A small, but mighty Welsh vineyard, delivering award winning wine in the heart of stunning Monmouthshire.
In the afterglow of 2024's Welsh Wine Week, we report on a trip we made to the rolling Welsh countryside, east of the market town of Abergavenny in Monmouth. This is the bucolic setting for White Castle Vineyard, owned and run by Robb and Nicola Merchant.
Near the small Welsh village of Llanvetherine, Robb and Nicola put down roots and planned a retirement managing a small holding. Sheep eventually gave way to rows of vines in 2009, vines that now stretch across the hillside surrounding their home. Over 3,500 visitors a year make the trip to White Castle. This is a vineyard that specialises in quality not quantity. Though they might be small, they are multi-award winning trailblazers for the Welsh wine industry. In addition they are terrifically warm hosts, that make you feel part of the White Castle family.
"We're a family business, 100% focussed on quality." (Robb Merchant, as said during our tour)
If you’ve never been to Wales, then I urge you to make a trip. I spent 11 years living in Wales, surrounded by stunning mountains, vast lakes and more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world. The nation has its own language and culture, plus a food and drink scene that has flourished in recent years.
Welsh wine has been steadily gaining popularity, both within Wales and beyond. While it might not yet rival the fame of wines from more established regions like France, Italy, or even other parts of the UK, Welsh wine is carving out a niche for itself.
Just over a decade ago, commercial vineyards started popping up all over Wales and currently around 50 vineyards are producing vintages in the valleys. With over 20 different grape varieties grown, Wales is producing exceptional red, white, rosé and sparkling wines. Many people don't realise that the first commercial vineyard in the UK, planted back in 1875, was actually Welsh, located just outside Cardiff. It has taken a long time to get the world switched on to the stunning wines produced in this proud and diverse land. With its unique microclimates, and varied soil types, Wales is now forging a path as a key player in the global wine industry.
Welsh wine is registered as a product with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in the EU and UK, the name of a geographical region or specific area that is recognized by official rules to produce certain foods with special characteristics related to location.
On top of this, a first-of-its-kind strategy was launched in 2022, with the support of the Welsh Government’s Drinks Cluster, to encourage innovation and support so that the Welsh wine industry can increase the sector’s current value 10-fold, to reach £100 million by 2035.
With a bumper harvest in 2023, the highest ever recorded in the history of modern viticulture in Great Britain, Welsh wine is poised again for another year of award winning wine production and record visitor numbers.
The brand history
Robb and Nicola bought a 12-acre smallholding back in 1996. Robb always wanted to be a farmer and they had a dream to retire and work together. Robb had been a manager for the Royal Mail postal service and Nicola was a District Nurse.
They quickly got permission to convert the milking parlour into their home and started up a sheep farm. But both had contrasting visions for the future of the smallholding and their retirement. While Robb was content with his flock, Nicola dreamt of wine. But the land they had purchased was north facing, so unsuitable for vines Robb thought.
It took 12 years before Nicola convinced her husband to purchase a bit more land, a 2 hectare south facing field, where her dream could finally become a reality. 11 months later, in May 2009, following extensive soil tests, they planted 4000 vines, a mix of Pinot Noir, Regent, Rondo, Seyval Blanc and Phoenix grapes.
Robb will admit that initially the pair had little knowledge about growing grapes, so they took themselves to Plumpton College in East Sussex, to study viticulture, and gain the essential knowledge to get started. However, the learning curve continues and every season brings new challenges and opportunities.
Wine though, had become their passion, and the pair enjoy being hands-on in their new endeavours.
In 2010 a further 800 Siegerrebe vines were added. May 2019 saw a further 2000 vines planted, this time of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, followed by another 2,500 Pinot Noir and 500 more Phoenix in 2022. Currently White Castle has around 13,500 vines on their estate.
Some of their notable wines include whites such as Siegerrebe and Gwin Gwyn (a Welsh term for white wine), really good reds in the form of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir Précoce, Rondo, and Regent, plus sparkling white and rose. They even produce a fortified wine.
They supply local independent bottle shops, restaurants, and sell online. Just over half of their production is sold on site through their Cellar Door shop, which opened in 2012. Marketing is mostly in the form of social media posts, which have proved very successful and they have a loyal and growing following.
