A MUM of three is set to open a £1.5 million visitor centre at her vineyard – the only one of its kind in England.
After four years, Jane Mohan is finally ready to launch West Street Vineyard's own tourism centre in an attempt to bring the "New World" experience of wine to Essex.
The new centre in Coggeshall includes a wine school, 80-seat café, wine bar, conference facilities and a 90-seat south-facing terrace so guests can enjoy their drinks alfresco.
It is the only boutique micro-vineyard to have a wine-tasting centre on site, showcasing varieties from around the country.
Jane toyed with the idea of buying a vineyard in France, and almost did so, but had a change of heart and decided to stay in Essex.
"I worked on a vineyard in France when I was 17 years old, and my husband Stephen, who's 51, did the same in Germany," said ex-PR executive, Jane, 45.
"I decided to stay near to home in Essex. I was born here in Brentwood and it does not get more Essex than that.
"I used to drive past the vineyard every day when I dropped my children off at school.
"I would ring up the estate agents and ask how much it was and it was always an outrageous sum I could not afford. One day they asked me to make an offer, and the owners actually accepted my offer.
"I knew quite a bit about wine, but I had no idea about growing wine.
"We started with 800 vines, of a wine variety that no one had ever heard of.
"I had to take a course in Brighton to learn all I could about growing, then we had our first harvest, bottled it – and it was vile. We thought, 'What have we done?'
"I found out that vines are like women – if you don't nurture them, and give them manicures and pedicures when needed, then they're not at their best."
Currently West Street Vineyard makes a rosé and a white wine, and Jane and her staff have recently planted 3,500 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines for sparkling wine.
Overall, the vineyard tasting centre will hold 21 wines from East Anglia and 28 from across England and Wales, and they have also set up a wine school, led by Neil Bull, from Stebbing.
The new company has even managed to win the 2010 vintage bronze award-winning white and rosé.
Jane has travelled to New Zealand and South Africa where the vineyards are set in contemporary buildings, and serve food alongside the wines.
It was this set-up that inspired Jane to start a restaurant using local seasonal products.
Jane said: "The whole ethos of what we do is that there are lots of excellent English wines out there and we want as many people as possible to try them.
"The village has really got behind what we are doing.
"They call up and ask to help and are offered a glass of wine whilst they work.
"My kids, Jasper, who is 13, Alexander, 11, and Millie, 7, have been really helpful, too, labelling all the bottles – we want this to be about the community as much as it can."
Last year, the weather affected the crop and they lost 40 per cent of their grapes.
"Luckily our crop remained quite good – we were better off than some other parts of the country," added Jane.
"We are situated next to the river Blackwater, and having that water just keeps the frost away because the temperatures are warmer near to water.
"If you look at most vineyards, they are nearly almost always closer to the water."
The vineyard will be officially opened on St George's Day by Jane's mother and a former features editor of the Essex Chronicle, Josie Stevenson, who has been battling with ovarian cancer for three years after being told she had 12 weeks to live.
The theme is all things dedicated to St George's virtues of courage, chivalry and charity, including a knight in full armour on horseback, one hundred red roses and one hundred glasses of English sparkling wine.
In return, West Street Vineyard will ask for a donation to be given to the cancer research fund at Colchester Hospital, who have been caring for Jane's mum.