Co-op plants its own vineyard

The Co-op is extending its Grown by Us food and drink range to include wine. 

This will be the first time that the supermarket has produced its own wine, which will be made from grapes grown on its new vineyard in Gloucestershire.

Composed mostly of the variety Ortega, the English white wine will come from the six-acre vineyard which is being planted in Down Ampney near Cirencester. However, the vineyard will be unable to furnish the supermarket with wine until 2014 at the earliest.

Speaking of the vineyard planting and subsequent wine, Christine Tacon, the Co-operative Farms’ managing director, said: “It’s a bit of an experiment but it’s one to which we are really looking forward. The conditions at Down Ampney make it a good location to plant a vineyard, and it should make a great addition to our Grown by Us range.
 
“The Co-operative has a well-deserved excellent reputation for its wine, and, while it will take a lot of patience and an amount of luck, the prospect of adding an English white wine, made from grapes grown on one of our own farms, is very exciting,” she added.

The Grown by Us range incorporates food and drink either grown by the Co-operative or products made using its own produce.

Jane Parkinson, 06.05.2010