A HAMPSHIRE vineyard has been sold to one of the biggest wine producers in Britain.

Three Choirs Vineyard was bought the 41 acre Wickham vineyard near Shedfield for £1.6million from receivers Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP.

The property comprises a well established vineyard extending to 16 acres, a restaurant, a four bedroom 2,174 sq ft detached house and various winery buildings used to produce, store and sell wine.

Savills carried out the deal.

Ian Simpson, director of leisure and trading at Savills, said: “This was a rare opportunity to acquire an established vineyard, which has great potential for the expansion of the existing winery, wedding venue, restaurant and visitor attraction business on site.”

Thomas Shaw, managing director of Three Choirs, adds: “The purchase of Wickham Vineyard was partly driven by the very strong demand for English still wines, demand that far exceeds our current production levels.

“We are delighted to have purchased such a well-known vineyard and look forward to restoring it to its former glory as a producer of quality English wines.”

The site ran into trouble last year and led to a management buyout before going into receivership.

Mark Wilson, Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery partner, said: “This was an unusual appointment, but we are delighted that we were able to find the right buyer with a proven track record in English wine production.”