Rutland Vineyard: Growing grapes on Jurassic soil

Rutland Vineyard sits between two rivers – the Welland and the Chater – on Jurassic limestone soil, complete with beautiful fossils.

While the vineyard itself is fairly young, having been planted in 2021, owners Tim and Zoe Beaver have agriculture in their blood. Tim is a third-generation farmer, managing around 570ha of arable crops.

In fact, it was due to farming being such a lonely life that spurred Tim on to take on a new, more sociable challenge – one which would offer far more opportunity to interact with other people. 

“The land had been used for growing malting barley, sugar beet and wheat for a few hundred years. However, a huge Roman villa and mosaic was discovered just a few metres away from the vineyard site, and inside the villa was several containers that would have been used to store wine – so all the signs were there telling me to go ahead with the vineyard,” explains Tim.

With the help of specialists from Germany, using GPS to ensure each vine is precisely 1m apart in 2.2m rows, Tim and Zoe planted 13,000 vines in 2021, with more following in 2023 and 2025 – and are now up to 20,000 vines in total.

Tim has no plans to increase this number any further, commenting: “My wife will leave me if I plant any more!” 

Varieties

The varieties include Bacchus, Ortega, Meunière, Pinot Noir (for sparkling), Pinot Noir Précoce, Cabaret Noir, and Pinot Gris. 

While the Beavers had no viticultural knowledge prior to planting, Tim comments: “The viticulture industry is incredibly helpful. We got lots of support when attending a Plumpton course back in 2020, and visited local vineyards which really helped.” 

The soil at Rutland Vineyard is 160,000,000 years old, and comprises around 30cm of topsoil above a band of Jurassic limestone – the same soil as parts of Burgundy, Jura, and the Napa wine valley, among others.

As a result, land drainage is exceptional, and the geology encourages the vines to root deeply, making them more resilient to pressures such as drought.

The terroir is ideal – a south-facing, gentle slope, 70m above sea level allows cold air to run down the vineyard which, added to the microclimate provided by the local rivers, helps to protect the vines from frost. “An added benefit is the amazing view,” points out Tim. 

Local help for harvest

Despite the vines still establishing, the vineyard has already seen two harvests, with the second being double the yield of the first. However, Tim explains they are still holding the vines back in order to establish the trunk. 

“Our first harvest was 2023 and we thought it was all easy! But in contrast, 2024 was tricky thanks to the weather. However, the grapes did finish off nicely and they produced wines we are proud of.”

Local volunteers are called upon to help with the harvest – 2024 saw over 100 people on both picking days, with hospitality offered as a thanks for their hard work. “For me, harvest is one of the highlights of the year, especially as the volunteers stay around afterwards to enjoy the hospitality while chatting to friends old and new,” says Tim. 

Disease and pests

To keep on top of the usual disease and nutrition problems faced by winegrowers, Tim is working closely with Omex and using its Bio 20 product and SAP testing to keep the indices at decent levels – which he says seems to be helping to keep the vines disease-free.  

He also works with agronomist, Penny Meadmore. “She comes to help spot anything we can’t,” explains Tim. “I’m BASIS Diploma qualified from the arable side, but I’ve got a lot to learn in vines.” 

Since 2021, Tim has been experimenting with using cover crops to support the vine health – something which he couldn’t really do at scale on the arable side.

“We’ve planted a 10-way cover mix of clover and red fescue grasses and the idea is the red clover and the white clover in the ground will help increase the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil, which will increase the fungal bacterial balance.

“The aim is that they’ll attach themselves to the vine roots and they’ll hopefully have a symbiotic relationship. They can scavenge for phosphorus and nitrogen in the ground easier which means I haven’t got to put any fertilisers on.”

Since laying down the cover mix in 2021, Tim says he is finding the soil to be a lot more friable, with higher earthworm counts in the soil – which can only be a good thing for the vines. 

The white variety vines are on single guyot trellising, with opposing directions in alternate years, while the reds are on cordon. 

For Tim and Zoe, it’s all very much a learning curve – they ensure they spend plenty of time in the dormant vines over winter, looking at the last year’s growth and also seeing where mistakes have been made which can be improved upon.

Tim comments: “There are four of us working as team. We have as many meeting in the vines when naked (the vines, not us) as we can, which helps with the decision-making process.” 

Impressive first wines

Tim explains: “We wanted the tasting barn to offer as much as possible and, although aiming to produce a quality red as high up as we are was risky, it seems to be working.” The tastings are conducted by local Master of Wine, John Atkinson, who has has decades of experience working with wine all around the world.

Rutland Vineyard’s wine is made by contract winery Defined Wines, with winemaker Nora Leitz overseeing the process. The sparkling wine is made using the Traditional method, although Tim says he would like to try out Charmat one day.

September 2023 saw the three hottest days of the year, which Tim says was perfect timing. It forced all the sugars into the berries early on, and that meant we had high sugars and a good early harvest.

“We sent the grapes down to Defined Wine, with a little direction from us on the flavour profile we wanted, and were then really nervous about the first wines coming back.

“At the end of the day it would set the business direction for the next 20 years; we were incredibly relieved to find that it was very drinkable. 

“We produced about 6,000 bottles in our first year and we sold out in the first six months, which was brilliant. For us, word of mouth is the best advertising. We are relatively new to this, so we are still learning how to deal with hospitality.

“After 25 years of shouting ‘Get off my land’, I’m now having to apologise for yelling at them, and asking them to come back. Facebook and Instagram are brilliant in spreading the word and I update the website weekly,” says Tim. 

Additional diversifications

As well as offering vineyard tours and tastings, Tim and Zoe allow use of the vineyard as a wedding reception venue. Visitors can also sponsor a row of vines, and charity events are held across the year.

Keen to share the amazing view, Tim and Zoe have created a 1km nature trail around the vineyard which includes beehives. “The vines are self-pollinating so we don’t need them for the viticulture side, but the honeybees are fascinating to watch. We sell the honey from the tasting barn, and it also helps us to talk about the sustainable side of farming,” points out Tim.  

“We have a dog walking area opening next year, and would love some shepherd huts one day – if it’s meant to happen, it will,” he concludes. 

Find out more about the company.

Grower Profile

Location: Rutland, Lincolnshire

Total vineyard size: 4.5ha of a 570ha farm

Soil type: Jurassic limestone

Aspect: South-facing, gentle slope, 70m above sea level with a local microclimate

Varieties grown: Bacchus, Ortega, Pinot Meunière, Pinot Noir (for sparkling), Pinot Noir Précoce, Cabaret Noir, and Pinot Gris

Read more grower profiles.