Poem On this golf course near Cardiff in Wales a Scottish earl planted Britain's biggest recent vineyard in the 1890s

            Wine
History, it's true, is the story of wine
It's certainly the story of mine
It made prehistoric man's life worthwhile
By creating the world's first life style 
Where it all started they can't agree
But as far back as 5,000 BC
Wine was made with great élan
In the highlands of north-west Iran
Since then it swept through the world
Once its magical powers had been unfurled
It was the Romans who deserve our thanks
They decided in England to pacify the ranks
By planting vineyards in defiance of Rome
Which ruled that grapes be only grown at home
But when the Romans left there was no plan
So wine's dark ages sadly thus began
Though climate change and monks saw a brief revival
Vineyards owe their present survival
To a rich Scot who chose a site in South Wales
For the first large venture with commercial sales
It was at Castle Coch, his Gothic pile
Where Lord Bute built a vineyard, Gallic style
Which lasted from the 1870s until the Great War
When sugar supplies were withdrawn once more
Sad it was that he was destined to fail
But he proved vines could grow on a bigger scale
He's the patron saint of the current boom
In which thousands of vines do quietly bloom
Surely he's due a statue, and fast
So his fading reputation can last
Meanwhile, at least, it's a bit of a hoot
That the English revival was caused at root
By a Scot in Wales, the astute Lord Bute.

   

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Taken in: United Kingdom / Wales / Tongwynlais (show map)

Taken on: February 28, 2015

Tags:

vineyard

wales

earl

castell

coch

golf

course

Welsh

wine

Cardiff

English « less

Sets appears in: • Painted Poems

Groups appears in: • indie shows • Photography more » • internet artists gallery • Trees • Vines and Vineyards • Poetry and Photographs, not just photographs. • Cameraphone • ...A Thing So Lovely As A Tree... • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • Countryside • The British Countryside • art-poems • Simply Poetry • Beautiful Britain • TOP RURAL PHOTOGRAPHY (comment on one, read rules, no maritime) • Poet's pictures • secret poetry • Poetry and Pictures International • Rural Photos • A Picture of Britain • Art and Poetry • *ARTISTIC* Photosworld* • "Poems + Photographs" • flickr photo group • poetry for all! • Poems, Pixels, & Prose! • as beautiful as you want • vineyards and grapes • English Wine • iPad • ` FLICKR ´ • A FEAST FOR MY EYES (Public Group) • English and Welsh wine • All Free Pictures (Creative Commons and Public Domain) « less

Camera: Apple iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2, 1/842 sec, 4.2mm, ISO 32 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Aperture:	f/2.2
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/842)
Focal Length:	4.2mm
ISO:	32
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	8.1.2
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