At Amber Valley Vineyards, we have always sought to cultivate our land in harmony with nature, recognising that a thriving ecosystem underpins the health of our vines, our wines and cider, and our wider environment. Our latest endeavour - the Amber Valley Agroforestry Orchard - builds upon this ethos, integrating heritage orcharding, viticulture, beekeeping, and wildflower conservation into a dynamic agroforestry system. This is not just about diversification; it is about resilience, sustainability, and deepening our connection to the land.

Set at 200m above sea level, adjacent to our vineyard and the pocket rainforest project, this new orchard-meadow-vineyard system represents a pioneering approach to land management. Inspired by traditional mixed farming systems and contemporary research on agroforestry in viticulture, we are designing a landscape that actively supports biodiversity, enhances soil health, and provides multiple revenue streams - ensuring long-term sustainability for both our farm and our wider landscape.

By integrating fruit trees, vines, wildflower meadows, and seasonal crops and flowers, we aim to create a thriving, multi-layered ecosystem that will deliver benefits far beyond the orchard itself. This project will not only increase local biodiversity but will also enhance the ecosystem services that support our vineyard - from natural pest control from ecosystem services, to improved soil structure and water retention.

The Agroforestry Approach: A Functional Ecosystem

Our approach draws on agroforestry principles - combining trees, crops, and wildlife corridors to create a resilient, productive landscape. The key components of the system include:

• Tall pear trees at the highest points to provide structure, wind buffering, and prevent shading of lower crops.
• Apple and fruit trees on MM106 rootstocks, including heritage Derbyshire varieties and cider apples, ensuring genetic diversity and a sense of place.
• Grapevines trained on selected trees, exploring the potential for vineyard-orchard integration.
• A maintained wildflower meadow, supporting pollinators, beneficial insects, and enhancing soil fertility.
• Seasonal flower crops such as daffodils and saffron crocus, extending flowering periods for pollinators while providing an additional revenue stream.
• Integrated beehives, both to enhance pollination across the vineyard and orchard and to produce locally sourced honey.
• Berry shrubs, herbs, and native hedgerows, expanding food sources for both wildlife and our customers.
• Sustainable grazing and managed mowing, maintaining the meadow without degrading soil structure.

This approach moves away from monoculture farming towards a resilient, diverse ecosystem - one that can better withstand climatic fluctuations while providing multiple benefits to both wildlife and wine production.

Enhancing Biodiversity & Supporting the Vineyard Ecosystem

The presence of trees, hedgerows, and a species-rich wildflower meadow will significantly increase biodiversity within our landscape. This is not an abstract benefit - it has direct, tangible impacts on the health and productivity of our vineyard.

1. Supporting Pollinators & Natural Pest Control

Wildflower meadows and fruit trees provide a continuous nectar source for pollinators, ensuring healthy bee populations that will benefit both our orchard and vineyard. The introduction of beehives within the orchard will further strengthen local pollination networks, improving fruit set in both apples and grapes.

By encouraging diverse insect populations, we also enhance natural pest control. Research has shown that orchard agroforestry systems attract predatory insects, such as ladybirds, lacewings, and parasitoid wasps, which feed on vineyard pests like aphids and caterpillars. This reduces the need for intervention, making our vineyard more self-sustaining.

2. Soil Health & Water Retention

One of the greatest challenges in viticulture is soil degradation and loss of organic matter. Agroforestry helps to counteract this by improving soil structure, increasing water retention, and reducing erosion.

• Deep-rooted fruit trees help to stabilise soils, preventing runoff during heavy rain.
• Leaf litter and organic matter from trees increase soil microbial diversity, leading to better nutrient cycling.
• Mycorrhizal fungi networks, supported by the presence of diverse root systems, improve plant access to water and nutrients - benefiting both vines and fruit trees.

3. Climate Resilience & Carbon Sequestration

With climate change bringing more erratic weather, vineyards must become more adaptable. Agroforestry provides natural wind buffering, reducing temperature extremes and protecting vines from late frosts and intense heatwaves.

Moreover, by incorporating trees, hedgerows, and perennial crops, the orchard actively sequesters carbon, contributing to climate change mitigation while improving long-term soil fertility.

4. Encouraging Birds & Small Mammals

By maintaining hedgerows, fruit trees, and wildflower margins, we create vital nesting and foraging habitats for birds and small mammals. This is particularly relevant for insectivorous birds, which play a key role in controlling vineyard pests.

Encouraging a balanced predator-prey relationship ensures that our orchard and vineyard remains a self-regulating ecosystem, rather than one reliant on chemical inputs.

A Model for Sustainable Agriculture & Community Engagement

Beyond biodiversity, this project is about people and place. We believe that farms should be multi-functional landscapes - supporting not just production but also education, research, and community involvement.

1. Research & University Collaboration

We are already working with the University of Derby’s Department of Biological Sciences, offering graduate and postgraduate fieldwork opportunities. This project will further strengthen these ties, providing a real-world case study in regenerative agroforestry - bridging the gap between research and practice.

Currently we are working with an MSc student that is helping us with a management plan to eradicate invasive Himalayan Balsam and to help manage bracken and bramble.

2. Volunteer Opportunities & Community Engagement

This orchard will be a space for learning, collaboration, and hands-on experience. From traditional apple grafting workshops to biodiversity monitoring, we want to create opportunities for volunteers, students, and local residents to engage with sustainable farming.  The nature of this work, which is largely experimental and on a relatively small scale and budget on a site with topographical challenges will require invaluable volunteer input to ensure financial sustainability in the early years.

3. Economic Resilience & Sustainable Revenue Streams

By combining fruit, vines, beekeeping, and flower production, we ensure that our farm is not reliant on a single income stream. This diversification strengthens our long-term business sustainability, making Amber Valley Vineyards more adaptable to market and climate challenges.

A Living, Breathing Landscape

This agroforestry orchard is more than a commercial project - it is a vision for a future where farming and nature thrive together. By integrating traditional orcharding, viticulture, wildflowers, and conservation, we are crafting a landscape that is productive, beautiful, and ecologically rich.

It will be a place where pollinators will once again thrive and hum, birds forage, and vines flourish in the shade of orchard trees. A place where science, tradition, and innovation meet - ensuring that Amber Valley Vineyards remains at the forefront of sustainable regenerative viticulture for generations to come.

This is the future of farming - and we are proud to be growing it, one tree at a time.  Also read the Agroforestry Orchard section on the website here.