by Ross Lidbetter

ross.lidbetter@essnmedia.co.uk

Simon Fisher admits that when he started to make wine he poured some of his efforts down the drain.

But now the 41-year-old is confident enough to start his own winery in South Croydon – understood to be the only one in Greater London.

As the founder of West Fisher Winery, he has four stainless steel vats capable of producing 230 litres of wine each.

His business is based directly behind his architectural practice – Pivotal Architectural Services – which he aims to continue running alongside the winery.

Mr Fisher said: "It had always been a long-held ambition to build a vineyard. But after extensive research I didn't have a spare £750,000 in my back pocket!

"So I started to look at alternatives and looked at building a winery. They can be built anywhere, although good transport links are pretty essential."

"But as far as I'm aware, there is no other winery in the Greater London area."

While Mr Fisher founded the winery, he was supported by his wife, Lucinda, and as a gesture he incorporated her maiden name into the labels.

At the moment, Mr Fisher is producing six wines and is planning an open day for invited guests on Sunday.

He aims to open to the public, by appointment, next month.

Mr Fisher, who also has a smaller winery behind his Warlingham home, which he uses for "research", said: "Our short-term aim is to get out into the farmers' markets.

"We're trying to get our name known locally on ground level.

"From there we'd like to expand out into restaurants and have regular orders.

"Our goal is to produce 160,000 to 200,000 bottles a year."

Mr Fisher says although he has been on various courses his method of making wine is "self-taught". He jokingly admits he became good at producing drain cleaner at one point – in other words, throwing bad wine down the drain.

He explained: "We've cracked those problems and now is a good time to be involved in the industry."

But a question he finds impossible to answer is what makes a good wine.

Mr Fisher said: "It's almost down to the personal palate. Everybody likes different things – obviously certain qualities make it more likely to be a good wine.

"Really there is no such thing as a good wine or a bad wine. If somebody likes it, they like it."

Mr Fisher's wines:

Pinot Noir

Pinot Grigio

Chablis Blush

Chardonnay

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Chardonnay

A simplified guide to how Simon Fisher creates his wine:

Mr Fisher receives the concentrate from California, Europe and England where the grapes are crushed and juice extracted.

The concentrate is put into a tank where it's rehydrated.

Yeast is added and the fermentation process takes place.

This can take between 15 and 18 days. The wine is filtered and put into a storage tank to mature.

There is rigorous testing throughout to ensure a constant fermentation and high quality wine.

For further information contact Mr Fisher on 020 8651 3664, e-mail info@westfisher.co.uk or visit the website www.westfisher.co.uk