Grape Britain

We headed down to deepest darkest Kent for something you might find a little surprising on these British isles. Our destination was the tiny village of Tenterden, Kent; the home of the Chapel Down Winery.

Believe it or not, England is in the wine business & in a big way too. Chapel Down are a multi-award winning vineyard that alledgedly provided wines for the Royal Wedding of Prince William & Kate Middleton. We headed down to take a look at their facilities & sample the range.

To prove those royal credentials, just a week after our visit, Camilla, the Dutchess of Cornwall was on site sampling their fine produce.

We started out in the vineyard itself in a typically British drizzle.

Our tour guide Freddie told us all about the processes involved with the lush green grapes in front of us.

Before we headed into the production warehouse to see how the grapes are turned into wine.

First stop was this custom-made grape crusher (above), the largest machine of it’s kind in the country.

There is a serious amount of wine being produced here. There were around a dozen of these giant vats on site with swimming pool filling volumes of wine inside…

From production, it was through to the final stage; packaging. We worked our way along the on-site production line where an exclusive range was being prepared for Marks & Spencer.

Before the most important part- the tasting!

Freddie took us right through their range, from reds & whites to rosé’s & sparkling finishing with his personal favourite, The 2008 Blanc De Blancs vintage sparkling white.

What a cracking selection it was too. I left a little lighter in the wallet with a bottle of the very light & refreshing “English Rose” under my arm. I LOVE the way it’s labelled English ROSE & not English Rosé!

ENJOY!

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