therefore a great year for UK wine - remains to be seen.

The estate, which is open to the public 362 days a year, currently produces 15 different wines including still and sparkling rosé, which have become increasingly popular, and these are available to buy in the shop as well as at farm shops and delis across the region.

The vineyard has won a host of regional, national and international awards over the years including 13 at the recent Wine GB Midlands and North 2026 Awards, where it was named Winemaker of the Year.

During the summer months it offers tours taking visitors through the vines which sit 250ft above sea level on well-sheltered south facing slopes.

Halfpenny Green is not the only vineyard in the West Midlands.

Others include: Pattingham Vineyard, near Wolverhampton, which has been going since 2018; Astley Vineyard, located in the Severn Valley near Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, which is one of the oldest vineyards in the UK; Hencote Vineyard, overlooking Shrewsbury and the Shropshire Hills, which is also a wedding venue; and Grove Estate Vineyard, in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, which enjoyed its first harvest in 2013 - after enlisting help from the team at Halfpenny Green. All offer tours and tasting experiences.

By Beverly Rademacher