- Expertise spanning over 170 years
- Closely forged relationships with our producers
- State of the art storage and logistics facilities
Sussex Fine wine
There’s a good argument to made that, over the last 20 years or so, Sussex is the county that has been most influential in taking English Sparkling Wine from a curious novelty to an established category on the shelves of most wine merchants.
While Kent has been the traditional vanguard of the English wine scene, it was the emergence of Sussex-based producers such as Nyetimber and Ridgeview in the 1990s that catapulted the sparkling wines to prominence, largely by following the Champagne formula for elevated fizz. Since then, the chalk-based soils of the county’s South Downs have proved fertile ground for a host of producers – some based in Sussex, some elsewhere, but dipping into the region to source grapes. Rathfinny and Wiston Estate are among the most prominent Sussex-based names to have joined Ridgeview and Nyetimber, forming a coterie of quality-focused producers.
Sussex vintages and styles
Sussex wine FAQs
Why is Sussex such an important wine region in England?
Sussex is the only English wine region with its own PDO – a Protected Designation of Origin – to act as a guarantee of certain criteria which should ensure a certain typicity among Sussex sparkling wines. The introduction of the PDO was not without controversy, with not all producers in favour, and some commentators pointing out that it didn’t necessarily differentiate Sussex wines, since terroir doesn’t respect county boundaries, and many wines from other regions draw on Sussex fruit. Nonetheless, wines marked as Sussex Sparkling must be made exclusively from the classic Champagne grape varieties, grown in Sussex and made using the traditional method – the same as in Champagne, with the second fermentation in bottle – with hand-harvesting, a minimum alcohol level, and minimum less ageing. Vintage wines must be 85% made from grapes of that year.
What styles of wine does Sussex specialise in?
In a word, fizz. In the late 1990s, producers such as Ridgeview and Nyetimber realised that the future lay in cultivating the same grape varieties as Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – and blending them in a similar style to the famous French region. As knowledge and investment increased, and other well-funded producers came on stream, so the quality of the wines started improving at a rapid rate, a warming climate further helping winemakers’ cause. Today, the best examples showcase a style of sparkling wine that combines richness and freshness, while an increasing number of producers are beginning to reach similar standards with their still white wines, largely made from Chardonnay.