Last updated on December 4, 2025
The Lurgashall Winery is history now, but the memories—and the lessons—remain vivid.
Growing up and working in a family business isn’t just about the product. In our case, that product was award-winning English mead, fruit wines, and liqueurs. But the real education came from the people, the daily grind, and the occasional humiliation that teaches you more about leadership than any textbook ever could.
I want to share the history of our 38.5-acre estate near Lurgashall village, but also a specific story about a vegetable garden, a miniature wheelbarrow, and the day I learned that you can’t charm your way out of hard work.
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The Vegetable Garden “Incident”
In my late 20s, I worked for my father’s business, managing the Winery Shop on-site.
I’m not sure why I suggested it. Every time we had a tea break, the conversation would turn to food. I always said: “I really want a vegetable garden over the bridge there near the box shed.” The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
So, I pitched the idea to two of our long-standing team members, Titch and Sheila. They seemed as excited as I was.
I made them an offer: “You know, I will plant a vegetable garden over the bridge if you guys can help me water it. We can have potatoes, runner beans, carrots, and lots of other vegetables.”
Titch, the older of the two, grinned cheekily. “I’m up for it.”
Sheila smiled and nodded. “Why not?”
“Great,” I said. “I can get some compost from a man in Horsham who is going out of business. We even have an old wheelbarrow (mine), and we will take turns planting and digging the ground. I even have a hoe.”
The Sting
Whilst I was dreaming of spuds and runner beans, Titch and Sheila were dreaming of how to stop the rather over-enthusiastic boss’s son from roping them into growing food for him while he drove around the country selling booze.
In my mind, I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about watering it because they would do it for me. After all, they worked at the Winery every day, and I was mostly out on the road visiting customers.
They played me perfectly.
The next morning at 9:00 AM, the bell rang. I headed downstairs, excited, expecting a delivery of samples. instead, I found a box on my desk.
Inside was a miniature toy wheelbarrow, a tiny shovel, a fork, some seeds, and a card signed by the famous gardener Alan Titchmarsh (complete with his picture).
It was one of the funniest moments of my life at the winery. The message was clear: I was on my own.
It was a masterclass in diplomacy and humor. They taught me that leadership isn’t about delegating the things you don’t want to do—and you certainly shouldn’t try to hustle the people who know the business better than you do.
The Lurgashall Winery History
Beyond the hijinks, Lurgashall Winery was a serious operation.
My father, Professor Jerome P. Schooler, set up the Winery in 1985 after purchasing Malmesbury Mead and Wine Company and Davis Wines. It was a local, family-run Sussex winery specializing in fruit wines, meads, and liqueurs.
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Our winery was created in a complex of 17th-century farm buildings which my Dad project-managed on our estate near Haslemere. While it looked rustic from the outside, the inside was a different world.
We produced around 400,000 bottles per year. The winery was self-contained with:
- Fermentation, maturation, and bottling vats.
- Modern, high-quality equipment in a sterile bottling room.
- A fully equipped laboratory.
Lurgashall Mead & Global Export
My father created the Lurgashall Mead (or Metheglin) with an eye on his homeland. His theory was simple: if Americans read Beowulf and loved the English, they would buy English Mead.
We produced 7 meads, 9 fruit liqueurs, and 9 fruit wines, including a delicate Rose Petal Wine sold in Mitsukoshi department stores in Japan. We also supplied prestigious venues like the Tower of London, Windsor Farm Shop, and top-tier restaurants in New York.
The Shop (GU28 9HA)
People traveled for miles to visit our shop at GU28 9HA near Dial Green. We didn’t rely on online ordering back then; we relied on 15 road signs within a 10-mile radius. Every time we put up a new signpost, sales went up. We welcomed 35,000 visitors a year, and I even led the tours myself occasionally.
Professor Jerome P. Schooler: The Pioneer
My father, now 92, remains a pioneer of the British Country Wine Industry. He opened up the conversation about using real ingredients—real fruits, flowers, vegetables, and honey—to make high-quality wines.
But his expertise went far beyond wine.
A Business Giant
Professor Schooler was Britain’s leading business management expert for 10 years in the 1980s. He taught many university students and was an industrial engineer educated at MIT, just like his father before him.
His code of ethics was, and still is, central to his success. He taught me that business isn’t just about the bottom line; it’s about integrity. He was even honored with the George B. Morgan Award from MIT for his 40 years of service interviewing prospective students.
Although the winery has now ceased production—a victim of recession, changing EU regulations, and time itself—the legacy stands. Like the Manns Brewery on my mother’s side of the family, Lurgashall is now part of the archives, but the spirit of innovation and the memories of the people we worked with live on.
3 Lessons I Learned at Lurgashall
(Key Takeaways)
1. Technology Hides in Rustic Shells
We looked like a farm, but we operated like a lab. (and had one). We proved that you can respect tradition (17th-century buildings) while utilizing state-of-the-art technology to produce 400,000 bottles a year. Lesson: Don’t judge a business by its facade.
2. Marketing is Simple (If You’re Visible)
We didn’t pay for press releases. We focused on product quality and physical visibility. Our “marketing strategy” was often as simple as putting up a new road sign. When the sign went up, sales went up. Lesson: Remove friction for your customers. If they can find you, and your product is good, they will buy.
3. You Can’t “Delegation-Hack” Hard Work
The vegetable garden incident taught me that your team knows when you are trying to offload work. Titch and Sheila used humor to put me in my place, but the lesson stuck. Lesson: If you want a project done, especially a passion project, you have to be the one holding the shovel.
Where was Lurgashall Winery located?
The winery was located at the family estate near Lurgashall village, near Haslemere, West Sussex. The postcode for the old shop location is GU28 9HA.
What happened to Lurgashall Winery?
The winery has ceased production. The closure was due to a combination of factors including the retirement of Professor Jerome Schooler, economic recession, and changes in EU regulations regarding bottle sizes.
Did Lurgashall Winery produce spirits?
My father constructed a specific building intended for a distillery (required by customs and excise rules to be separate from the winery). While he could have obtained the license, the facility was later rebranded by new owners as Blackdown Distillery.
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