The Best Vineyards in Sussex!

Sussex is home to many glorious things, Goodwood racecourse, Brighton Pier, Seven Sisters Cliffs, Arundel Castle and a whole host of cracking vineyards dotted across the two counties East and West Sussex.

Wineware is based in the heartland of one of the largest wine-producing counties in the country, so why not celebrate our now treasured soils and showcase some of the best vineyards in Sussex! Sussex and its surrounding counties are dominated by limestone chalk soils, resulting in the region’s ability to produce high-quality grapes for sparkling wine (similarly found in the famous region of Champagne, France); also, the cool climate preserves the acidity needed to make top tier sparkling wine.

The county has many new and established wineries, with some of the biggest names in English wine striving to create exquisite wines to rival the best in the World. Sussex is the go-to for many English Sparkling Wine enthusiasts, with many award-winning wines now being picked, produced and bottled within the county; Sussex is the go-to for many English Sparkling Wine enthusiasts.

If you’re looking to plan a visit to Sussex and explore the counties wine tourism, now is a great time as many bigger vineyards provide incredible experiences for visitors. To help plan a trip, we have selected some of the very best Sussex wineries to visit, sample glass and enjoy the Sussex sunshine!

Albourne Estate

Address: Albourne Farm, Shaves Wood Lane, Albourne, West Sussex, BN6 9DX

Website: http://www.albourneestate.co.uk

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Is there a tour of Albourne Estate vineyard? YES

Site Size: 11.5 Hectares

Established: 2009

Price range per bottle: £15 > £35

Albourne Estate is a family-owned boutique vineyard overlooking the beautiful South Downs. With an impressive range of multi-award-winning still and sparkling wines, every bottle of Albourne Estate is 100% grown, produced and bottled at the 30-acre site (11.5 hectares of vines).

Seven grape varieties are planted across the site; for the sparkling wines, they use Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. For the variety of still wines, it’s a combination of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Bacchus and Ortega.

Bluebell Vineyard

Address: Glenmore Farm, Slider's Lane, Furner's Green, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3RU

Website: https://www.bluebellvineyard.org

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Is there a tour of Bluebell vineyard? YES

Site Size: 40 Hectares

Established: 2005

Price range per bottle: £14 > £35

Established in 2005, situated in the heart of the Sussex countryside on the edge of the Ashdown Forest near the famous Bluebell Steam Railway, Bluebell Vineyard Estates is home to the award-winning range of ‘Hindleap’ English Quality Sparkling Wines.

Since their first plantings in 2005, the vineyard has more than doubled in size and now has nearly 100 acres under-vine (100,000 vines) stretching across East and West Sussex. Specialising in producing premium quality sparkling wines using the classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier vines and Seyval Blanc, Bacchus, Ortega, Chasselas and Merlot.

Bolney Wine Estate

Address: Foxhole Lane, Bolney, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 5NB

Website: https://bolneywineestate.com

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Is there a tour of Bolney Wine Estate? YES

Site Size: 42 Hectares

Established: 1972

Price range per bottle: £15 > £35

Bolney Wine Estate is located in the small, picturesque village of Bolney situated between Brighton and Crawley. One of the pioneers of the English wine industry, established in 1972, Bolney has five unique vineyard sites that focus on 6 key grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Rondo, Dornfelder, Chardonnay, Bacchus and Pinot Gris.

In January 2019, Bolney Wine Estate merged with neighbouring vineyard Pookchurch to form a 104-acre estate dedicated to increasing premium still English wines.

Nyetimber

Address: Gay Street, West Chiltington, West Sussex, RH20 2HH

Website: https://www.nyetimber.com

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Is there a tour of the Nyetimber vineyard? YES (Selected dates)

Site Size: 214 Hectares

Established: 1988

Price range per bottle: £37 > £175

Nyetimber is probably the most recognisable and iconic of all English wine brands. Located in West Chiltington, they are the only producer in the UK to own vineyards (282 hectares) in three counties: West Sussex, Hampshire & Kent. The classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are grown across 10 of Nyetimber’s vineyards, the largest hectarage of any English sparkling wine producer.

The winery has been the recipient of the ‘English Wine Producer of the Year’ award many times, and you can find their distinctive shield-shaped labels on dining tables at some of the world’s most exclusive and high-end (restaurants and hotels).

