After retiring from the RAF, Bob Lindo and his wife Annie bought land in Cornwall with the idea of sheep farming.   Their farm in the Camel Valley near Bodmin includes slopes which catch the sun so they decided to try establishing a vineyard.  Their first vines were planted in 1989, with early plantings dominated by German vines such as Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner, Bacchus and Dornfelder.  They achieved their first commercial grape crop in 1992.

Encouraged by success with their early wines, they launched their first sparkling vintage in 1995, still with Bob as the winemaker.  Their Camel Valley Cornwall sparkling wine scooped an International Wine Challenge Gold Medal in 2005 which firmly established the reputation of the winery. Numerous awards in a number of different competitions have foillowed since for both their still and sparkling wines.

In 2006 Bob and Annie's son - Sam Lindo - joined the firm, and is currently the winemaker.   Sam has achieved considerable success in his own right, being elected as UK winemaker of the year three times in five years and in 2014 became the first english winemaker to be shortlisted for the international sparkling winemaker of the year.

Bob, who is never short on courting publicity, has done much to raise the profile not only of Camel Valley wines, but also of the entire category of English wines. In 2011 Camel Valley became the first English winery to apply for a PDO for their Darnibole Bacchus

Current production is of the order of 50,000 to 200,000 bottles per annum, depending on vintage.  Most Camel Valley wine is consumed domestically, but they also export small volumes to Japan.

There are two self catering cottages available for rent at the vineyard, which is conveniently located for walking and cycling along the Camel Trail.

(Images © Camel Valley)