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West Midlands wine pioneer dies
Martin Vickers, who founded Halfpenny Green Wine Estate near Stourbridge, Staffordshire more than 30 years ago, died last week at the age of 82.
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A tribute posted to the Halfpenny Green Instagram account broke the news: “We’re extremely saddened to inform everyone that our founder Martin Vickers died suddenly and unexpectedly on Friday night.”
“As a family and a team we are devastated, our beautiful Wine Estate will never be the same,” it continued. “We will however continue to work at keeping this place special for everyone, in honour of him and the fantastic things he achieved.”
Vickers was something of a trailblazer in the English wine sector, planting the first half acre (0.2 hectares) of vines at the estate in 1983 – within a decade, that had increased forty-fold, and today it stands at around 30 acres (12ha), with a further 70 acres (28ha) of vineyards under grower contract.
Today, Halfpenny Green produces a range of sparkling and still wines, including the Red Sparkling made from Rondo and Pinot Noir, Black Country Gold (which includes Seyval Blanc, Madeline Angevine and Reichensteiner in the blend), and a late harvest dessert wine made from Huxelrebe and Bacchus.
In the last year the winery saw several newsworthy developments, including its inaugural wine shipment to the US in November 2023, and the listing of its Halfpenny Green Penny Red at Jeremy Clarkson’s new pub.
Vickers’ son, Clive, owner and head winemaker, said that his father’s death would “leave a hole in all our hearts, the like of which we will never be able to fill”: “We are going to miss him dearly, and I know that our customers and colleagues will do too. But we remain as committed and passionate about the future as ever. This is what dad would have wanted, and the legacy he has left is a more fitting tribute than any words I could currently muster.”
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