More about us... 

Firstly Thank you …. What a fantastic reaction we have had to the C4 TV programme Yorkshire by the Sea, thank you so much to everyone involved and to everyone who have sent lovely messages since it aired your generosity and kind words are greatly appreciated.

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It’s wonderful to see the Vineyard in full bloom as it were (bearing grapes) 4 weeks before harvest, it’s this time of year when you get an indication of how well the growing season has gone..the white grape variety Solaris, flowered early and have unfortunately succumbed to the horrendous wet weather for most of the first 6 months of the year. The flowers were knocked off the vines by the power of the spring rain and winds and will not develop any further this season which is a shame but unfortunately one of the hazards of growing grapes in the UK.

 

On the flip side the red Rondo grapes have done incredible again this year and are growing by the day this wonderful summer sunshine has brought them on leaps and bounds and we are looking forward to a bumper harvest. This is why we stagger the planting of varieties to ensure that any bad weather doesn’t affect both crops and its certainly paid off this year.

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For those of you that don’t know us we are Rebecca & Ian Sheveling we have two beautiful children and 3 dogs, we own Holmfirth Vineyard and Robin Hood’s Bay Vineyard both in stunning Yorkshire.

 

Holmfirth Vineyard has been established since 2008 and is where we have 40 employees, we have a full winery, restaurant and licenced wedding venue we have 7 self-catering apartments that range from 1-3 bedrooms and we are open to the public 364 days of the year. 

In contrast Bay vineyard as its affectionally known is just Ian and I and some trusty pickers during the picking season in September, it’s so peaceful and calm overlooking the sea it’s just wonderful.

 

We planted Bay vineyard in 2017 with 20,000 vines 14,000 Solaris variety (which is a white Grape) and 6,000 Rondo variety (which is a red grape) Solaris is a very versatile grape and can make a variety of white wines from a sparkling wine, dry white, sweet white and is incredible when blended.

Rondo is the work horse of vines and is hardy and resistant to downy mildew and almost always produces a good crop. We use the dark skinned Rondo to make a dry or medium dry rosé that’s rich in gentle fruity strawberry and dark currant notes with delicate hints of vanilla and dark cherries. Due to its nature we are looking at producing a tank and oak aged red wine if the sun gods allow!

 

We bought the Farm at auction with the intention of it being where we would grow grape’s and make wine for Holmfirth Vineyard but we soon fell in love with Robin Hood’s Bay and the enrichment the coastal life brought, the amazing people we met from the local landlord and land lady to the local characters we say hello to on our dog walks most days.. Bay soon became a unique place to not only work in but to live.

 

We have an onsite winery at Bay which houses the press and lots of large steel tanks, we used the winery in earnest last September when our 1st large harvest came from the Rondo and Solaris grapes, all that wine has now been made and is in bottle.

 

Bay Vineyard has produced a 2023 Dry Medium Rosé, a 2023 Dry Rosé and a 2023 Dry White wine all with unique flavours specific to the vine and soil characterises. These interestingly are completely different flavours from the wine made in Holmfirth with the same Grape varieties.

For the 1st time ever we have made a sparkling rosé from the Rondo Grapes in Bay this is largely due to the cooler coastal nights giving us a refreshing acidity and is the 1st sparkling rosé we have ever made, this sparkling is currently doing its 2nd fermentation in bottle and will be ready December 2025.. you can’t rush wine making..

 

To allow us to sell any of our Bay wine from Bay vineyard we will need a premises licence which we will apply for soon until then we can sell the wine on specific days under a temporary licence.

 

Along with some wine tasting days  and tours of the winery we are hoping to promote English wine and its unique and incredible industry rich in amazing and versatile wine.. come and see us to learn all about English wine and how its made in Yorkshire if you can….