Vines of Cheshire: a vineyard dream takes root near Chester

Cheshire is better known for cheese than for wine, but on a south-west facing slope near the village of Backford, just three miles from Chester city centre, Simon and Mandy Pryce are quietly changing that. Their boutique vineyard, Vines of Cheshire, is the realisation of a long-held dream, and it is now welcoming visitors.

The couple's love of wine was shaped by travel. They visited vineyards around the world, including Australia's Barossa and Hunter valleys, before discovering how good British wine could be on trips to vineyards in England and Wales. That realisation set them on the path to planting a vineyard of their own in Cheshire.

The result is a family-run vineyard of around four acres, home to approximately 6,000 vines planted on glacial soils on a steep south-west facing slope. The grape varieties have been chosen to suit the northern climate: Seyval Blanc, Solaris, Cabernet Noir and Cabernet Cortis.

From those vines come still and sparkling white wines, and the early signs are promising. The vineyard's 2025 rosé was recognised at the WineGB Awards, regarded as the country's most prestigious specialist competition for English and Welsh wines, a notable achievement for such a young estate and an encouraging sign of what Cheshire's soils and slopes can produce in the right hands.

Visits are by appointment only, which keeps the experience personal. Tours include a gentle walk through the vines followed by a tasting, either in the vineyard's tipi or out in the open air when the weather allows, giving guests a chance to sample the wines where they are grown.

The vineyard is attracting interest from local groups as well as wine lovers, and it adds a welcome new stop to Cheshire's growing food and drink trail. It also joins a small but growing band of northern winemakers proving that English wine is no longer the preserve of the south. For a couple who once travelled the world in search of great wine, there is a pleasing symmetry in now making it on their own doorstep.

With harvest season under way, there could hardly be a better moment to raise a glass to a home-grown Cheshire wine.

Vines of Cheshire is off Liverpool Lane, Backford, near Chester. Book a visit at vinesofcheshire.co.uk.