by If you have even the slightest interest in English wine, you will remember the cock-a-hoopery when the English sparkling first won the champagne in a blind tasting competition. Now there is a conversation about whether English pinot noirs and chardonnays could compete with burgundy. But there is something else that English wine producers are quietly doing very well and they are doing it without so much as a glance at the English Channel: tourism.
England has become accustomed to vineyard visitors as much as it is to making sparkling wine that you long to pour, chilled, into your glass. The wine day tripper could practice yoga amongst the vines at Tinwood Estate in West Sussex or glamp near the vineyards at Yorkshire Heart near York. If all you want to do is eat and drink, the range of vineyard dining experiences is just as impressive, from egg sandwich picnics to the polished luxury of white linen napkins and chefs.
But despite the friendly competition with our neighbours, no one mentioned the French wine tasting experience only once in my conversations with English wine producers. And that was not in a good way.
“Around the time we were planning our tourism offer, our entire team took a trip to Champagne to share knowledge and production techniques,” says Tom Whiteley of Henners Vineyard in East Sussex.
“We also wanted to see how one of the most famous wine producing regions in the world was approaching tourism. This completely shaped our approach to the cellar door, but mainly in terms of how no to do things… almost everything was cold – sterile, elitist, and generally felt uncomfortable browsing and tasting wines.”
Among positive sources of inspiration, America is often mentioned – usually California and once again, surprisingly, Texas.
“Napa in California was the model for us. There’s a great tourist scene based around LA,” says Jack Merrylees of Balfour Winery in Kent. “The vision has always been to provide that from London – we’re only 50 minutes away by train.”
The most cited template is South Africa. The first time I visited Rathfinny Wine Estate in Sussex, back in 2018, co-owner Sarah Driver described the “lightbulb moment” when she realized the need for a tasting room to be part of the original building, the -ambitious. “[My husband] Mark said, did I want to go see the wastewater plants he was researching in South Africa? It was January, I thought ‘Sunshine’. We toured wineries and I realized that wine can be an experience; it’s not just what you’re drinking.”
For the Goring family at the Wiston Estate, also in Sussex, matriarch Pip Goring’s South African heritage has been a major influence. Brand director Kirsty Goring says that when her mother-in-law first came to England she missed the connection between eating and sharing produce from the land. A family trip to South Africa in 2006 took the whole clan to Haute Cabrière and La Motte in Franschhoek. “The way they combined the food and the wine, the cellars, the vineyard around you, it just blew me away,” says Kirsty. “On a later trip we visited Creation, which in a small way inspired our restaurant, Chalk.
In the warm welcome, restaurants and paired menus shaped by South Africa, each English producer is in turn in a very individual brand of British hospitality. Circa, the restaurant at Sandridge Barton in Devon, aims to showcase the best of local, sustainable produce alongside locally grown wines. Balfour, in Kent, sells honey, wine and apple juice from his estate. At the Albury Estate in Sussex you can take a wildlife walk through the chalk meadow and see boxes of hawthorn and blue butterflies.
Apart from the feel-good factor, British wine tourism is an essential part of the industry. England’s vineyards welcome 1.5 million visitors each year. Tourism accounts for a quarter of all income for English and Welsh wine producers, according to the latest figures from trade body WineGB, which defines wine tourism as cellar door sales; food and drink; trips; events; and accommodation.
Tourism also builds loyalty. The memory of one good day can keep you buying the same producer’s wine for years. It also gives wine producers a direct relationship with their customer, which means bigger margins and less reliance on a third-party retailer. Direct to consumer sales (including those from a producer’s website, as well as cellar door sales) account for around 30 per cent of all English wine sales.
There is a great friendship between wineries, which come together to increase the richness of the offer to visitors. June 17 marks the start of English Wine Week, and many producers will be holding events to celebrate. On June 23, for example, the Grange winery in Alresford, Hampshire, will host the 10th Vineyard of Hampshire Fizz Fest. “There will be quality wine, quite a village fete atmosphere and an Alresford ukulele band,” says Zam Baring, managing partner of The Grange.
Meanwhile Balfour, which brought 20,000 visitors to Hush Heath Estate last year, works with VisitEngland to attract visitors from the UK and further afield.
“We get a lot of visitors from across the Channel,” says Merrylees. “Something of a booze cruise in the back.” Now there is an idea.
English vineyard to visit
Langham Wine Estate, Crawthorne, Dorset
Langham makes some of the most highly regarded sparkling wine in England and has a cafe that opens for brunch and lunch. Tours (self-guided) from £15pp. Special events include Fizz Fridays Seafood Sessions, £55pp (01258 839095; langhamwine.co.uk).
Sandridge Barton, Stoke Gabriel, Devon
The new town of Sharpham specializes in still wines. Self-guided tastings cost £12pp and Vineyard Safaris, £45pp. Circa restaurant serves seasonal dishes sourced locally. Self-catering accommodation includes an 1850s boathouse on the Dart, from £1,000 for three nights (01803 732203; sandridgebarton.com).
Balfour Winery, Staplehurst, Kent
A family favorite set on 400 acres of orchards, oak woodland and vineyards, Balfour offers free self-guided tours and tastings from £15pp. A café offers seasonal sharing plates and the restaurant (01622 832794; balfourwinery.com) has an à la carte menu.
Knightor Winery, Treturgy near St Austell, Cornwall
A boutique winery that makes exquisite still wine using grapes from Cornwall and beyond, Knightor offers a cellar door tasting for £10pp and Trethurgy has a shop with a cafe. Tastings are also available at Portscatho Vineyards on the Roseland Peninsula (01726 851101; knightor.com).
Henners Vineyard, Herstmonceux, East Sussex
Henners Vineyard has a new cellar door and offers tours and tastings from £27 pp or the option to order wine by the glass (from £5) and cheese and charcuterie boards from £9 (01323 832073; hennersvineyard.co.uk).
Black Chalk, near Andover, Hampshire
The Black Chalk tasting room is in an old dairy building with a courtyard patio and serves light bites, wine by the glass (from £7) or flights from £11. Vineyard tours and tastings from £15pp, with treehouse tastings from £110 for two (01264 860440; blackchalkwine.co.uk).