Not sitting on their laurels, Robb and Nicola are always trialling new improvements across all aspects of the vineyard.
Harvest arrives around late September, with the fruit taking three to four weeks to hand pick, a task done by a willing bunch of local workers and volunteers, ably assisted by family and friends. The grapes are then transported and pressed on the same day at Three Choirs Winery in Newent, Gloucestershire, just 15 miles away, their contract winemaker, and a vineyard that we have visited and enjoyed immensely. However, White Castle have now secured funding for their own winery, to bring the winemaking in house.
“With the winery, we’ll be able to say that our grapes are grown in Wales, and the wines are produced in Wales, and that will give us 100% provenance and integrity for Welsh wine, that will all be estate-grown.” (Robb Merchant in an interview for Fruit & Vine, Aug 2023)
White Castle Vineyard have received many accolades and awards, locally, nationally and globally. In 2023, at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards, the world's biggest wine competition, the vineyard took home a Bronze award. It added to the Silver they won in 2022 and the Gold in 2021. White Castle was the first Welsh wine ever to win a Gold medal from Decanter, beating out competition from France, America and around the world in a blind tasting, and was the only Welsh vineyard to receive a Decanter award last year. These awards catapulted the vineyard onto the pages of the national press. White Castle Vineyard also collected 2 Silver awards at April 2024's International Wine Challenge, one for its Sparkling white wine vintage 2018 and one for their vintage 2019 Pinot Noir précoce reserve.
The Visitor Centre design
Robb is a fantastic host. His warm, Welsh tones, humour, knowledge and natural enthusiasm draws you in and captivates you. We visited during pandemic restrictions, and hope to return soon to see all the new initiatives.
With ominous storm clouds rolling in, our tour began with our group seeking shelter from the heat in the vineyard's restored 16th Century barn.
The Croft Barn, a true piece of Welsh history, is a beautiful, timber-framed structure, which is used for wine tastings and can be hired as a private event venue. Capable of seating 40 to 50 people, it would be perfect for an intimate wedding or a family celebration, or why not hire it for a wine themed corporate event.
Robb and Nicola never bought the barn to live in, but an architect friend of theirs encouraged them that the whole farm was ripe for conversion. However, Cadw had other ideas. Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and works to protect historic buildings, structures, and landscapes for the public to enjoy.
The barn turned out to be a Grade II* Listed building and needed to be conserved.
During the barn's restoration, in 2014, samples were taken of the oak beams and it was discovered that the barn dated back to 1581. The original soil floor, now covered with local stone, and the oak wattle panels in the walls were carefully preserved.
The texture of the barn is fabulous.
1581, the year the barn was built, is now celebrated in the brand's port style drink, the first fortified wine to be produced in Wales, which was launched in 2018. Robb's pet project, they produce just one barrel a year.
Our tour group head out into the vineyard, following our jovial host. The vineyard spans 7 hectares, with 5 under vine. Flanked by the Black Mountains, White Castle benefits from a unique micro climate. It is warmer and drier than much of Wales and sits on free draining sandy, clay soil.
The standard tour lasts just over an hour and a half and starts with Robb recounting his personal journey from the Post Office to wine producer. In his late forties, Robb's future in the Post Office was uncertain at best, as the employer wanted to reduce management numbers and offered early retirements and redundancies. But when one door closes, another opened, and up came the possibility of working on the land, taking over an ex council owned small holding. However Nicola had a different dream and seeds of an idea took hold. Total novices, their journey into wine was a bold decision.
The pair toured English and Welsh vineyards, to see what might grow and ordered and planted their first vines, months before they decided to go to Plumpton College to do an intensive winemakers course. It's been quite a journey since, as farming is always unpredictable.
Robb is continually looking to learn new winemaking skills, but also trusts his instincts. Winemaking is no easy ride. Robb explained just how tough and expensive it can be, not only to produce wine, but also to fund marketing campaigns and wine events, to get your products out there to a wider audience. He is extremely selective about where his wine is sold, to maintain a high level of quality from the grape to the end customer. That's why his bottles can be found gracing the likes of Michelin starred restaurants and five star hotels.
