Discovering the Wine Garden of England

My journey around the Wine Garden of England started long before the Members Club existed. It was a visit to Gusbourne with my sister back in 2021 that opened our eyes to the amazing wine tourism we have in this country. At the time very few people knew about it, and it sparked the idea for my Best British Bubbly website.

We were excited to discover more and a couple of years later spent a blissful weekend based in Tenterden where we enjoyed a tour & tasting followed by superb dinner at Chapel Down. The following day we treated ourselves to a lunchtime platter, a walk in the vines and a tutored tasting at Balfour Estate. It was a fabulous 48 hours of locally sourced food, wine flights and lots more knowledge about the growing English wine industry. It turns out we missed a trick as Biddenden is just down the road from where we were staying so it would have been easy to combine that too.

I live in the Midlands, so my Kent wine trips require more time and logistics planning that those who live in the South and have easy access to the beautiful Wine Garden of England. When I saw details of the Summer Celebration, I knew it would be my perfect day out. All the members of the Wine Garden of England come together for a fabulous afternoon of wine tasting, street food and live music. We went along in 2024 and loved it.

When the membership launched in 2025 it seemed a great way to visit more of the diverse vineyards and wineries in the collaboration. Each one is affectionately given a nickname and having already visited ‘The Luxury Escape’, ‘The British Icon’ and ‘The Rural Masterpiece’ we were ready for more. We also knew we didn’t have to visit all 9 in one year to make the membership excellent value for money – especially as we also got a discount off Summer Celebration tickets.

In Spring we travelled to Canterbury and hopped on a local bus which dropped us a short distance from Simpsons Wine Estate (‘The Contemporary Boutique’). We had upgraded our experience to a special Mother’s Day afternoon tea and after tasting their sensational wines we chose to exit via the unique ‘fruit chute’ slide directly into the winery which was brilliant fun – honestly, I still smile at the memory now!

When the Summer Celebration came around again in June we decided to max-out on vineyard visits while down in Kent. Basing ourselves in Ashford, we visited Westwell Wines (‘The Indie Label’) getting the train to Charing then taking a leisurely 30-minute walk through the villages and country lanes. As we visited on a Friday, we were able to coincide with their popular pizza nights which allowed us to soak up the relaxed vibe, great views (across the vines and inside the winery).

On the Saturday we started our day in style with the Classic Cuvee Tasting at Domain Evremond (‘The Anglo French Alliance’ – and not just any old French Alliance - the partner is Champagne Taittinger!). It is difficult to say what’s most impressive – the elegant tasting room or the stunning views. Always keen to travel sustainably if we can, we got the train to Chilham station and walked on a public footpath through fields. From there we headed straight to the Summer Celebration for more wine tasting and good times.

Before we knew it Autumn was upon us, but we still managed to fit in a final tour and guided wine tasting at Yotes Court Vineyard (‘The Winning View’). Despite visiting over 70 vineyards in this country the view here really was breathtaking and visiting at the end of October we saw all the beautiful Autumn colours. Harvest was complete but there were a few grapes left on the vines which we were invited to try.

Our commitments meant we didn’t make it back to Kent in the run up to Christmas but with many of the experiences available all year there are opportunities to keep enjoying your membership.

At the end of the first year of the Members Club there was an unexpected bonus – an exclusive event hosted in the stylish Cork Room at Squerryes (‘The Ancestral Estate’) where we tasted rarer wines and pre-releases from all the members.  

I love hearing the stories behind each bottle and each vineyard. Everyone is unique and I think the Wine Garden of England Members Club is a wonderful way to access a range of experiences. Far from feeling I’m done, I know there is lots more to discover.  

You can find out more about the here.