Visiting a vineyard during the harvest season is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in all parts of the English winemaking (and tasting) process.
Wine estates come alive at this time of year, as juicy grapes are plucked from their vines and sent to the winery for pressing and fermenting, before being turned into our favourite vinos.
While a few vineyards will close over the autumn months, many celebrate the harvest season with exclusive winery tours and tastings.
Some estates even ask for volunteers to help pick the grapes, which can be an incredibly fun and rewarding experience – especially as your hard work will often culminate with you enjoying a glass of sparkling wine.
Having started in late September last year, harvest in the UK lasts for just over a month, so now is an ideal opportunity to plan a visit to the vineyards dotted across England, to learn more about harvesting and winemaking.
With many of the country’s vineyards located in the South East, we’ve hand-picked a selection to visit.
Read more on UK travel:
Oxney Organic Estate
Location: Rye, East Sussex
Harvest is a big deal at East Sussex’s Oxney, which is famous for making some of the best organic wines in the country – here, the 35 acres of vines produce around 20 per cent of all organic grapes grown in the UK. Oxney’s tour and tasting summer season runs from 4 May through 26 October 2024.
Greyfriars Vineyard
Location: Puttenham, Surrey
Surrey-favourite Greyfriars will run winery tours and tastings until mid-September when you’ll have the opportunity to stroll between the vines, take tutored sips and taste the new 2024 wines straight from the tank.
Tinwood Estate
Location: Chicester, West Sussex
Family-owned Tinwood Estate, in the heart of Sussex, has put together the ultimate harvest package. Start the day with some light picking, as the winemakers guide you through how they hand-select the best grapes for every single one of their wines. You’ll then be given a three-course rustic harvest buffet, paired with three sparkling wines.
This one isn’t free (the experience…
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