Stonor Valley Wine Farm 2708

A VINEYARD in Stonor is celebrating the end of a successful summer offering sunflower-picking, wine tasting and tours for visitors.

Stonor Valley Wine Farm welcomed visitors throughout August to enjoy the sunflower fields while tasting wine made by third-generation farmer Emily Carr.

Visitors were invited to pick their own sunflowers to buy and enjoy a glass of wine in the milking parlour turned bar and café area.

While a walk around the sunflower field could be enjoyed free of charge, visitors were encouraged to make a small donation to charity.

Proceeds will be split between Doctors Without Borders, the Turville School Trust and the Chiltern Centre, which the Carrs have worked with to bring young adults with disabilities it cares for to see the sunflowers.

The farm, which has been run by the Carr family since 1955, is managed by Miss Carr alongside her brother Harry and father William, supported by her mother, Catherine.

While the arable farmers have welcomed visitors to their sunflower fields for five years, the vineyard tours and wine-tastings were a new addition this year.

Miss Carr, 30, said: “It has been the most wonderful thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. Everyone has some sort of connection with sunflowers — it’s been more emotional than I thought it would be.

“There’s always 10 cars in the car park, a constant rotation of people from 9am to when the sun’s gone down.”

Having made wine around the world since 2017, Miss Carr decided to plant her own vineyard of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in 2022. Her wines include a 2017 Classic Cuvée Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier blend aged for 56 months and a 2021 Classic Cuvée Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend aged for 30 months.

Miss Carr said: “My dad’s best friend, Christopher Reeves, used to invite us over and educated us from an early age on how wine is made and aged.

“He passed away four years ago but gave us Fergie [a Ferguson tractor], which my dad and his rugby friends bought for him, and donated all his cellar shelving units to us.”

The wine is sold in the former milking parlour which Miss Carr converted herself with the help of her family and partner Jack Stanton.

She said that neighbours had enjoyed having somewhere to come for a drink following the “heartbreaking” closure of pubs like the Quince Tree and the Crown.

“I’m nervous now because it has been so successful,” she said, “it’s hard to see where we’re going to go in the future.

“But it’s very small-scale, it’s not crazy. It’s very peaceful and you get to talk to every single person. It’s just about sharing what I’m so passionate about.”

Miss Carr said she had been supported by the nearby Jojo’s, Oaken Grove and Fairmile vineyards to offer “vineyard safari tours”.

Wines from each one were sold at a party at the farm, where they celebrated their success with live music from Henley band West End.