VINEYARD owners Andrew and Sarah Pharoah are taking a rare moment to enjoy a flute of their home-grown fine sparkling wine.

As the sun beats down on the lush green vines, it’s easy to imagine that you’re in the Champagne region of France.

But in fact this is an English vineyard right on our doorstep in Poole. The husband and wife team established the English Oak Vineyard in Lytchett Matravers in 2007 but it’s only now that they can enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Andrew was in IT, sales and marketing and Sarah’s background was in horticulture, when an encounter with a charismatic Cypriot vineyard owner on holiday gave them a taste for the wine-making business.

After exhaustive research, the pair brought a 23 acre farm and set about sowing the dream.

Sarah explained how the grassland, which had been used for cattle grazing, had to be ploughed and treated and the root stock carefully selected to suit the medium loam soil conditions.

“We used to get people looking over fence asking if we were growing asparagus or rhubarb. When we told them they were vines, I think some people thought it would never work.”

Andrew added: “The exciting but scary part when you first start out is that it takes five years before you have got something for someone to taste, so you have to have courage of your convictions.”

Now the couple are on course to produce around 10,000 to 20,000 bottles this year. Their sparkling wines are now in more than 40 hotels, restaurants and wine merchants from Dorchester, Poole and Swanage to Bournemouth, Christchurch and New Forest, including top hotels such as the Chewton Glen, the Haven, the Greenhouse and Lime Wood in the New Forest.

The couple also found themselves in the media spotlight this year after appearing in two episodes of the popular TV series Harbour Lives.

“The TV cameras followed us around and filmed us for days,” says Sarah. “Ben Fogle (the presenter) was very nice. We have been told they would like us to appear in the next series too.”

Andrew said they have seen a huge increase in the number of people visiting the vineyard since the programme aired.

They have had their first wedding reception and run regular vineyard tours Now Andrew and Sarah are gearing up for busiest time of the year with the grape harvest next month.

They follow the traditional method of Champagne-making, planting three grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Menier and Pinot Noir.

Sarah said: “Each vintage is completely individual – that’s what we love about wine. It’s a living thing in the bottle which will be unique.”

But although it sounds idyllic, both Andrew and Sarah stress that it’s more about the lifestyle than the money.

Sarah said: “It’s something you have to really want to do as it’s not a big money-making project. You have to have an absolute passion for it. We want to be involved in every step of the process. We prune all the 23,000 vines ourselves. I’ve even had to wear my ski suit to do the pruning in the winter.”

Andrew added: “People always say it must be lovely to be your own boss but the truth is you’re not, the vines are in charge and we can’t afford to take any time off at the moment until we get more established.

“It becomes an all consuming passion, you have to put your life and soul into it. At the moment we are living the dream.”