Rowles Farm and Vineyard Featured in KWS Portrait

It's always a good day when someone else tells your story — and KWS did a brilliant job of it.

Their recent feature on Rowles Farm in West Ilsley, Berkshire shines a lovely spotlight on the Carlisle family and the journey they're on — from a third-generation mixed farm to one of Berkshire's most exciting new vineyards. If you haven't read it yet, here's a taste of what they had to say.

The piece introduces us to siblings Georgie, Tom, and Will, who are taking the reins of a family farm that's been running since 1969. Over 1,000 hectares of Berkshire countryside, a flock of ewes, beef cattle, arable crops — it's a proper working farm with deep roots. But the bit that really caught people's attention? Six and a half hectares of hillside now planted with 30,000 grapevines — seyval blanc, pinot noir, and bacchus — and a vision that's been six years in the making.

KWS notes that the soil around West Ilsley bears a striking resemblance to the Champagne region of France — light, loamy, and moisture-retaining — and with Britain's climate continuing to warm, the conditions for English winemaking are better than ever. As Georgie tells them, the decision to diversify was both practical and forward-thinking: "We knew we had to diversify if the farm was going to feed us all."

What the feature captures so well is the team spirit at the heart of it all. Three siblings, three different paths — Georgie returning from a career in luxury travel in London and Singapore, Tom bringing experience from a mixed farm in New Zealand, Will coming straight home after university — and one shared ambition. As Tom puts it: "I think we all think we're good — a really good team. Everyone does a little bit of everything. That's our motto — and it works!"

With an events barn, eight holiday cottages, the Ridgeway National Trail on the doorstep, and London just an hour away, KWS paints a picture of a place that's becoming as much a destination as it is a farm.

We think they've rather nailed it. Head over to the full article to read the whole thing — it's well worth your time.

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