Changemakers: The Vignerons of Ryedale Vineyards

Over the summer and ahead of the busy grape harvest season, I talked to Jack and Kit Fletcher who are two brothers who make up a family team of vignerons along with Jon and Michelle, their Mum and Dad. They manage over 13 acres of vines over two sites at Ryedale Vineyards, one of England's emerging northern vineyards.

This dynamic duo do all they can through rain and shine to deliver innovative products and create fresh approaches to winemaking. But of course being a "person of the vines" is a career move which starts with a clear commitment and purpose and this emerging vineyard brand has packed a significant punch in its wider ambitions to increase production and develop a reputation as a much loved destination. Welcoming over 3,000 visitors a year, the family are busy through all seasons balancing the demands of 150,000 vines of 18 different varieties. Artificial Intelligence has not yet provided Jack and Kit with any alleviation of their work loads.

When I was thinking about purpose driven work, I couldn't think of something more apt than growing and nurturing vines and making wine. It's an ancient art and skills set which goes back to Roman times and right now English wine is an industry segment on the up and one with plenty of challenges and opportunities to seize.

Growth is good this year at the Vineyards both in another record harvest year and in business sales. The team recently successfully secured investment from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund through the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority which will allow the vineyard to install and invest in larger bottling tanks for wine produced on site and improved storage facilities all with the aim of increasing the capacity and volume of wine making. 

“This increased capacity comes in time for a record harvest this year and allows us to focus on different sales opportunities such as shops and bars, something we had not been able to supply very widely in the past.  – Kit Fletcher

Like many small producers there remain significant challenges ahead for English wine producers with the recent introduction of new duty increases.  Balance this with rising costs of operation, complications of importing vines and exporting products post-Brexit as well as modelling seasonality at the behest of changing weather patterns; scaling operations can be challenging. This vineyard is building their current growth on the back of over a decade of product diversification and the ability to attract the next generation of talent to run the business.

Tell us about how you started out in this business?

We became involved in the business which was set up under the previous owners around 2010 when our family ran a landscape gardening company. The vineyard requires a lot of pruning over the winter months, and the previous owner needed support to prune the vines.

Over the years, Jack became increasingly involved in the wine-making process resulting in the family taking over Ryedale Vineyards in 2016. By this point, the vines were 10 years old so already producing great flavours and we were fortunate to have a head-start having learnt a lot of the wine-making process ourselves over the years.

What’s the future look like and tell us about these new products you have been working on.

We are looking to diversify our range with a few new products. With a larger harvest comes the opportunity to experiment which different flavours and wine profiles. We have a Piquette from last year’s harvest, a low alcohol and slightly sparkling wine to better serve growing low/no alcohol market. We also have a new cider co-fermented with Pinot Noir as well as mead and potentially an orange wine to try this year.

How do you see the growth in the English winemaking industry?

The winemaking industry in the UK has grown enormously over the last few years, as has the tourism industry to accompany it. Consumers are beginning to look for quality over quantity and prioritising high-quality, hand-made products that they can’t find in the supermarkets. In Britain we have an over-demand and under-supply problem for English wine as opposed to the over-supply issues in Continental Europe. As the climate crisis creates more unpredictable weather patterns, traditional wine making regions are beginning to suffer more with heatwaves, late frosts and extreme weather.

Whilst the Yorkshire wine industry is not as developed as those in Kent and Sussex, there is a more collaborative approach to the northern vineyards and are actively working together to boost the profile of northern, cool climate vineyards in the UK.

How do you explain your growth as a business in recent years.    

We are fortunate to be supported by Visit Britain who have developed training specifically for vineyards in the UK on how to offer experiences for tourists actively seeking wine tasting. They have identified the growth in wine tourism as a key area, especially in Yorkshire which has good international links via the Hull – Rotterdam ferries to key wine markets in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. 

Our expansion has coincided with this shift in public perception of English wine both domestically and internationally. When speaking to our customers, they are no longer surprised that wine is being made in Yorkshire, instead they are interested to try different regions of English wine. We’ve improved the quality of our bottling and investing in better quality corks that allow our customers to keep the wine in storage for longer.

You’ve both self-taught and Kit has recently returned from a stint working in New Zealand in the commercial wineries in Marlbrough.  Is there a great need to invest in the skills needed to grow this sector, how does this look in the UK compared to abroad?

Much of the winemaking and vine management training are focussed on the South of England and we believe there is room for training and support to be offered in the North of England where area under vine is growing fast. This extends to vineyard shows and trade bodies which all focus their efforts on the South of England and rarely consider the larger industry up here in Yorkshire.

How do Jack and Kit explain their purpose in what they do?  What’s their vision for the future?

Our vision for the future is to operate the vineyard by growing the capacity and diversifying with vineyard planting, servicing, training and equipment supply to northern vineyards. Our experience in this region makes us well-placed to advise other new vineyards and support the next generation of winemakers.

With continued growth in the wine and drink industry (estimated at £76 billion annually to the economy) there's a real opportunity for brands looking to maximise the changing ability to grow vines in the UK and shifts in consumer focus on high quality products. This is welcomed and fits within the government's wider industrial strategy to grow more sustainable industry practice but also develop sustained grown in advanced manufacturing. As Jack and Kit identify, the skills needed to sustain growth are critical with routes to training and re-skilling needing more clarity in areas such as vine growing.

Ryedale Vineyards is a business with a long term commitment to its place and landscape and is a great example of diversifying farming practices on agricultural land traditionally set aside for crops and as it has grown the brand over the past ten years, the business has pivoted products to cater for its role as an important visitor destination for tourists across the world who are visiting York and North Yorkshire.

Without doubt the vineyard is one of the most magical places to spend some time and enjoy an afternoon with products including home baked goods by Michelle Fletcher (their Mum) who is also a former baker for Betty’s Tea Room. And I confess my bias as this place is local to my home and I have long been inspired by the story of this vineyard business and its peaceful place in a beautiful rural setting.

Ryedale Vineyards also work with teams of committed volunteers who come in to help with harvest and jobs around the vineyards through the year. Please follow them on Instagram to find out more about future opportunities. This year's harvest is nearly complete and the vineyard team are greatly thankful (Jack in particular) for the extra pairs of knowledgeable hands during harvest season.

If you are looking for a fantastic day out, some high quality Yorkshire grown produce or want to sign up for one of the many tours for Ryedale Vineyards offered through the year, please check out the website directly for information on tours and visiting hours.

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