THE numerous weeks of glorious sunshine boosted the the quality of England’s maturing wine trade – and promised good things for the following year.

The exceptional summer sun of 1989 spelt a quality year for wine at Lymington Vineyard – owned by Mary and Cliff Sentance.

“Quality is better than last year but if all goes well it should be coming out of our ears next year,” said Cliff.

The hardworking couple who grew, crushed, fermented, bottled and labelled every drop on their six-acre site had no experience in the industry when they started their company seven years previously – but had won major awards every year.

“We used to have an allotment once, but that’s as close as we came,” joked Cliff.

“We bought the site which was overgrown and asked for advice to see what it was most suited to.”

The successful husband and wife team recruited the help of locals during that busy period, including when a Daily Echo photographer went to the vineyard on September 26, 1989.