When you think of a vineyard, a Welsh hillside might not exactly be the first image that comes to mind. But the hills of north Cardiff were once home to vineyards that were producing wine for one of the world's richest men at the time.
There are currently close to 30 vineyards in Wales producing top quality wines - but the first commercial vineyard in the UK was on the outskirts of Cardiff. The slopes of Castell Coch in the north of the city were once home to vineyards that produced thousands of bottles of wine.
Lord Bute was passionate about the medieval period, having already had Castell Coch renovated and rebuilt as a quintessentially medieval castle. Further inspired by his interest in the period, he asked his head gardener, Andrew Pettigrew to plant a vineyard at the castle in 1873 - something which hasn't existed in Britain since the Middle Ages.
