Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, Surrey
This award winning vineyard near Dorking has been owned and run by the same family since 1984; chalk soils and the right microclimate mean they can grow a range of grapes suited to cool-climate winemaking, and with a lot of hard work from an enthusiastic team, they’ve become one of the biggest wine producers in the UK. The backdrop of the beautiful Surrey Hills AONB just adds to the perfectness of Denbies Wine Estate, especially on glorious summer mornings when there’s not a cloud in the sky and the air is fresh and clear; it feels so quintessentially English.
Well, you don’t need us to ramble on about it, you can go and see it all for yourselves; in fact there’s so much there you could easily while away a whole day there. Book a tour – they do several, both indoors and outdoors; wine tasting tours, vineyard train tours, evening tours, and of course, group tours, which are a brilliant thing for hen parties or corporate groups. You could tie it in with lunch at The Gallery Restaurant overlooking the vines, or with a breakfast at Denbies Conservatory Restaurant. You might like to have a browse in the gift shop which sells scarves and bags and jewellery and scented candles and the like, and to pick up some spanking fresh produce from the Village Greens Farm Shop.
Also on site is the Surrey Hills Brewery and if you want to stretch your legs, 7 miles of public footpaths go through Denbies Wine Estate.
Open: 9.30 am-5.00 pm every day
T: 01306 876616 All information correct at the time of writing