Denbies Wine Estate

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Vines at Denbies, looking towards Ranmore Common (taken in Autumn)

Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking, Surrey has the largest vineyard in England with 265 acres under vines, representing over 10% of the plantings in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a visitors'centre which attracts around 300,000 visitors a year.

The estate is named for an early owner called John Denby. It passed through various hands in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and at one time it belonged to the preeminent Victorian master builder, Thomas Cubitt, who modernised the house. He was visited at Denbies by Prince Albert, who planted a commemorative tree with survived until the Great Storm of 1990. In 1984 the Estate was purchased by a local businessman named Adrian White. From 1986 to 1989 he had the south facing slopes planted with vines. These cover 265 acres of the 627 acre estate, the remainder of which is woodland and pasture. Denbies is situated on the North Downs which are a range of chalk hills and the topsoil consists of fertile loam interspersed with flints. The average yield is 300,000 litres of wine per year .

Visitor centre, with tour bus

The visitors' centre occupies a double courtyard building in a traditional local style. It features a lecture room, cinema, art gallery, a working winery which visitors ride through on a "people mover" while listening to a commentary, wine cellars, two restaurants and a shop. In the summer there are also tours of the vineyards themselves. The estate also runs Denbies Guest House in one its farmhouses and a kitchen garden centre. It offers venues and catering for corporate functions and weddings.

Around 65% of Denbies' wine is sold at the visitors' centre, with the remainder being sold to supermarkets, wholesalers and through mail order.