Bluestone Vineyards is a story rooted in both ancient history and modern vision.

To understand Bluestone, you begin with the Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm. Founded in 1985 in partnership with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, the farm was created to conserve and protect endangered indigenous livestock and equine breeds in the UK. When the McConnell family purchased the property in 2002, they carried that mission forward, expanding the park into the vibrant, educational destination it is today, welcoming more than 30,000 visitors each year.

Just minutes from Stonehenge, the farm sits on land that has felt the footsteps of countless generations. An archaeological survey in 2005 revealed arrowheads, Roman coins, artifacts from multiple eras, and the remains of an Iron Age roundhouse settlement. 

With the site’s aspect and chalk-rich soils, it was clear the land could one day support a vineyard, but with young children, Jeremy and Pam McConnell knew the timing wasn’t yet right for such an undertaking.

Fast-forward to 2015. Two of the McConnell siblings, Nat and Toby, returned home after careers in research science and hospitality. Inspired by the landscape they grew up on and confident the moment had come, they set out to establish a vineyard in the shadow of one of the world’s most iconic landmarks.

Drawing from their backgrounds in biochemistry and the luxury market—alongside formal studies in viticulture and oenology (Toby) and an MSc in viticulture and oenology (Nat), the brothers immersed themselves fully. In 2016, they planted three adjoining fields with vines.