An award-winning Kent vineyard has been sold to Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft for £7 million, as English growers hail a “perfect” season for producing sparkling wines.=
Retired orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Weeber spent 10 years transforming a “turnip patch” near Ashford into the 250-acre Gusbourne Estate, planting it with the traditional champagne grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
It is being acquired by Lord Ashcroft’s winery investment vehicle, Shellproof plc, which already owns 54 acres in West Sussex and plans to plant 100 acres more at Gusbourne.
Mr Weeber, who will chair the company, said climate change had helped turn the South East into one of the world’s top sparkling wine-producing regions, capable of challenging the Champagne region of France.
“We are definitely seeing climate change with very significant changes in temperature. Over the last 20 years temperatures in Champagne have increased by 1C. That moves the region’s climate envelope further away from the Equator and the climate that existed in Champagne 20 years ago now exists in southern England. This summer has been as close to perfect as you could hope for. We had 25 consecutive days of sunshine followed by two days of rain, then 20 days of sunshine and showers again.”