The White Castle season starts in January. Soil and leaf tip analysis takes place throughout the year, in all the varieties, to see what feed, if any, is required. Robb is passionate about giving the grapes their best chance and admits to having become a total wine making nerd, with a plethora of spreadsheets and testing regimes to manage every aspect of vineyard production.
We strolled through row after row of lush, sunkissed vines, with tantalising glimpses of tiny bunches of fruit developing. A visit in late summer or even early autumn, before the harvest, would provide visitors with views of succulent bunches of grapes hanging from the vines.
White Castle's trellising system is mostly wire, with a bit of wood in the older sections, in the Vertical Shoot Position method, or VSP, a common and widely used trellis system. Shoots are trained upward in a vertical, narrow curtain with the fruiting zone below. It gives each vineyard row a hedge-like form, but takes a lot of hand pruning, which starts in February here. In fact as we followed Robb through the vines, he was picking off bits of vine as he walked along. There really is no day off it appears.
You can adopt a vine for a very reasonable £60, and they will place a plaque upon your adopted vine and invite you to attend a personal vineyard tour, where you can toast your support. They even encourage you to return at harvest time, to assist in the handpicking of the grapes from your adopted vine. The scheme has been very popular with wine lovers, and they currently have nearly 700 adopted vines.
Hand picking is their preferred method of harvesting, and Robb weighs every crate before it leaves the estate, in the quest to gather as much data as possible. Expansion would be possible, as Robb has more land, but with extra land comes the need for extra labour and they are trying to keep control over the whole process.
We found the visit to be more educational than many, though it would appeal to casual wine tourists right up to the wine connoisseur. Robb will recount details that many standard wine tours do not cover, from specific environmental challenges down to the various clones within certain wine varieties.
He is excited about Welsh wine and pushing boundaries. Planting Cabernet Franc vines on a north facing site would be considered by many to be crazy, but Robb seems to have found a magic touch. It is a tremendous achievement.
White Castle has expanded since our visit, with a further planting of Pinot Noir précoce along with the Phoenix grape variety, the main component of their renowned Gwin Gwyn. Demand for these has outstripped supply.
The other good thing to note is that the vineyard is dog friendly.
The Cellar Door delivers spectacular views of the vineyard from the terrace. We headed under the gazebo, where wine was being poured, cheese platters were being enjoyed and chatter with Robb was in full swing.
We kicked things off with their Gwin Gwyn 2018, a fresh and vibrant little number, not too dissimilar to some wines we had at Three Choirs, with big notes of elderflower on the nose. A cracking start.
Their 2019 rosé was delightful on what was a scorching hot July afternoon.
White Castle's red wines are some of the stand-out Welsh wines on the market and their Pinot Noir is said to be sensational and would be the perfect pairing for Welsh lamb. The vineyard had just been in the news with their award winning Pinot Noir, which had therefore sold out when we visited. I would say that their Harry 100% Rondo, named after their grandson, which we tasted, was also sumptuous, heavy on the dark cherry and plum notes. This has since won Gold at the 2023 Welsh Wine Awards. Having had afternoon tea at another vineyard, we didn't have room sadly for the cheese platter of four artisan Welsh cheeses, though those were going down well with other visitors.
2023's Bronze Award from Decanter was for White Castle Vineyard's 2021 Regent, that Robb told us this was one of his particular favourite wines. The medium-bodied, dry red wine is sometimes coined the Welsh Beaujolais, with "fresh fruits of dark plum and blackberry and good refreshing acidity". I have a bottle of that in our collection and hope to pair it with something suitably rich and meaty, perhaps local venison.
Winning awards means their stock sells out fast, due to their growing reputation. Zoom tastings and Instagram live only add to the demand. I'm no Master of Wine, I just like it, and I can say that the wine from here I really enjoyed and I bought several bottles, though sadly we only have a few left.
In conclusion
This charming yet formidable vineyard offers visitors an exceptional introduction to the quality wines now emerging from Wales. Instead of a lavish vineyard hotel or a costly visitor centre, the true delight here lies in its authenticity. Tours are led personally by the owners, Robb and Nicola, whose passion and hard-earned expertise are evident. The experience is unscripted, rich in detail, and delivered with genuine warmth and humour, all set against a backdrop of breathtaking countryside.
