I meet Mike Wagstaff one balmy summer’s evening and, chatting as we stroll along rows of grapevines, it’s clear the former oil company chief executive is in a good place. That place is 40-acre Greyfriars Vineyard, which lies sleepily on the gently sloping southern face of The Hog’s Back near Guildford. Mike and wife Hilary bought the vineyard in 2010 and the purpose of my visit is a celebration to mark the release of two new vintages.
It would be easy to assume that owning a vineyard is a bit of a hobby for the Wagstaffs. Both accomplished Oxford graduates, the first 26 years of Mike’s career was spent in the City and in oil and gas. He was instrumental in building from scratch Venture Production, the largest UK independent oil and gas production operation in the North Sea, with a market value of £1.5bn. On the sale of the company in 2009, Mike found himself with what he describes as “Time and flexibility to think about ‘What next?’”
He and Hilary, herself a scientist, solicitor and teacher, had long harboured a secret dream – to own a vineyard. So, four years ago, they acquired Greyfriars, then being run on what Mike says was a “hobby scale”. The couple, who have two children, planted over 30 acres of new vines, predominantly the three classical Champagne grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier). They plan to be producing 100,000 bottles a year by the end of the decade.
Talking to Mike, it’s soon clear that Greyfriars may be a dream come true, but it’s also a serious business, and a well thought-out one at that.
“I spent an awful long time studying and thinking about it to make sure you can make money,” he explains. He comes across as a considered man, able to bring to bear his wealth of professional experience while relishing the joy of living the dream. Driving his little tractor down the rows of vines must be vastly different from commuting to Aberdeen and dealing with the enormous strain of running an oil company. It’s easy to see why he made the switch from FTSE to viniculture.
Location is important when it comes to successful grape production. Greyfriars is situated in the Surrey North Downs which have similar geological and soil conditions to the Champagne region of France. A clay and loam topsoil lies above several hundred feet of free-draining Cretaceous chalk deposited millions of year ago.
Like the earth the grapes are grown in, wine-making can’t be hurried.
“It’s not like making beer, where you can brew a batch every week,” explains Mike. “The two new vintages [2011 Blanc de Blancs and 2012 Rosé reserve] are a result of nearly four years’ work and we are still only just starting.”
Helping Mike and Hilary achieve their dream are two highly trusted advisors: vineyard manager David Line – who studied viticulture at renowned Plumpton College in Sussex - and German-born wine consultant Hans Schleifer who, I am assured by Mike, knows more about wine making in England than anyone else and is, quite simply, “... worth his weight in gold.”
In the early days, the team relied on an army of family and friends who happily rallied round to assist with the grape-picking, but now they need professional help - a sign that production is increasing as planned. Fifty tonnes of grapes were harvested in 2013, producing 40,000 bottles of wine, compared with a three tonne harvest the year before. Mike tells me that things are on track to produce 50 to 65,000 bottles this year.
The sparkling wines are sensibly priced at just £20 a bottle and the vineyard is talking to businesses eager to work with them. They have begun supplying carefully selected restaurants, hotels and shops and Hilary says they are keen to build long-term relationships.
Greyfriars 2011 Rosé has already achieved recognition in the rarefied world of international wine awards, scooping a Decanter World Wine bronze award, an International World and Spirit Competition (IWSC) bronze and a silver in the 2014 Sommelier Awards.
Just the start, we are sure, of a sparkling future for Greyfriars.
Read more about Greyfriars Vineyard at Hog’s Back near Guildford
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