LAURA Anne Jones has praised the “love, care and passion” being captured in the Award-winning wine bottles at White Castle Vineyard near Abergavenny.

Ms Jones visited the vineyard during Welsh Wine Week to hear the inspiring story of how couple Robb and Nicola’s dream became a reality, and they began producing world-beating wine in a quiet and beautiful part of Monmouthshire.

In 2009, the pair planted their first 4,000 vines, making the birth of White Castle Vineyard.

Since then, they have grown their number of vines to 13,500, which light up their fields, produced the first Cabernet Franc of its kind in Wales and constructed their own winery.

Along the road, the pair have undertaken formal training at Plumpton College to build their skills.

White Castle wines have won numerous awards including from the Decanter World wine awards, winning a gold medal in 2021 for their Pinot Noir Reserve.

Laura Anne Jones MS, Senedd Member for South Wales East, said,“It was wonderful to go and see Robb and Nicola at White Castle Vineyard, nestled in a stunning part of our county, and hear their inspiring story.

“I was lucky enough to sample some of their red wine, their pinot noir, which was delicious and being held in a beautiful rare oak barrel from France.

“There’s clearly so much love, care and passion that goes into all the different highly-sort-after wines at White Castle, where you can now see the journey of the wine from the grape, right through to the bottle. Tours are available and you can even just go and enjoy as wine, coffee and food overlooking their stunning vineyard, which enjoys its own micro-climate.

“From the warm welcome from a lovely couple, to the exceptional Monmouthshire views, to watching a really interesting process, to enjoying a high quality Welsh product, I would definitely recommend a visit to this impressive vineyard and sampling and purchasing their delicious distinctive flavoured wines.”