23/03/2023

With its south-facing climate and chalky soil, Kent has become one of the UK's largest and most celebrated wine-growing regions. From zesty sparkling wines to full-bodied reds, you’ll find a wine to suit your palate at one of their award-winning wineries.

With temperatures warming up and fewer crowds than in summer, spring is the ideal time to visit to the vineyards and stock up on your favourites.

Here is a list of seven of the best wineries to visit in Kent this year.

Biddenden Vineyards

Just a 20-minute drive from Farmstead at Tannersbrook is Biddenden Vineyards - one of Kent’s oldest family-run wineries. Originally an apple orchard, the first vines were planted in 1969, and today span an impressive 23 acres.

The south-facing slopes and sheltered valley create the perfect conditions for growing a range of German and French grape varieties. The winery is famous for its Bacchus, Gamay, pinot noir, and a variety of sparkling wines. They also still make their iconic Biddenden Cider.

Biddenden Vineyards is open to the public throughout the year and offers a range of tours, such as Meet the Winemaker, where you can learn how they plant, prune, and pick vines by hand to produce their award-winning wines.

Chapel Down

This beautiful winery is situated in the village of Small Hythe, under an hour’s drive from Hollyfields. The climate and terrain here are very similar to the Champagne region in France, making it ideal for producing quality chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot Meunier. 

The team at Chapel Down have proudly supplied their award-winning wines to some of the UK's finest restaurants, bars, and supermarkets for many years.

Open all year round, the winery has a range of experiences available, from guided tours to cheese and wine tastings. And if you're feeling peckish, stop at The Swan, the vineyard's very own restaurant, to feast on delicious local and regional produce.

Barnsole Vineyard

Barnsole Vineyard can be found in the picturesque village of Staple in Canterbury and is one of the oldest wineries in Kent. The vineyard produces around 20,000 bottles each year, from crisp, clear whites to bold reds and sparkling reserves.

The wine-making team here really care about the quality of the wine they produce, sending sample bottles to the industry regulator for thorough analysis before releasing them to the public. This process has earned them the highest European accreditation of ‘Quality Wine’ makers. 

Barnsole Vineyard offers free wine tastings, as well as individual and group tours of the winery.

The Mount Vineyard

This ten-acre winery in Shoreham, Sevenoaks, is located less than half an hour from Oakhill. Spanning an impressive 10 acres, The Mount Vineyard grows eight different grape varieties.

Husband and wife team Simon and Sarah opened the doors of this Darent Valley winery in 2016 and are now renowned for the delicious pinot noir, rondo, Bacchus, and chardonnay they produce. The winery offers a range of experiences, from wine tours to tastings with a complimentary cheeseboard. There’s also now a restaurant onsite where you can sample small batch cheeses, locally sourced fruit and veg, and freshly baked bread in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

Balfour Winery at Hush Heath Estate

This world-renowned winery is located in Tonbridge, just a 15-minute drive from Farmstead at Tannersbrook. Co-founders Richard and Leslie planted their first vines here in 2002. Their Balfour Brut Rose won gold at the International Wine Challenge two years later. It also became the only English wine served at the London 2012 Olympics.

Today, Balfour Winery makes more than 400,000 bottles of still and sparkling varieties each year. Visitors to this winery can enjoy a range of tours and experiences, including tastings in their brand-new tasting room, overlooking the woodland and meadows of the surrounding estate.

Gusbourne Estate

The 60-hectare Gusbourne Estate can be found in the stunning village of Appledore in Ashford. Winemakers here believe in respecting the land their vines grow on and use sustainable practices to create optimum quality and taste in every wine they produce.

Their debut vintages, Brut Reserve 2006 and Blanc de Blancs 2006 earned them critical acclaim. Since then, they’ve created a range of award-winning chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.

Gusbourne Estate offers tours of the winery as well as tastings. This spring, they are also introducing a ‘picnic hamper for two’ filled with artisan cheese, charcuterie, fruit, homemade bread, and a bottle of Gusbourne Brut Reserve.

Squerryes Winery and Vineyard

‘It is permitted to be joyful’ is the wonderful family motto here at Squerryes, and it perfectly sums up the experience you have when you visit. Now managed by the eighth-generation Warde family, Squerryes Winery has become one of the most respected makers of sparkling wines across the UK and Europe.

After discovering that their soil and climate were similar to France’s Cote des Blancs region, the family decided to plant 36 acres of vines in 2006. Since then, they’ve become the only English wine estate to have won a gold medal for six consecutive vintages in the World Championships of Champagne and Sparkling Wine.

Their cellar door in Sevenoaks is open all year round and is conveniently located less than an hour from Foal Hurst Green. Visitors can also book themselves on to a guided tour or private tasting.

If you’d like to live within a few miles of some of these award-winning wineries, take a look at the latest collection of Berkeley Group properties available in Kent. From stylish apartments to brand new family homes, you’ll find a property to suit your needs here.