Science minister Lord Sainsbury of Turville has bought a vineyard in Burgundy and taken on Domaine Dujac producer Jeremy Seysses to make his wine.
In a deal worth £300,000, Sainsbury hopes to be producing fine wine within two years from the vineyard at Vosne-Romanée, near Dijon – amongst the finest land in Burgundy. The vineyard’s 400-bottle output will be for the peer’s private consumption.
The Seysses family has been making wine in the region since 1967. Seysses is a highly-respected winemaker: Serena Sutcliffe told UK newspaper the Times his wine was ‘some of the greatest Burgundy currently being made, without question.’
Lord Sainsbury has an estimated wealth of between £1bn and £2bn, predominantly from the family supermarket chain. He stepped down as chairman of Sainsbury’s when he became science minister in the first Labour government in 1998
Written by Amanda Smith
