Just grape, no hangover from the wine of Chateau Otley

What's more, the locally produced tipple comes with some very inviting promises duty free and hangover free.

The wine in question comes from a production unit on Dennison Hill, Otley (off Cross Green). The busy factory-come-retail outlet houses Once Upon a Vine, a business capable of providing wine at duty free prices.

The owner, Sheila Crowther, explains: "We don't actually sell wine. To qualify for duty free status we sell a batch of grape juice, then as an additional service we turn your grape juice into wine through fermentation."

"There is very little legislation covering this. The law states that you can brew alcohol for your own use. Once Upon a Vine is selling grape juice, and then a fermenting service."

The idea started in Canada where wine lovers, inspired by import duties of up to 500 per cent decided to find a way of getting cheaper wine. British taxes are also high, with an excise duty of £1.15 per bottle, and the idea was imported to Otley by Once Upon a Vine's founder, Steve Robinson, in August 2000. Sheila, who bought the business from Steve last December, described the process.

"The grapes are grown in vineyards all over the world, like New Zealand, France, Australia and Italy. They are processed into 100 per cent grape juice and shipped to Canada, where 30 per cent of wine sold is now made like this. Our supplier, based in the South of England then imports it and distributes it to us."

The fermenting process takes around eight weeks, with juice passing through some of the containers which fill the premises.

Sheila, whose husband Richard helps run the business, claims that by using the absolute minimum of chemicals they can offer a hangover free morning after.

"It is virtually chemical free, there are so little preservatives in it that you don't get those stinking hangovers. By way of comparison, we only use 3.5 grams of sulphate (equivalent to the tip of a tea spoon handle) per thirty bottles of wine, compared to the usual four or five cupfulls which is standard in the industry."

Because this is a different way of providing wine, there is also a different way for the consumer to buy it. You cannot walk into Once Upon a Vine and buy the odd bottle to take home. Instead, they sell you 23 litres of grape juice for £75. If it sounds like a lot of money it's because that is a lot of grape juice, making 30 bottles of wine.

"Because we don't sell wine, we can't advertise or sell it at a price per bottle. We have to word it carefully. We sell the grape juice before fermenting, which is in the 23 litre containers.

"We can't officially guarantee the 30 bottles, but we have always provided it. We also sell half that amount for £37.50. If you do the maths that is £2.50 per bottle".

"The differences extend to the labelling, which lack the familiar markings of volume and alcoholic content, but Richard reassured me that they are not hiding anything.

"We can't put the volume on because we aren't selling wine as a product, and the alcoholic content is your average strength. Having said that, one of our special reds is 14 per cent."

There is a personalised labelling service provided for an extra charge, which has proved popular for companies throwing staff parties and wedding receptions. But again, the Crowthers have to be very careful with who they supply. The wine can't be sold to someone who is going to make a financial gain on it, so businesses like pubs or catering firms are out of the question. However, there are further complications.

"We are in a situation whereby a company could get a personalised wine with their own logo as the label from us, and could give it to staff as a thank you present at Christmas," explains Richard. "But Customs and Excise think that giving the same wine to their clients would not be a thank you but an encouragement to continue business, so we have to be very careful."

The Crowthers will be familiar faces to many people in the area, having run Crowther's tea rooms on Newmarket, Otley which they sold to open a tea room and fine chocolate shop, 'Sweet Indulgence' on The Grove in Ilkley.

Having closed the Ilkley shop at the beginning of last year, their search for a new business coincided with Once Upon a Vine's original owner falling ill.

"Steve was selling it because his illness made running the place very difficult. We spotted it advertised, came down and bought some of the wines, tried them and thought yes, definitely."

The couple are now re-launching the business, and Sheila is confident it is just a case of getting more people to taste the wine.

"There are very few people who don't buy from us having tasted the wine, so we are looking to tie in with various organisations which will give us a way into new markets. For example, having our wine used at art exhibitions."

She is also aware that there is a slight perception problem to overcome, with the wine inevitably being compared to those available at a similar price.

"Say you pay for a wine in a supermarket or off-licence in the U.K. Once the £1.15 excise duty, the VAT and about 50p for the bottle, cap, cork and label are taken off the remainder says a lot about the quality of the wine.

"We believe our wine's natural competitors in terms of quality are those selling at around £8 or £9".

At the moment most of their custom comes from Otley and the immediate surrounding area, but there is a growing interest and custom from all over Yorkshire.

Sheila is currently looking into starting a web site with mail order facilities to further extend the business sphere of influence, and don't be surprised if an invite to come down and sample the fruits of their labour drops through your letter box soon.

Once Upon a Vine's doors are open to customers wishing to sample their goods, and tastings outside opening hours can be arranged. Call 01943 467357.