A community vineyard project, run with the assistance of volunteers which has operated at Forty Hall for the last five years has this month been awarded funding and business advice from the Urban Food Routes initiative.

Forty Hall Vineyard is the first commercial scale vineyard established in London since the middle ages.  

The ten acre vineyard is big enough to operate as a small professional vineyard and it runs as a social enterprise providing volunteering opportunities for local people and any income generated support activities and initiatives which benefit the local community. The vineyard is still maturing, but will soon be producing and selling quality English still and sparkling wines. This spring the first wine from Forty Hall grown grapes has been produced in small quantities Forty Hall Vineyard Ortega was well received and plans are in place to develop the brand and produce more wine from locally grown grapes.

Among those who have benefited from volunteering at the community vineyard there are many people from highly deprived and marginalised communities, adults and young people with learning disabilities, women’s groups, youth charities and others who would not otherwise get the chance to do anything like this.

...When drinking Enfield grown wine - it's wise to do so in in moderation and remember the words of Enfield poet and famous wine lover Charles Lamb - who wrote this about the "Morning After":

A weight of wine lies heavy on my head, 

The unconcocted follies of last night. 

Now all those jovial fancies, and bright hopes, 

Children of wine, go off like dreams. 

This sick vertigo here 

Preacheth of temperance, no sermon better.

More information about the Forty Hall Vineyard here