‘Ted took one look at the mud bath and almost walked away but Betsy pitched it to him just right.’ Sidney shook his head, laughing at the memory. ‘She told him to think how proud he would be of producing top quality wines here in Derbyshire where he’d been born and bred. So he had the soil tested to see if it had the nutrients it needed. All it was lacking was phosphorous.’

‘And that is easy enough to remedy,’ I said, thinking back to the fertilizers we’d used at the crematorium.

He nodded. ‘That’s right. And so Butterworth Wines was born. Caused quite a stir in the wine world at the time; there were hardly any vineyards this far north.’

‘There aren’t many now,’ I said, having done my research. ‘A million new vines were planted in England last year, but only a tiny percentage of those were north of London.’

Sidney looked impressed. ‘What else do you know?’

‘Nowhere near as much as you.’ I shrugged. ‘But I know that some of the top champagne houses have cottoned on to just how similar the terroir is here and have been buying up land, so not only have land prices shot up, but the reputation of English sparkling wine is at an all-time high. We’re winning awards all over the world, and countries like America are waking up to how good our products are too. It’s an exciting time to be making wine in England.’

Sidney chuckled. ‘You love this job, don’t you?’

‘Very much.’ I took a deep breath, inhaling the delicate scent of the vines and wondering, not for the first time, how on earth this job had managed to find me just when I needed it, as if some mysterious force had had a hand in it. ‘I keep having to remind myself not to get too attached. That it won’t last.’

Sidney’s smile dropped. ‘Are you sure about that?’

We were in the centre of the vineyard now, in the wide path that separated the upper and lower slope. Sidney headed for a wooden bench, took off his hat and fanned his face. I lowered myself next to him and stretched out my legs.

‘Betsy can’t carry on here indefinitely and my job is only until the end of autumn. And even if it wasn’t, I’ll be taking some time off work when the baby is born. It’s very sad, though, thinking that Butterworth Wines is nearing the end of its life.’