recognition for a dairy industry she says remains undervalued by the big supermarkets, underpaid, and fed up when campaigners fail to differentiate between farms like her family’s and horror stories of mass-scale industrial farming. The OFM 2019: Best Producer Award is recognition not of the narrative, of the gentle marketing - the clever, fun name that so accurately embodies Jess Vaughan herself - but of the quality of what the family business, which also includes her sister, Sophie, produces. To quote The Guardian’s own article celebrating the Hardwicke Farm: “In an industry that views milk as a cheap and homogenous commodity, sloshing down the motorways in vast tankers, Vaughan has blazed a trail in turning the output of her British Friesians and Brown Swiss into cult ingredients. “As well as the milk, her cream, yogurt and kefir are revered for their rich, untampered flavours.Vaughan’s secret? “A small herd of happy cows,” she says, but there’s more to it than that.” When Punchline emailed and spoke to Jess, she was either bottling, in meetings with potential suppliers, in more meetings, milking, dropping in on her nan, or… well, if you run a business you know what we’re getting at. Although she is the willing figurehead of the farm, she is simply too busy to let thoughts of a rising ‘media profile’ make her do anything other than laugh first – probably at the thought of how she might fit in taking it too seriously, but too clever not to seize the opportunity. If you really want to make her laugh, ask her whether the win will change her, make her rich and able to retire early. She has no delusions on that front. Growing up on a farm probably does that to you. You can find Jess’s Ladies Organic Farm and its produce at Stroud Farmers' Market on Saturdays, from 9am to 2 pm at Cornhill Market Place and surrounding streets l To find out more visit theladiesorganicmilk.co.uk
When Tileri Charles-Jones had a chance conversation about an old vineyard in Gloucestershire, little did she know that, three years later, she would be running it and winning awards for doing so. But that is exactly what happened and now, along with Natalie Murphy the pair are the driving force behind Poulton Hill Estate vineyard near Cirencester. In the last few weeks the small, but increasingly distinguished vineyard has carried off four awards at theWineGBWestAwards 2019, closely followed by a Silver Medal in the international Glass of Bubbly Awards 2019 for its Bulari White 2016. "It is important to be recognised. It gives people confidence when they pick up one of your bottles. If it is award-winning it means the quality is there," said Ms Charles-Jones, whose career has been as diverse as you can imagine and led her around the world, before she - like her six other siblings since - arrived in Gloucestershire. But she did not come here for the wine. "I was running a gastro pub (The Plough Inn in Kelmscott in the Cotswolds) when I got talking to the vineyard owner, who said he didn't know what to do with it and was thinking of giving it up. "I had said something like 'you just need someone to help drive it forward'. He said 'what about you?' and I said 'ha, ha'," said Ms Charles-Jones, who thought that was the end of that. "I got home that evening to find a note on my doorstep saying 'let's talk seriously about this'." The rest, as they say, is history. Or rather, a lot of hard work, which includes the study of viticulture fitted in around everything from managing the business to delivering, harvesting, marketing and finding new customers l Boutique vineyard toasts more awards
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