A real ale enthusiast's success in setting up a brewery has led him to tap into the market of producing organic wines for London restaurants.

David Earnshaw, pictured, is leaving the Halifax Steam Brewing Company plant at the bottom of the garden of his Brighouse home and is moving to premises in the grounds of Vulcan Engineering in Halifax Road, Hipperholme.

The new premises mean he can now produce about 100 barrels of beer a week instead of seven.

"Part of the decision to move was so I could start wine making," said Mr Earnshaw, who is married to Julie, and has two daughters Charlotte, aged ten, and Bethany, six.

"I will be selling it to London restaurants because they are crying out for organic fruit wines - demand for it is massive.

"There is an abundance of quality wines out there, but they are all grape-based. There is a shortage of fruit wines including rhubarb, gooseberry, and elderberry, which is what I will be doing."

Mr Earnshaw believes he is to be the first in the world to commercially produce wine made from a new organic fruit called The Josterberry - a hybrid between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant.

He said: "It is a beautiful fruit and perfect for wine-making. When people are looking for a good Sauvignon Blanc, they hope to find gooseberries in it. If you start by using gooseberries, you are going to get a good quality white wine."

Mr Earnshaw, of Healey Road, is keen for anyone who grows gooseberries commercially to get in touch with him.

A supplier in Italy has already been found to provide "exquisite" bottles for the wines.

"If we are selling it to restaurants in London, it has to be special and look good," he said.

The new venture will be a full time job for the former construction worker, who previously only laboured for one day a week at his micro brewery.

He is hoping that the move will create an expansion into Bradford and Leeds of sales of his Cock o' the North, Top o' the Morning, and Bantam Ales.