The wines themselves are not only delicious but also affordably priced, allowing visitors ample time to savour them. The upcoming addition of a winery is set to enhance the vineyard's reputation even further and will undoubtedly create new tour opportunities. I eagerly anticipate a return visit to explore this exciting development.
Challenging preconceptions about where quality wine originates is crucial. At The Visitor Centre Today, we make a point of travelling to lesser-known wine regions to deepen our knowledge. I encourage you to do the same. Broaden your horizons—there are extraordinary wines and fascinating people waiting to be discovered on your next wine adventure.
Robb and Nicola's vision for White Castle has always been one of family and community. Their 'Adopt a Vine' initiative is a testament to this, fostering a strong customer base and enhancing brand engagement.
Please make time to visit this viniculture oasis in the heart of stunning Monmouthshire.
Go for the wine, leave feeling like you've had a massive Welsh cwtch.
(Cwtch is a Welsh language word meaning a cuddle or embrace, with a sense of offering warmth and safety.)
How long was the visit?
We were there for two and a half hours.
How much are tickets?
Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting - £19 each
The tour lasts for 90 minutes and includes 4 wines to taste. It must be booked in advance and they run 2 tours per day. This is the tour we booked.
Deluxe Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting - £40 each
The tour lasts for 2.5 hours and includes tasting six Welsh wines. It must be booked in advance and they run one tour each month.
We paid for our tour and this was not part of any advertising.
Opening times
It's always worth checking with White Castle Vineyard for their current opening times, as they can vary.
Their Cellar Door is currently open Friday to Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10.00am until 5pm.
Getting here:
We arrived at the vineyard by car. It is within easy reach of the Welsh capital of Cardiff, a little over an hour away. Abergavenny is also just a two and a half hour train ride from London.
Address
White Castle Vineyard Ltd, Llanvetherine, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 8RA, UK.
Website: White Castle Vineyard
What else is there to see close by:
Abergavenny, just 13 miles from the vineyard, is known all over the UK as a food destination, and could be the perfect spot for your next epicurean vacation. The unpretentious gastronomic capital has independent producers dotted along the high street, with gastropubs, breweries and vineyards all on the doorstep.
If you are in the area in September, then you could check out the Abergavenny Food Festival, the biggest foodie event in the UK calendar attracting over 30,000 visitors. For two days the town’s streets become the epicentre of gastronomic delights, with food stalls, chef demonstrations and entertainment. This year, 2024, the event is being held on 21st and 22nd September and tickets are on sale now. If you cannot make the September dates, then they also have a Spring Food Fair in March.
Just 30 minutes from the vineyard and you could go and learn all about Wales’ industrial heritage at the award winning Big Pit National Coal Museum. Visitors can take a 300ft journey down into the mine, accompanied by former miners, who bring history to life as they recount their experiences of working in these dark tunnels underground.
Tintern Abbey, founded in 1131 by Cistercian monks, and now a much photographed ruin, is just 40 minutes from the vineyard by car. One of the greatest monastic ruins of the UK, the abbey was made famous by poets such as William Wordsworth.
An hour from the vineyard by car and you could take in The Royal Mint Experience, which I visited and reported on back in June 2023. The visitor centre, for what is the UK's oldest company and maker of Britain's coins, has an excellent selection of hands on exhibits, a cafe and museum space, where you can also catch a glimpse onto the factory floor, to see British and foreign coins being minted.
Just under a 40 minute drive north of the vineyard and you come to the Cathedral city of Hereford. Situated on a loop of the River Wye, the city has many attractions, from the stunning medieval cathedral, to its half-timbered Tudor houses. The city is home to independent shops and an Old Market. The surrounding villages are part of the Black and White Village trail, for those of you looking for picture perfect social media backdrops with a dose of history thrown in.
And if books are more your thing, then the literary capital of the UK, Hay On Wye, is just 50 minutes north by car from the vineyard. The extremely popular Hay Festival is held each year at the end of May, but the town is well worth a visit any time of year, with a castle and a plethora of independent shops and book stores.
Visited: July 2021
Photographs: ©Julie White unless noted otherwise
Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed are solely my own. I paid for the tours in full and any comments reflect my personal experiences on that day. Please drink responsibly. Please visit and garner your own thoughts and feel free to research the brand and the visitor centre in question.
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