THANKS to the help of community volunteers, Sharpham Wine toasted a bumper harvest of grapes.

Working alongside paid workers, the volunteers helped pick more than 80 tonnes of grapes – enough for some 80,000 bottles - over a four week period at the Sandridge Barton vineyards.

Chief executive and head winemaker Duncan Schwab believes it is going to be one of Sharpham Wine’s “best vintages to date.”

“The grapes have a great fruit intensity, high sugars and balanced acidity,” he added.

Some 80 volunteers of all ages including individuals, couples and families took part in two days of picking under sunny skies.

On the first day they were busy picking four tonnes of Madeleine Angevine: a white grape variety which grows well in cooler climates and can be eaten as well made into wines, which are typically light, dry and crisp with pleasant acidity. 

It was onto Pinot Noir for the second community harvest, with six tonnes picked in a day. Pinot Noir is a red grape that also thrives in cooler climates and is one of the three main varieties used to make Champagne and English sparkling wine (along with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier).

Afterwards the volunteers were treated to a barbecue, a glass or two of wine plus a bottle of vino to take home.

Vines were first planted at Sandridge Barton in 2008 and now Pinot Noir, Bacchus, Chardonnay, Madeleine Angevine and Pinot Gris grape varieties are grown in the vineyards, which spread across 32 acres of the 450-acre estate on the banks of the River Dart near Stoke Gabriel.

Rich in history, most of the land falls into the South Hams Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.