Episode 81: Mark Darley, All Angels

Send us Fan MailJoining me on the last episode of season 11 of The English Wine Diaries is Mark Darley, founder and owner of All Angels Vineyard in Newbury, Berkshire. Mark and his family became custodians of Church Farm in 2009 and, while it was still earlyish days for English wine back then, talks around the dinner table soon turned to planting a vineyard. When the farmland was analysed as ideal for growing grapes for outstanding English Sparkling Wine, and the first vineyard planted in 2011, Mark decided to swap his daily commute to the city, where he had been a corporate lawyer for 35 years, for a life in viticulture. Mark's love of wine goes back to when he started collecting at the age of 25 and his personal cellar now runs to many thousands of bottles. The opportunity to make his own wine seemed particularly fitting as a plan for retirement – although he uses that term loosely as running All Angels (along with his three labs, Skeena, Copper & Kasi) is indeed a pretty full-time job. Over the past decade, All Angels has totted up a number of industry awards and the vineyard, which is named after the parish church nearby, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its first vintage with the release of a rather special classic cuvee. We talk about the historic significance of All Angels, the high-tech methods they use to handle frost in the vineyard, and a wine in the making that Mark may not see come to fruition within his lifetime. To find out more about All Angels wines and how to visit, follow them on Instagram @allangelsvineyard or visit allangels.com.With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at englishwinediaries.com.