WAITROSE has become the first retailer to plant its own vineyard, with a special ceremony at its Leckford Farm Estate in Hampshire.

Estate chairman Sir Don Curry and Waitrose managing director Mark Price took part in an official vine-planting to mark the historic move.

As the first retailer to establish its own English vines, Waitrose is making the most of the changing climate and favourable wine-making conditions in Hampshire. But customers will need to be patient, as Waitrose Leckford sparkling wine will not be available until 2014.

The trend towards English wine has rocketed in the past three years and has gained an excellent reputation, both at home and internationally.

There is simply not enough English wine to meet customer demand – sales growth is outstripping supply, as vine planting is a relatively recent phenomenon in Britain.

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.

Ken Mackay, English wine buyer for Waitrose, said: “Our customers are really enthusiastic about English wines and we have seen some fantastic quality from Nyetimber, Ridgeview, Chapel Down, Camel Valley and Denbies.

“We are all incredibly motivated about the planting and growing of our first vineyard. In addition to the estate sparkling wine, the vineyard also provides an opportunity to engage our wine specialists with the production cycle of the vineyard.”

PHOTO:The Waitrose vine-planting at the Leckford Farm Estate. Estate chairman Sir Don Curry, left, with estate general manager Iain Dalton, Waitrose wine-buying manager Justin Howard-Sneyd, and Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose.