FOOD + DRINK
Vineyard Discovery cont...
SILVERHAND
To experience the estate for yourself, join one of the Wine Tasting Experiences(£ 25pp) running from Friday 4 to Wednesday 30 September. Taking you through the estate’ s award-winning still and sparkling wines, sip and savour each glass in the picturesque Glass House Tasting Room while overlooking the sweeping bends of vines sprawled across the estate.
Did you know?
A portion of Simpsons’ Wine Estate is known as their Roman Road Vineyard, aptly named as the rows are situated alongside the route the Romans first marched when invading England in AD 43.
Bringing the first chapter of Kent’ s wine story to a close is Domaine Evremond( domaineevremond. com), an estate born not from centuries of history, but from the shared dream between two friends, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath. The dream? To create the highest-quality English sparkling wine in the UK. This vision became reality in 2017, with over 125 hectares of land and 60 hectares planted to vine. To see it for yourself, wander through the vineyard’ s gentle south- and west-facing slopes on the Classic Cuvée Tasting and Domaine Tour(£ 60pp) before stepping inside the stateof-the-art winery, where the estate’ s wine is housed in cool chalk cellars. Finish the evening among the vines with a glass of Domaine Evremond’ s non-vintage Classic Cuvée, every sip has notes of orchard fruits, and a smooth, creamy finish.
“ The weather of 2026 has been great for the Brabourne vines and grapes. Along with lots of visitors for tours and tastings, we’ ve also been busy with events: afternoon tea, wellness evenings, Sip & Sketch and cocktail making, and we’ re looking forward to our open vineyard in September with pizza and jazz too!”
HESTER FENWICK, BRABOURNE VINEYARD
THE NEXT GENERATION OF VINES
Continuing Kent’ s viticultural legacy, the next generation of estates is putting down roots alongside the county’ s established vineyards. These emerging producers are already adding to Kent’ s awardwinning wine scene, with notable triumphs in the Independent English Wine Awards 2026; these estates are promising a sparkling future.
Established in 2009, Woodchurch Wine Estate( woodchurchwine. co. uk) and Brenley Wine( brenleywine. com) continue to cause quite the stir. At Brenley Wine, a new tradition of quality grapes is being cultivated, with bacchus, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier among the vineyards. A Guided Tour & Wine Tasting(£ 25pp) invites visitors to wander through rows of vines bordered by ripened fruit trees and from certain points, you can witness far-stretching views across Faversham and beyond.
Woodchurch Wine Estate, meanwhile, invites visitors to stay a little longer. Its on-site restaurant is reason enough to visit, serving estate-grown wines by the glass or bottle alongside generous charcuterie boards piled high with cured meats, olives and other local produce, making the perfect evening to soak up the last of the September sun.
Another standout vineyard this year is Brabourne Vineyard( brabournewine. com). Established in 2014 by Paul and Hester Fenwick, the boutique vineyard spans just two acres but has steadily moved through the ranks, yielding bountiful harvests of pinot noir, chardonnay and still rosé. Carefully cultivated by hand, every bottle reflects the couple’ s meticulous attention to detail, while every sip is teeming with Kentish charm. www. insidekent. co. uk • 105