The first vines were planted in 1973, just a small area of 1/2 an acre to see how the vines would grow and as you can see it was a success as we now have 75 acres!
In 1973, we planted our first vines when local wine retailer Alan McKechnie started harvesting the vines on his small fruit farm. With a little help from the 1976 record summer temperatures and bumper harvest, his small fruit farm begun to expand. After nurturing it for 11 years, Alan sold up in 1984 due to poor health and the new owner was found.
Under the ownership of John Oldacre the vineyards flourished and the name was changed from Fairfield Fruit Farms to Three Choirs Vineyards due largely to John’s connections to the Three Choirs Festival, England’s oldest choral festival.
John Oldacre died in 2001 and the company largely remains in the hands of his family. In 1990, we opened a new state of the art winery, along with a visitor centre for the increasing number of visitors.
The Craft Drink Co.
7 Willow Court, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham GL54 2HQ
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