When ex-RAF pilot Bob Lindo and his wife Annie planted their first eight thousand vines in 1989, they never dreamed of the phenomenal success they would achieve within 2 decades.

They had bought their farm in the heart of the Cornish countryside several years earlier, seeking a change from service life and the

perfect place to bring up their young family.

Initially they farmed sheep and cattle. Yet, as each summer they watched the grass turn brown on the sun-drenched slopes of the Camel Valley, they wondered if vines might enjoy such an aspect better.

Bob 'did a vintage' in Germany and both took viticulture courses and read every vine and wine book they could find.

They built a winery and fitted it with the finest

equipment they could afford.

When Camel Valley won a medal in the national English Wine competition for their first wine, Annie and Bob knew they were on the right track.

More awards followed over the years, with Camel Valley wines consistently winning medals at both national and international level.

Now the second-generation winemaker is hard at work at Camel Valley. Sam Lindo, a maths graduate who had seemed destined for a career in the city, instead decided to make his life in Cornwall and returned to the family farm.

Bob admires Sam's hard work and is incredibly proud of what his son has been able to achieve at the winery.

When Sam came second in the World Sparkling Wine Championships to Bollinger in Italy in 2009, I really did take my hat off to him. However, when he won the Trophy for 'Best International Traditional Method Sparkling Wine' in 2010 in Verona, ahead of Bollinger and Roederer, I nearly ate it! Bob Lindo - Camel Valley