Brympton's vineyard flows

TV reporter Mike Whitmarsh catches up with the Ponsonby-Fanes English viticulturists at Brympton d'Evercy. Wine is produced on the Somerset estate but the duty on English wine is prohibitive. The family is one of only five to own the estate since the 13th century and attempt to renovate the manor house. The venture failed in 1992 and the estate was sold.

Brympton d'Evercy is listed in the Doomsday Book as Bruntone meaning brown enclosure. The Manor was built between 1220 and 1325 and the gardens have an historic listing. Most of the house's contents of immense historical value were sold off in a public auction in 1956. The house is now a hotel and wedding venue with a renovated Tudor front and Elizabethan Great Hall.