Oxney Organic Estate

Address: Hobbs Lane, Beckley, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6TU

Website: http://www.oxneyestate.com

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Is there a tour of Oxney Organic Estate? YES (Throughout the Summer)

Site Size: 14 Hectares

Established: 2012

Price range per bottle: £16 > £35

Oxney Organic Estate is the UK's largest single estate organic vineyard, located in Rye; it’s home to over 35 acres of vines planted between 2012 and 2018. Planted at the vineyard is Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Précoce, Pinot Meunier and Seyval Blanc vines to make their English organic sparkling and still wines.

The winery is actually located in a Grade II listed square oast house, once used for kilning hops as part of the brewing process. The building has been converted to house the new state of the art winemaking technology required to make high quality organic English wine.

Rathfinny Estate

Address: Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 5TU

Website: http://www.rathfinnyestate.com

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Is there a tour of Rathfinny Estate? YES

Site Size: 600 acres

Established: 2010

Price range per bottle: £17 > £38

Rathfinny Wine Estate is located near Polegate (East Sussex) and is one of the newer additions of Vineyards established in the UK. Established in 2010 by Mark and Sarah Driver, it occupies the main part of Cradle Valley, on south-facing slopes in the South Downs of Sussex, one of England’s exceptional natural landscapes.

Rathfinny has over 375,000 vines planted on 91 hectares (226 acres) of the Estate, with predominantly Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier for their Sussex Sparkling wines and a cluster of blocks of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris for their Cradle Valley still wine.

Ridgeview Wine Estate

Address: Ditchling Common, Fragbarrow Lane, East Sussex, BN6 8TP

Website: https://www.ridgeview.co.uk

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Is there a tour of Ridgeview Wine Estate? YES

Site Size: 52 Hectares

Established: 1995

Price range per bottle: £30 > £60

Founded in 1995, Ridgeview Wine Estate is a second-generation family-run vineyard producing high-quality English sparkling wine. Located in the South Downs in Ditchling, the site has unique geology and cool climate conditions, perfectly suiting sparkling wine production.

The classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are grown across 130 acres, including sites in both East and West Sussex.

Ridgeview is regularly served by Her Majesty the Queen and is the official sparkling wine at government receptions. Ridgeview has won an impressive collection of international accolades throughout their history and continue to represent the UK’s wine industry around the World.

Stopham Estate Vineyard

Address: Stopham, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1EG

Website: https://www.stophamvineyard.co.uk

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Is there a tour of Stopham Estate Vineyard? YES

Site Size: 6 Hectares

Established: 2007

Price range per bottle: £15 > £25

Stopham Estate is located in Pulborough, West Sussex and is home to 21,000 planted vines on the 6-hectare site that were planted in 2007. Specialising in still wines, most of the production is for white wines based on Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois and Bacchus grape varieties; they make sparkling wine, too, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Tinwood Estate

Address: Tinwood Ln, Chichester PO18 0NE

Website: https://www.tinwoodestate.com/

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Is there a tour of Tinwood Estate Vineyard? YES

Site Size: 26 Hectares

Established: 2006

Price range per bottle: £29 > £31

Tinwood Estate, based near the county city of Chichester, started in 2007 by planting 46,000 vines over 28 acres and then a furthermore 38,000 vines planted over 22 acres followed in 2008. The recent planting in 2015 saw an additional 15 acres of vines being planted to increase their total vineyard area to 65 acres and 100,000 vines. Tinwood Estate offers three different sparkling wines, their classic Blanc de Blancs, Brut and Sparkling Rosé.

Wiston Estate

Address: Wiston Estate Winery, North Farm, London Rd, Washington, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 4BB

Website: https://www.wistonestate.com

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Is there a tour of Wiston Estate? YES (April – October annually)

Site Size: 6.5 Hectares

Established: 2006

Price range per bottle: £26.50 > £47.50

The Wiston Estate has been owned and managed by the Goring family since 1743, located south of Washington on the south-facing chalk slopes of the South Downs. Situated on a 2,500ha site, the vineyard spreads across 6.5 hectares with the traditional varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier planted in 2006.

Sited on a dry river valley on the upper cretaceous chalk closely resembles the physical and chemical composition of the World-renowned Côte de Blancs in Champagne, France.

Locations of Vineyards in Sussex

You can see the locations and distances between each of the Vineyards based in Sussex mentioned above in the map below. The Vineyards are all relatively close together, with the exceptions of Oxney Organic Estate further out to the east and Rathfinny Estate further south than its counterparts.

Sussex is home to the warmest and driest climates in the UK, plentiful countryside and diverse soils mean the county is ideal for growing grapes on its hillside locations.

Thanks to all of the Vineyards mentioned above for providing the images included in this post.