BIDDENDEN VINEYARDS
Kent’ s original vineyard, Biddenden has always been driven by the passion and knowledge of the Barnes family, with over 55 years of winemaking experience and knowledge honed, perfected and passed down over three generations.
Originally home to an apple orchard and small mixed farm, the Barnes family started to consider diversifying the land in the late 1960s, as apple prices began to decline. After listening to a feature on the BBC’ s Woman’ s Hour about English vineyards being replanted, Joyce Barnes was inspired to turn to viticulture. In 1969, one third of an acre of vines was planted and Biddenden Vineyards was born. Today, the vineyard is run by the second and third generations of the family, drawing on many years of experience in winemaking at Biddenden.
Our single-estate vineyard on Gribble Bridge Lane spans 25 acres of gentle south-facing slopes. 12 varieties of grapes are grown to produce award-winning white, red, rosé, sweet and sparkling quality English wines. Approximately 80,000 bottles of wine are produced each year and all the grapes are grown on the estate, with all vineyard work and picking carried out by hand.
A desire to innovate and stay at the forefront of our industry continues to drive Biddenden forwards. Knowledge, honed and perfected over 55 years, coupled with the foresight of founder Joyce Barnes to plant vines of varieties that are still in the ground today( now some of the oldest in the country), has enabled Biddenden to push the limits of still winemaking in the UK. Biddenden’ s signature variety, Ortega, accounts for
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