I recently visited the stunning Rathfinny Estate, a beautiful family owned state of the art vineyard located in the beautiful South Downs National Park, just outside the medieval village of Alfriston. From London it took us just under 2 hours by car and there is plenty of parking spots on site. I have really fallen in love with Sussex and Sussex Sparkling Wines this year and maybe one day in the future we can move there. One can dream!
First of all the drive into the wine estate was simply breathtaking! Rows and rows of vines on the spectacular 600-acres of vineyards owned by the estate. It is definitely one of the most scenic drives into a wine estate that I have ever experienced! You could even catch a glimpse of the sea in the distance!
Rathfinny Wine Estate was established in 2010 by Mark and Sarah Driver, launching their first English sparkling wines in 2018. I mean they literally have my dream life but what I really admire is their perseverance and dedication to putting English Sparkling Wine firmly on the map, outperforming renowned French brands!
I also applaud their ethos to consider the environment in all of their operations and was impressed to read that Rathfinny’s new buildings are constructed with locally-sourced materials, using sustainable technologies such as photovoltaic cells and wastewater recycling. They have also worked with Natural England, the National Trust and the South Downs National Park to implement a programme of improvements to enhance wildlife habitats, while reviving and reclaiming areas of natural chalk grassland and creating wildlife corridors to improve biodiversity.
The vineyard is spread along the chalky hilly terrain facing the South, with similar weather conditions as the Champagne region in France giving it the perfect terroir to produce high quality sparkling wines. All the wines are produced from hand-harvested grapes that are whole-bunch pressed and patiently matured, on lees and in bottle to develop rich, autolytic notes, with a low dosage that emphasises the purity of the fruit.
The varieties planted are predominantly Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier for their Sussex Sparkling wines. In addition, they have smaller blocks of Pinot Gris for their Cradle Valley still wine.
You can opt to do tasting tours, vineyard walks, dine alfresco or in their Tasting Room, and even spend the night in the Flint Barns! That is definitely on my wish list for later this year.
We had decided to visit for a leisurely Sunday afternoon picnic and it was fabulous. With our picnic we devoured their 2016 Blanc de Blancs which was superb.
It was such a marvellous way to spend a summery afternoon though I was very grateful for their sheltered marquee which you can sit under if it starts to rain as the weather was erratic. If you visit on a lovely summery day they have some gorgeous picnic tables overlooking the vines.
The food menu was fabulous and very high quality. Such a great selection for a picnic! I loved the presentation of it in a wooden crate filled with cute boxes and mason jars. We indulged in a host of delights including a heavenly sourdough baguette, chickpea hummus, Bombay potato and mango salad. The picnic also includes a jar of choice from ham hock and summer peas, marinated squid or English asparagus.
For dessert there was a delicious Summer pudding made from local berries and creme fraiche panna cotta.
The portions were large and definitely enough to keep you filled up for a few hours, which I was impressed by as often picnic portions can be on the smaller side. They also provide blankets if it isn’t quite warm enough.
The staff were all so warm and friendly and we absolutely loved our time there. We managed to squeeze in a quick walk between the vines before the heavens opened up and then it was then sadly time to go home.
It is one of the wine estates that really left an impression on me and I want to visit again and perhaps enjoy a dining experience at the Tasting Room, which has a Michelin Plate, and hopefully spend the night!
Address: Rathfinny Wine Estate, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5TU, England
Website: https://rathfinnyestate.com/
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