ABOUT US
Kenton Vineyard is the result of our passion to grow vines and make quality wine in the English countryside. We left behind our careers in law and medicine and the high-pressure lifestyle of London, and moved to the South West in 1998 with our young family, ready for the challenge of setting up a vineyard.
Matthew's passion for growing vines was cultivated when he planted some rows in our old orchard garden in 1999. After extensive research into the realities of growing vines in England, he swapped the intricacies of intellectual property law for a tractor suit and enrolled in the wine studies course at Plumpton College, East Sussex. Here he learned viticulture and winemaking hands on in the College's vineyards and winery. This training gave us the best possibility of starting a quality vineyard and winery.
Our dream was to live in a house next to a vineyard and after looking for nearly 2 years, a chance arrived magically near the Exe estuary, in the form of a very dilapidated farmhouse outside Kenton. The land was ideal for vines; low, on free draining soil with a south facing aspect. The house and property represented a huge renovation project, but fired by our vision we launched in and planted the vineyard, and then there really was no turning back.
Today, with over 8000 vines, we are producing thousands of bottles of wine annually. We are delighted to invite visitors to enjoy our wines and vineyard, and to participate in the events and activites that we have here, including wine tastings, food and wine matching events and grape picking at our harvest.