This content was produced for Visit Britain by the foundry @ Meredith Corp. Food & Wine editorial staff was not involved in its creation or production.
This content was produced for Visit Britain by the foundry @ Meredith Corp. Food & Wine editorial staff was not involved in its creation or production.
Hush Heath Estate—ensconced in the picturesque county of Kent, a short 90-minute drive south of London—is one of 100+ sparkling wineries in Great Britain. Explore England’s top vineyards here and learn more about British restaurants with robust sparkling wine lists here.
The grapes used to make sparkling wine—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier—thrive in Kent because it is the warmest and driest county in the UK with a variety of soils perfect for making world-class wines. It’s no wonder Kent is also known as “The Garden of England,” a moniker coined by Henry VIII!
Kent is home to over 50 wineries, including Barnsole Vineyards and Gusbourne Estate. Both boast acres of beautifully lush vineyards, as well as small daily tours and tastings with full consideration for the safety of staff and customers.
The wines are bottled with the addition of a small amount of sugar and yeast and sealed with a crown cap. The wine then undergoes a second fermentation. At this time, carbon dioxide is trapped in the bottle, which gives the sparkling wine its sparkle. After up to four years of aging, the bottles are corked, labeled, and shipped to restaurants and high-end wine shops throughout Britain and worldwide, including the US.
Tours of Hush Heath include stops at the estate’s vineyard, apple orchard, woodlands, and winery, and end in the tasting room, where visitors can sip a glass of sparkling wine on the patio, from, April-October.
Hush Heath Estate’s Balfour Wines—known for their clean, fresh, and precise style—have been a leader in the British wine movement since the early 2000s and have won countless awards. Other award-winning wines from the region can be found at Chapel Down and Biddenden, the oldest vineyard in Kent.
While Kent is a leading region in the production of sparkling wine, other areas of Great Britain are also home to thriving wineries. In Surrey, the new Vineyard Hotel at Denbies—the largest vineyard in England—overlooks nearly 360 acres of estate. Camel Valley in Cornwall offers tours, tastings, and stays in vineyard cottages. In the summer, guests can also fish in the estate’s private stretch of the Camel River.
