Bookers Vineyard

In the heart of rural Sussex, one of Britain’s most beautiful southern counties, lies Bolney Wine Estate, a vineyard which carries on a tradition brought to Britain by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. Located in the village, Bolney Wine Estate, the vision of Janet and Rodney Pratt, is situated on a hill which was part of the Butting Hill One Hundred, listed in the Domesday Book. Village tradition has it that the Prince Regent was a frequent visitor to Bolney when travelling to Brighton, staying at Bolney Lodge of which Bolney Wine Estate formed a part in the 19th Century. We started back in 1972 as Bookers Vineyard, with 3 acres of vines. From then there have been international and national awards along the way and a few different winemakers too! The new era for us started in the 1990’s when Samantha Linter took charge of the winemaking. Since her arrival there have been many more awards and the vineyard plantings have expanded to the now 22 acres. In 2005 a brand new, state of the art winery was completed, with help in the form of a grant from DEFRA. This really and truly takes us to our intended goal of making top quality white, red and traditional method sparkling wines. In England the grpe harvest is usually in October. We hand pick our grapes and transport them carefully to the winery to avoid crushing, where they are pressed the same day. Long days and late nights are definitely the order of the day at harvest time! Our sparkling wines are all made from the traditional bottle fermentation method, aged for a period of at least 2-3 years, 'sur lie' (on their sides) after the 2nd fermentation has finished. This allows the wine to gain the toasty aroma and flavour from the yeast. Our tours and tastings afford a great opportunity to experience how a working vineyard and winery operate. At Bolney Wine Estate we take our guests on a tour of the vineyard to look at the vines, discussing the training system and talking about the growing and harvesting seasons.In September and October we have an opportunity to look at all the different grape varieties. Then on to the winery where we discuss the winemaking process from the arrival of the grapes to bottling of the finished wine. In September 2005 our new, state of the art winery was finished, thus providing you with the opportunity to look around the most advanced still wine producing winery in England! Our tours are completed with a tasting of Bolney Wine Estate wines and our own version of a Ploughman's lunch, locally made cheeses, pickles and ham with assorted salads. The business is family run, Samantha being the daughter of the owners and founders, Janet and Rodney Pratt.