STRADDLING the North Downs in Hampshire is Jenkyn Place, an exclusive, family-run vineyard which specialises in vintage English sparkling wines.

Simon Bladon, who bought the Bentley estate in 1997, planted the first vines in 2004 and has been winning awards for his Brut Cuvee, Sparkling Rose and Blanc de Noir since 2006.

He said: “The soil is greensand interspersed with marlstone deposits identical to the Champagne region in France and lends itself to planting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier - the classic trio of grapes behind the highest quality Champagnes.

“As in France, we plant red and white rose bushes at the end of a row of vines, to match the colour of the grapes. They act as an early-warning system for weather changes as well as keeping the bugs away from the vines.”

Simon and his wife Rebecca’s daughter, Camilla, joined the family business as manager a few years ago and sons Freddie and Jack lend a helping hand when they are around, making it a family affair.

Camilla is now overseeing the latest project at Jenkyn Place in Bentley, the planting of a new vineyard and building of a wine store with its own cellar.

She said: “Returning home to the heart of Hampshire was a dream come true and I have since managed to re-design our labels and packaging with its signature griffin emblem - to give our wine the quality and contemporary look it deserves.

“I am also very excited about turning our third field into a new vineyard, which will help expand the business further.

“Hampshire’s climate provides ideal conditions for growing the ripe and healthy grapes needed to produce award-winning sparkling wines. We had our best crop and vintage so far in 2014 and are hoping to repeat it.”

Wooden posts in their vineyards may have been replaced by steel, but wine making continues to follow age-old traditions.

Simon explained that in order to get a good crop of grapes, the vines need to flower during Wimbledon tennis fortnight, which this year takes place from July 2-15, so that they are ready to be hand-picked in October.

“Quality control is paramount throughout the whole process,” he said, “from the design, planting and tending of the vineyards to the production of the wines.

“We also have a talented young Irish winemaker in Dermot Sugrue, who was formerly chief winemaker at Nyetimber and has also worked in Champagne, Bordeaux and India.”

Jenkyn Place’s award-winning sparkling wines are made in the traditional method and spend around three years on the lees, which adds flavour and aroma, before going on sale.