Denbies Wine Estate - Dorking, Surrey

Denbies Wine Estate, in the glorious Surrey hills, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! The 265 acre vineyard was planted in 1986 and is now a major English wine producer; it's owned by Adrian White a water scientist, entrepreneur and inventor. His son, Christopher is currently in charge of Denbies and its wine. Click here

Adrian White bought the Denbies estate in 1980 when the hilly land was being used to farm cattle and pigs. A neighbour, Professor Richard Selling who was a Professor of Geology at Imperial College, London suggested a radical change; he realised that the bowl shape of the land was the same as the Champagne country of France. Assured that the soil and weather on the south-facing slopes could sustain the production of wine Adrian decided to have a go - the rest is history!

To fully appreciate the scale and beauty of the estate I would recommend you take the Vineyard Outdoor Train Tour followed by the Indoor Tour which includes a 20 minute Cinema Experience, a walk through the Working Winery and finally a visit to the Cellar for a Wine Tasting Session!

All aboard! Just about to start the tour.

'The Brokes' - Reichensteiner planted in 1988.

'Hill Side' - Chardonnay planted in 1991.