Establishing a Vineyard with Chris Buckley of VineWorks Part 1
This show was published Friday, October 31, 2025
- Establishing a Vineyard with Chris Buckley of VineWorks Part 1
Overview
Chris Buckley, Business Director at VineWorks, joins us to talk about one of their key services: vineyard establishment, taking a bare piece of land and turning it into a working vineyard.
In this first of three episodes, Chris explains the first steps in setting up a vineyard, starting with site selection.
The first task is finding the right piece of land. In the UK, that means looking for a south, south-east or south-west facing slope to capture maximum sunlight. (In the southern hemisphere it’s the opposite, north-facing.) A gentle slope helps with drainage, frost protection and sun exposure, but too steep a site makes it hard to manage and use machinery effectively.
Good access is essential for bringing in equipment and people, and for getting fruit out at harvest. You’ll also want a sheltered site to protect against extreme weather.
Before planting, match the right rootstocks to your soils by testing for pH levels and checking both macro and micro nutrients.
If you’re searching for land, specialist agents such as Knight Frank, Savills and Strutt & Parker can help find suitable plots.
Finally, it’s important to have a clear plan for what you’ll do with the fruit, whether selling grapes, making wine yourself or supplying a contract winemaker. We’ll explore these commercial aspects in the next episode.
Subscribe
Using XML subscription or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you normally listen to podcasts.
Sponsorship
The UK Wine Show is sponsored by ThirtyFifty. Our team of wine tasters are busy entertaining and educating UK consumers to help them get the most out of wine.
Support us on Patreon
If you are a regular listener, do consider supporting the UK Wine Show on Patreon. You can pledge a monthly payment, equivalent to a cup of coffee or very small glass of wine!
Music
The music used for the UK Wine Show is Griffes de Jingle 1 by Marcel de la Jartèle and Silence by Etoile Noire.
