The English Wine Diaries

Send us Fan Mail Today's guest is Simon Robinson, founder and owner of Hattingley Valley in Hampshire and current chairman of Wine GB , which is the national trade association for grape-growers and winemakers in the UK. Next month, he will hand over the Wine GB reigns to Sam Linter, from Bolney Wine Estate.  Simon was previously a senior partner at city law firm Slaughter and May for 24 years...

Send us Fan Mail Today my guest is wine business entrepreneur Lucy Dalwadi. In 2020 Lucy founded Lucy’s Wine, an online wine delivery service which focuses on natural and organic wines from across the globe. Lucy previously worked in the luxury fashion sector, but during lockdown decided to make the jump that she’d dreamt of since university – coupling her entrepreneurial spirit with her love of w...

Send us Fan Mail Today my guest is wine writer Liz Sagues, whose latest book, Sussex by the Glass focuses on  two of the county's pioneering wine estates, Ridgeview and Bolney . The book takes the reader through a journey of English wine, from the early formative years right through to the emergence of powerhouse producers like Nyetimber, before focusing on the Ridgeview and Bolney stories. B...

Send us Fan Mail We're back with a second series of The English Wine Diaries podcast.  This week my guest is Steven Edwards, who in 2013 was crowned the sixth winner of BBC TV show Masterchef The Professionals . At the time, he was one of the youngest ever winners of the competition at 26 years old and his food was described by Michael Roux Junior as ‘faultless’.  Following his win, Steven se...

Send us Fan Mail Today my guest is Camilla Jennings from Jenkyn Place in Hampshire. Camilla's father, Simon Bladon, planted the first vines at their family home in 2004 and Camilla joined the business 10 years later. We talk about her decision to join the family business following a career in property, how English wine got under her father's skin (and in turn hers) and the vineyard'...

Send us Fan Mail This week my guest is Ruth Simpson from Simpsons Wine Estate, in the village of Barham in Kent.  Ruth and her husband Charles have been making wine at their property in the South of France for almost two decades but in 2014 decided to bring their expertise back to the UK, establishing Simpsons, right in the heart of what is now known as the Wine Garden of England. Ruth’s backgroun...

Send us Fan Mail Today my guest in Neil Walker , who after 15 years working in banking, set up The English Vine in a bid to bring English Wine to a new generation of wine drinker via a no-nonsense approach.  The company has already had an incredibly successful pop-up bar in Shorditch - the first in London to focus solely on English and Welsh wines - and Neil’s ‘Wine Revolution’ as he likes to call...

Send us Fan Mail This week my guest is Kristin Syltevik, founder of Oxney Organic Estate, near Rye in East Sussex. Norway-born Kristin started the vineyard, now the largest single-estate producer of English organic wine, in 2012 after a long career in public relations and runs it with her partner, Paul Dobson. Oxney's 35 acres of vines produce around 20% of all organic grapes grown in the UK,...

Send us Fan Mail This week my guest is Chris White, CEO of Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, right in the heart of the Surrey Hills. The land Denbies sits on  was once a pig farm, before Chris's father, Adrian, was advised by neighbour Professor Richard Selling that the bowl shape of the land was the same as countryside in Champagne and the unique characteristics of the North Downs landscape we...

Send us Fan Mail Fergus Elias is one of the country’s youngest Head Winemakers. He first joined the Balfour Hush Heath Winery in Kent as a cellarhand in 2014 and, after studying at Plumpton College, has worked up the ranks, quickly following in the footsteps of his father, Owen, who with 30 years’ experience is considered one of England’s top winemakers. Recently Fergus has been involved in some e...

Send us Fan Mail Together with her husband Mark, Sarah Driver established Rathfinny Wine Estate in Alfriston, on the Sussex South Downs in 2010, initially planting 60,000 vines.  A decade later and the estate now has over 380,000 vines, a RIBA-nominated winery, an award-winning  restaurant, stunning accommodation in the Flint Barns and is well on its way to being one of, if not the, largest vineya...

Send us Fan Mail Robin Hutson is one of the most successful and influential hoteliers in the country.  Robin started working in the hospitality industry at some of London’s top luxury hotels including Claridge’s and The Berkeley, before founding his own hotel chain, Hotel du Vin, together with renowned sommelier Gerard Bassay, in 1994.  More recently Robin founded THE PIG hotel group, which this y...