This lovely section is for anyone interested in finding out more information about visiting vineyards in the U.K. I have added some information about the wonderful ones I have visited so far and will continue to update it regularly. If you get bored of scrolling or there is a particular vineyard you’re interested in- just use the search bar at the bottom of the homepage!
Looking to make a day drip to visit vineyards from London based in the South Downs, Kent or Surrey (the tasting friendly option)? – Pretty much all of them are accessible by train from Victoria, London Bridge & Charing Cross Stations and then with a taxi from a local station. Often if you book ahead and want to visit a few places it’s possible to get a rate with one company for the day!
NYETIMBER
Nyetimber Vineyard is amongst one of the most well know English Wine names and focuses solely on sparkling wine. Based in Pulborough, Sussex, you can get a taxi from Pulborough station quite easily or just spend the weekend in Sussex and work your way around the vineyards!
The tour and tasting is £35pp, a very polished affair which starts and finishes in their beautiful 15th century medieval barn. The tasting includes trying a selection of their three sparkling wines- Classic Cuvee Multi-Vintage, Rosé Multi-Vintage and the Cuvee Chérie Multi-Vintage. I found that the group tour and tastings operates on a much large size compared with some other vineyards, so if you’re looking for something a little more personal and intimate this one may not be for you. However, the tastings were wonderful, the tour guide very friendly and the vineyard and estate grounds are huge with plenty of time after the tasting to wander round freely which was lovely.
CHAPEL DOWN
Chapel Down is perhaps the most well known English Vineyard, widely available and having been served at the Royal Wedding of Will and Kate some years ago now! Which was also when English wine came onto my radar, the Chapel Down sparkling being the first English wine I tried.
Chapel Down vineyard is located in Kent, the closest village being Tenderten- also worth a visit if you haven’t been.
The tour and tasting is £20pp and needs to be booked in advance. Loved that the tasting room was called The Wine Sanctuary where they were very generous with their tastings, I think we tried about 6 wines across their range of still and sparkling. Also a post tour lunch at their restaurant The Swan (bib gourmand) is an absolute must – the food was so delicious and excellent value. Make sure you book this too as it was pretty busy even mid week in Autumn when I visited.
BOLNEY ESTATE
Bolney Estate is in the South Downs area of West Sussex. The closest station is Haywards Heath from which you can get a taxi from the station to the Vineyard. I visited this gorgeous vineyard in the peak heat of an English Summer when it was about 30 degrees and absolutely glorious. They have a raised terrace looking out onto the vineyard where you can enjoy a bottle or two of their delicious bubbly from the wine bar and they also have a café and restaurant of yummy platters and small plates.
They offer three types of tour and tasting packages which I thought was very good- A cheese and wine tasting tour at £22.50 pp, a tour and tasting with a luxury cream tea for £34.00 pp and lastly their ultimate wine and food tasting tour which includes a glass of fizz on arrival, then the tour which is followed by the wine tasting with a mezze lunch and petit fours with coffee! The tasting room also has a wonderful view overlooking the vineyards, definitely a place I would revisit.
RIDGEVIEW VINEYARD
Ridgeview Vineyard is based in the South Downs area of Sussex in Ditchling, their closest train station is Burgess Hill where you can easily get a taxi to the vineyard.
In 2019 Ridgeview was crowned one of the best vineyards in the world, when it was placed number 36 at the announcement ceremony of the World’s Best Vineyards Top 50 at the Banqueting House on Whitehall.
They offer a vineyard tour and tasting which starts at £20pp- which includes the grounds, cellar and tastings, their tasting room also has beautiful views of the vineyard. Or if you prefer you can just come and visit and enjoy wine flights and mezze platters in their gorgeous garden overlooking the vineyard which they heat in the colder months! You can book in advance or call ahead, I was lucky enough to just turn up one afternoon on the way back from a little beach trip- everyone was so lovely and accommodating. The Fitzrovia Rosé is my favourite.
Tip: Bolney Estate and Ridgeview are only 15 minutes away from each other, so if you have a leisurely day to spend, visit both!
NUTBOURNE VINEYARD
Nutbourne Vineyard is based in Pulborough Sussex, very close to Nyetimber. So I visited these two together one weekend a couple of Summers ago on an annual wine weekend away with my lovely wine friends.
This is such a pretty vineyard and one of the friendliest ones I’ve visited, owned by the Gladwin family. It has a lovely charm to it that feels much more intimate and personal than some of the larger vineyards. There is a tasting lodge and an amazing windmill mill which overlooks the vineyard with a little terrace right at top where you can buy their wine and do tastings too. Oh and keep a look out for a family of alpacas casually grazing around.
Guided tours and tastings start at £20 and includes a tasting of 5 of their wines both still and sparkling. The Nutty Brut and their still Rosé were my personal favourites. As well as this, two of the Gladwin Brothers have several wonderful restaurants to their name and do pop up dining events through the Summer on the vineyard, which I would love to book at some point!
Londoners – if you haven’t been to any of the Gladwin Brothers restaurants- they are highly recommended, Nutbourne in Battersea & Sussex in Soho are fabulous.
www.gladwinbrothers.com/restaurants
THE MOUNT VINEYARD
The Mount Vineyard is in Shoreham in Kent, very close to Sevenoaks and is an absolute hidden gem, nestled in the heart of a little village off a small unassuming side road.
