English Wine Shops In and Around the South Downs
I've made quite a few forays down to the South Downs and surrounding area in the past few years, both for walking, and because the area is the heart of English winemaking country. On my travels I've often passed through towns in Sussex and the surrounding counties and whilst there have sought out the local wine shops to see what their selection of wines from the region is like. So I thought it would be interesting to put together a list of these - which is by no means exhaustive - but just recounts those I happen to have been to.
I'd been keen to visit this shop for some time, having often passed through the village of Lindfield on the way to or from my vinegrowing course in Scaynes Hill. Alas I always seemed to be in a rush, and it wasn't until some time after the course finished when I finally had a good opportunity - at the end of a walk along the Sussex Ouse Valley Way. The name slightly suggested the wine offering here might be exclusively local, and although that wasn't in fact the case I think there was a dignified selection of English wines here including wines from Nyetimber, Sugrue, Wiston, Rathfinny, Bluebell, Albourne, Court Garden, Oxney and Bolney. I got the sense of a higher end focus in their English sparkling selection - they had Nyetimber's 1086 wines for example.
Even before I started regularly visiting Sussex for walks, I had been a couple of times for vineyard visits (the first two being Nyetimber and Nutbourne). The nearest station to both of these is Pulborough, and so Hennings was the natural calling point at the end of the day to pick something up for the train journey home. I also ended up here at the end of a walk along the South Downs Way from the Devil's Dyke to Washington.
Nyetimber always seemed to be the order of the day when shopping at Hennings, given its proximity to their home vineyard, but I believe on my last visit they also stocked one or two other producers, including Wiston.
I don't have a photo of the shop itself, so the one above of chips and ESW (purchased from Hennings) on the train from Pulborough will have to suffice!
Another instance where you'll have to make do with a picture of the wine I bought at the shop rather than the shop itself - The General Wine Company in Petersfield. I first discovered this shop when I'd taken a few friends to the Harrow Inn for lunch, and wanted something to keep the party going on the train back to London. I subsequently returned at the end of a section of the South Downs Way from Cocking to Petersfield. Their English sparkling selection included wines from Upperton and Hambledon.
As a rule I would rather focus on small independent wine shops here, but I think it's fair to say Waitrose has done far more than any of the other supermarkets to champion English wine, and what I particularly like is that most branches of Waitrose have a subtly different range of English wines, usually with some focus on those produced more locally. The Waitrose in Haywards Heath was a handy stopping off point on the way back from my vinegrowing course, being conveniently located right next to the train station. By coincidence one of the other attendees on the course was Victoria Mason, the wine buyer responsible for English wine at Waitrose at the time, which helped contribute to my sense of the company taking a serious interest in our domestic wine industry.
I was pleased to see on the shelves here not just industry leaders like Nyetimber and Ridgeview but also a nod to those which were particularly close by, like Bolney, as well as smaller producers like Breaky Bottom.
This branch also has a wine bar on site where you can drink any bottle of wine from the store with a very reasonable £7 corkage charge. On my most recent visit Nyetimber was on special offer at £27, making the drink-in price just £34 - which seemed an absolute bargain (compare this to bars/restaurants in London which in extreme cases charge over £100 a bottle, and then add 12.5% service charge!).
OK, it is still a corner of a supermarket, and therefore may not have the world's most scintillating atmosphere, but the staff were very pleasant, there were free snacks included in the price, and we bumped into English wine superstar Dermot Sugrue at the checkout! To me this seemed like £34 very well spent.
As a big fan of Harveys beer as well as English wine, this shop is a slice of heaven for me. A recent tweet from Breaky Bottom reports that the shop has been selling BB since their first vintage in 1974 which must make them one of the earliest and longest running suppliers of English wine. In addition to Breaky Bottom - the nearest vineyard to Lewes - there are wines on sale here from Court Garden, Albourne, Ridgeview, Balfour, Nutbourne, Plumpton and others. It's a lovely shop and the staff are impressively knowledgeable considering the very broad range of products on offer.
Yes, you read that right - the post office! A recent walk started and ended in Haslemere and a Google Maps search for wine shops in the town had not looked too promising - the one place which looked like an independent wine shop (named either "Vins et Fromages" or "The Haslemere Cellar") appeared to have closed down when I walked past. The selection in the local Waitrose was a bit limited - just Nyetimber and Ridgeview (it was in fairness a fairly small branch with very limited space for the whole of the wine section). However, I just happened to walk past the post office building, idly glanced through the window, and did a bit of a double take when I spotted several tall fridges full of English sparkling.
This was an impressive selection: Wiston, Hatingley, Hambledon, Greyfriars, Bluebell, Chapel Down, Coates & Seely, Ridgeview, Bolney, Jenkyn Place, Fitz, Upperton, Nyetimber and Stopham. Better still everything was chilled. Although it felt slightly strange queuing for the post office counter with a bottle in hand while everyone else had parcels.
