Today Trevibban Mill is in the leading edge of technology and innovation, continuously looking to improve the quality as well the range of wines and ciders produced. For example two Trevibban Mill wines, Orion (skin fermented) and Pét Nat have no added sulphites and the winery is continuously working to reduce/eradicate the use of sulphites in all the wines. In cider production, the Pink Cider is fermented with red grapes which gives additional elegance. Tiger Milk Cider is fermented with skin contact enhancing the apple flavours.
Engin and Liz met as post-graduate students in Dundee University, Engin studying for a PhD in Economics and Liz a Masters in Radiation Biophysics. Careers in Business and Medical Physics eventually took them to London where they settled and had two sons
Engin primarily worked as a business consultant specialising in business planning and strategy until he was asked to prepare a business plan for a new telecoms company.
He initially joined as part time Executive Director to implement his business plan. Later on, he was offered Group Managing Director position and following very successful five
years, the company was then sold to Centrica in 2004 and Engin took the decision to retire early.
In 2007 they came to view 6 1/2 acres of land at Trevibban with a ruined watermill, fishing lake and ancient Atlantic woodland with the intention of renovating the mill. They were then offered the adjoining fields which they purchased as this gave them better access to the land.
After many abandoned ideas Engin decided to plant a vineyard on the middle sloping fields in 2008. This is not dissimilar to what his grandfather did many years earlier in Eastern Turkey. Between 2010 and 2012 they added 1700 apple trees, sweet chestnuts and other fruit trees.
In 2014 work started on the contemporary Winery building which now houses the winery, cellars, bars, an event/wedding space and Temptation’s production kitchens.
The land slopes into the Issey Valley mostly facing South East. The soil is shillet (free draining sandy loam) full of slate with a little spa stone, and is very thin, only 30cm deep in places, sitting on solid slate. There is a disused slate quarry on site.
Liz and Engin’s eldest son, Tom, joined them in 2018 to help running of the vineyard and winery and also moved his own London based business, Themptation, to Trevibban. Themptation now produces all its products from hummus to chocolate on site, and products are distributed in Cornwall as well as throughout UK including the organic supermarkets such as Planet Organic and Wholefood.