The setting is picturesque and so tastefully done. There is a glass atrium style restaurant with exposed brickwork, where they serve delicious platters and fresh wood fired pizzas with a wine list where you can try all of their wines by the glass or bottle! Alternatively they have an outdoor bar and seating area where you can order the pizza to takeaway and order wine whilst nestled in the vineyard / garden area.
They do tastings at £30pp which run on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, which in the Winter can by done by their cosy log burner and in the Summer months al fresco on the oak terrace. At £35 pp from May-Sept they will also do a vineyard tour.
TREVIBBAN MILL VINEYARD
Trevibban Mill Vineyard & Orchard is about 10 minutes outside of Padstow in Cornwall. I absolutely adore this idyllic vineyard who have a glorious wrap around terrace surrounding their main building with views for days. I love their wild flower garden in and amongst the vines and orchards.
They also offer one of the best value tastings I’ve been to which is £15 for trying 7 of their wines- 3 white, 1 rose, 2 sparkling and 1 red and you can order some yummy sharing boards to go with it too! I didn’t need to book as it was a quiet midweek day when I visited but I imagine it could get quite busy in on the weekends in Summer months.
Their guided tour is also £15pp and includes a tasting of 5 wines- this runs from Feb-Oct on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays.
I really like that a lot of their wines are organic too and one of my favourite and most unusual English Wines I tasted by them was an Orange wine which was delicious.
This vineyard is a must visit for anyone taking a trip to Cornwall and if you’re lucky enough to live nearby I’m very jealous!
GUSBOURNE
Gusbourne is based in Appledore, Kent, the closest station is Ashford International if you’re coming by train and then a short taxi ride from there.
This one has been on my visit list for a while- producing some of my favourite wines both still and sparkling from English vineyards I have tried to date. A friend and I booked a lunch and a tasting of three wines including their newly released 2016 Blanc de Blanc which was just glorious.
Their tasting barn is beautifully decorated with views of the vineyard and this changes seasonally. They also have a separate area called the Nest which is on their raised terrace- here they hold special events and tasting menus.
What I loved about Gusbourne is they offer lots of different options for what you can do when you visit and is open year round, seven days a week! Whether you are happy to potter around and do self guided tour and then enjoy a glass of wine on their grounds, or book a tour and tasting to exclusive lunches and dinners – theres everything to suit your needs. All of these can be booked online or you can send an enquiry about tailor made tours.
Synonymous with finesse and elegance their vineyard and winery reflects this and did not disappoint and I will definitely be back again!
Handy tip- Woodchurch Vineyard in Kent is less than 10 minutes away in the car- so definitely worth making a day of it and visiting both!
WOODCHURCH VINEYARD
Woodchurch Vineyard is based in Kent, near Ashford which is the closest station to travel to. The vines were planted in 2010 by the passionate couple Graham & Donna and now produce a range of award winning still and sparkling wines.
They have a gorgeous tasting terrace, bar and outdoor area over looking the vines which is just so idyllic we didn’t want to leave, this has all been built within the last couple of years and they have done a wonderful job on it.
The wines are available to enjoy by the glass or bottle – but I’ll tell you now, it will probably be the latter. The 2016 Classic Cuvée and 2017 Sparkling Rosé are both deliciously elegant, equal parts rich and refreshing and have been made by Dermot Surgrue at Wiston Estate – say no more. The still rosé was absolutely perfect for a hot summer’s day being a blend of 65% Chardonnay & 35% Pinot Noir, crisp clean and dangerously drinkable. Possibly my favourite and standout was their 2018 still Chardonnay, an exceptional year for UK vineyards this is a beautifully balanced and rounded Chardonnay. Citrus, stone fruit and mineral with layers of butteriness lingering on the palate.
The vineyard is open to visitors Thursdays to Sunday and no bookings needed to enjoy their delicious wine! Cheese and charcuterie boards are also on offer and you can do a self guided tour of the vineyard if you fancy or book onto one of their tours and tastings for £20 pp.
Handy vineyarding tip: Gusbourne Vineyard is 10 minutes away from Woodchurch so you really should plan a trip to visit both together like I did!
SIMPSONS ESTATE
I was particularly excited to visit Simpsons Estate, they are one of my favourite English Wine producers which I regularly rave about and I have been working my way through their range since I first tried their wines in 2020.
Owners Ruth & Charles Simpson started their wine journey in the vineyards of Langueodoc before moving back to the UK and planting their first vines in 2014.
We started our afternoon by trying selection of their still and sparkling wines which were all so delicious- including the new release of their Roman Road Chardonnay which won “best in show” at the Decanter World Wine Awards for the 2018 vintage. We both instantly loved it, so elegant and up there with the nicest English Chardonnay’s I’ve tried.
The very lovely Helen who works for Simpsons, then took us on a walk to their beautiful Roman Road Vineyard site which very luckily has escaped any frost damage this year (hurrah), followed by a peek of their winery and amazing tasting bar with a helter-skelter slide!
Simpsons are currently running weekday afternoon tasting sessions at £10 pp and tours and tastings on weekends at £25pp. Also on a few Friday evenings through the Summer they are hosting sunset tours and tastings which includes cheese and charcuterie platters too.
Oh and very conveniently The Pig at Bridge Place is 5 minutes down the road from the Estate-so it would be rude not to tie this in with your visit!
wineawaytheday.com 