Vineyard tours in Sussex and Kent
Walk the rows, stand on the chalk and taste traditional-method sparkling wine where it is made. Both counties are a short train ride from London, and Jannik explains what you are tasting and why it tastes that way.
- Chalkunderfoot on the North and South Downs
- 40 minby train from London to Tonbridge
- 15 monthsminimum in bottle for Sussex sparkling
Wine is a doorway into place
Tasting what is in the glass is only part of it. The rest happens out where the vines meet the sky: the scent of damp earth and oak, the hush of a working winery, and the way a landscape quietly leaves its mark on every bottle.
A vineyard day in Sussex or Kent takes you into that landscape. You walk the rows with a WSET-trained host, step down into the cellar where the sparkling wine rests, and taste it a few metres from the vines it came from. A sip can hold sunlight, chalk, rain, patience and memory, and over the day you learn to taste all five.
Taste with curiosity, and feel with intention.
One seam of chalk, from Champagne to Sussex
The chalk that lies under Champagne runs beneath the English Channel and comes up again in Kent and Sussex.
- ChampagneIn Champagne the vines root into Upper Cretaceous chalk.
- The English ChannelThe same chalk runs on, deep beneath the Channel.
- North Downs, KentIt rises again as the North Downs in Kent.
- South Downs, SussexAnd again as the South Downs in Sussex, on the 51st parallel. On a vineyard day, you stand on it.
The essence of a Wine Wanderluster
A sip can hold sunlight, chalk, rain, patience and memory. Jannik talks about all five as he pours, and here is what each one means in a glass of English wine.
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Sunlight
Sussex sits on the 51st parallel. Long summer days ripen the grapes while cool sea breezes keep the acidity bright.
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Chalk
Chalk drains quickly yet holds enough water to carry the vines through a dry summer. It keeps the grapes fresh, and that freshness gives English sparkling wine its fine, bright edge.
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Rain
Every vintage depends on the English weather. Harvest often runs into October, and growers watch the sky all year.
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Patience
15months in bottle, at least
Sparkling wine made under the Sussex name, the first protected wine name in the UK (2022), rests in bottle for over a year before it can be sold. You taste all that waiting.
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Memory
You remember who poured the wine, who you shared it with and the view from the top of the rows.
Out of London, into the vineyards
The chalk Downs that grow England's best sparkling wine are a short train ride from the capital.
- Tonbridgearound 40 minutes from London Bridge
- Ashford Internationalaround 40 minutes on the high-speed line
- Brightonabout an hour from London Victoria
Lines are drawn as the crow flies between stations; the ridges show roughly where the chalk Downs run.
What the day includes
A walk through the vines
A walk through the vines
See where the grapes grow and why chalk slopes suit sparkling wine.
Time in the cellar
Riddling racks, bottles resting on their lees and the patience it all takes.
Tastings at the cellar door
Traditional-method sparkling and still wines, explained by a WSET-trained host.
Easy from London
Sussex and Kent are a short train ride from the city, so a vineyard day fits a London trip.
Dates, prices and group sizes
Jannik is setting these now. Ask him and you will hear first when the next dates open, or book it as a private visit for your own group.
Ask Jannik about datesA day on the Downs
Vines on the chalky South Downs in late afternoon light 
Friends tasting sparkling wine at a flint-walled cellar door in Kent Hand-picked Chardonnay bunches in a crate at the October harvest Sparkling wine bottles resting in riddling racks in a chalk cellar 
Day-trippers walking from a Kent country station towards the vineyards