South Downs Cellars, Lindfield
I'd been keen to visit this shop for some time, having often passed through the village of Lindfield on the way to or from my vinegrowing course in Scaynes Hill. Alas I always seemed to be in a rush, and it wasn't until some time after the course finished when I finally had a good opportunity - at the end of a walk along the Sussex Ouse Valley Way. The name slightly suggested the wine offering here might be exclusively local, and although that wasn't in fact the case I think there was a dignified selection of English wines here including wines from Nyetimber, Sugrue, Wiston, Rathfinny, Bluebell, Albourne, Court Garden, Oxney and Bolney. I got the sense of a higher end focus in their English sparkling selection - they had Nyetimber's 1086 wines for example.
Hennings Wine Merchants, Pulborough
Even before I started regularly visiting Sussex for walks, I had been a couple of times for vineyard visits (the first two being Nyetimber and Nutbourne). The nearest station to both of these is Pulborough, and so Hennings was the natural calling point at the end of the day to pick something up for the train journey home. I also ended up here at the end of a walk along the South Downs Way from the Devil's Dyke to Washington.
Nyetimber always seemed to be the order of the day when shopping at Hennings, given its proximity to their home vineyard, but I believe on my last visit they also stocked one or two other producers, including Wiston.
I don't have a photo of the shop itself, so the one above of chips and ESW (purchased from Hennings) on the train from Pulborough will have to suffice!
The General Wine Company, Petersfield
Another instance where you'll have to make do with a picture of the wine I bought at the shop rather than the shop itself - The General Wine Company in Petersfield. I first discovered this shop when I'd taken a few friends to the Harrow Inn for lunch, and wanted something to keep the party going on the train back to London. I subsequently returned at the end of a section of the South Downs Way from Cocking to Petersfield. Their English sparkling selection included wines from Upperton and Hambledon.
Hobbs of Henfield
This was an unexpected find, which I discovered on a walk from Henfield to Steyning. A pretty good showing of English wines here, as pictured above, including Bolney, Wiston, Nyetimber, Albourne, Upperton, Chapel Down and Stopham.
Waitrose, Haywards Heath
As a rule I would rather focus on small independent wine shops here, but I think it's fair to say Waitrose has done far more than any of the other supermarkets to champion English wine, and what I particularly like is that most branches of Waitrose have a subtly different range of English wines, usually with some focus on those produced more locally. The Waitrose in Haywards Heath was a handy stopping off point on the way back from my vinegrowing course, being conveniently located right next to the train station. By coincidence one of the other attendees on the course was Victoria Mason, the wine buyer responsible for English wine at Waitrose at the time, which helped contribute to my sense of the company taking a serious interest in our domestic wine industry.
I was pleased to see on the shelves here not just industry leaders like Nyetimber and Ridgeview but also a nod to those which were particularly close by, like Bolney, as well as smaller producers like Breaky Bottom.
This branch also has a wine bar on site where you can drink any bottle of wine from the store with a very reasonable £7 corkage charge. On my most recent visit Nyetimber was on special offer at £27, making the drink-in price just £34 - which seemed an absolute bargain (compare this to bars/restaurants in London which in extreme cases charge over £100 a bottle, and then add 12.5% service charge!).
OK, it is still a corner of a supermarket, and therefore may not have the world's most scintillating atmosphere, but the staff were very pleasant, there were free snacks included in the price, and we bumped into English wine superstar Dermot Sugrue at the checkout! To me this seemed like £34 very well spent.
Harveys Brewery Shop, Lewes
As a big fan of Harveys beer as well as English wine, this shop is a slice of heaven for me. A recent tweet from Breaky Bottom reports that the shop has been selling BB since their first vintage in 1974 which must make them one of the earliest and longest running suppliers of English wine. In addition to Breaky Bottom - the nearest vineyard to Lewes - there are wines on sale here from Court Garden, Albourne, Ridgeview, Balfour, Nutbourne, Plumpton and others. It's a lovely shop and the staff are impressively knowledgeable considering the very broad range of products on offer.
Haslemere Post Office, Haslemere
Yes, you read that right - the post office! A recent walk started and ended in Haslemere and a Google Maps search for wine shops in the town had not looked too promising - the one place which looked like an independent wine shop (named either "Vins et Fromages" or "The Haslemere Cellar") appeared to have closed down when I walked past. The selection in the local Waitrose was a bit limited - just Nyetimber and Ridgeview (it was in fairness a fairly small branch with very limited space for the whole of the wine section). However, I just happened to walk past the post office building, idly glanced through the window, and did a bit of a double take when I spotted several tall fridges full of English sparkling.
This was an impressive selection: Wiston, Hatingley, Hambledon, Greyfriars, Bluebell, Chapel Down, Coates & Seely, Ridgeview, Bolney, Jenkyn Place, Fitz, Upperton, Nyetimber and Stopham. Better still everything was chilled. Although it felt slightly strange queuing for the post office counter with a bottle in hand while everyone else had parcels.
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