Simpsons Wine Estate, Canterbury, Kent:
Ruth and Charles Simpson have made award-winning wines at their stunning Domaine Sainte Rose in southern France since 2002. In 2012, they brought their savoir-faire back to the UK, establishing Simpsons’ Wine Estate in Kent, with an aspiration to create the finest quality English still and sparkling wines. They enjoyed their first harvest in 2016 and now have 38 hectares of vineyards. The Simpsons are committed to their focus on sustainability, wine tourism and in promoting the excellence of English wine production.
Try this: Roman Road Chardonnay 2023, £32, 13%: A stunningly good, award-winning dry chardonnay. Crisp and delicious.
Gusbourne, Ashford, Kent:
The first vines were planted in 2004 with a vision of creating fine vintage wines using chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, with 60 hectares, which boast their own unique terroir and microclimate, currently under cultivation at Appledore. Multi-award-winning.
Try this: Brut Reserve 2022, £45, 12%: Gusbourne’s best-selling sparkling wine, plenty of bubbles and a light, floral finish. Delicious.
Chapel Down, Tenterden, Kent:
England’s biggest single producer, Chapel Down, was established in 1992 and moved to Tenterden three years later, taking over an established vineyard and winery. Its main varieties are bacchus, chardonnay and pinot noir, grown in the chalky terroir of the North Downs of Kent, producing award-winning sparkling and still wines award-winning premium sparkling and still wines.
Try this: Chapel Down Classic NV, £23, 12%: This bone-dry English sparkling wine is a must-try – soft and fruity and moreish.
Tinwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex:
Established on a former lettuce farm in 2007, Tinwood is situated on the edge of the South Downs National Park in West Sussex. The Tukker family grows high-quality grapes to produce single-vineyard sparkling wines using the traditional method. Open all year round, enjoy a vineyard tour and wine-tasting experience, sip award-winning English wine with food pairings available from the Vineyard Kitchen, or stay the night in a luxury vineyard lodge.
Try this: Tinwood Blanc de Blancs 2023, £33, 12%: Delicate dry 100% chardonnay sparkling English wine. Very special.
Black Chalk Winery, Hampshire:
Jacob Leadley left his London job to retrain as a winemaker in 2009, working in Champagne, New Zealand and England, before launching Black Chalk in 2015 using locally purchased grapes as joint owner and winemaker. The first wines were launched in 2018, and in 2020, Black Chalk bought a group of unloved farm buildings and 12 hectares of established vineyards in Hampshire’s sprawling Test Valley.
Try this: Rumour Has It, £33, 12%: Fabulously easy drinking chardonnay, bone dry and medium bodied. Yummy.
Dining and Cooking