A small family-run vineyard with a mighty pedigree, the team at Hambledon Vineyard have an ongoing mission to create the finest, world-class English Fizz. And according to critics from the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), they’re succeeding – in 2021, Hambledon scooped Gold Medals for both their extremely quaffable pink Hambledon Classic Cuvee Rosé and their immensely enjoyable Hambledon Premiere Cuvée English sparkling wines.

Established back in 1952, Hambledon is England’s oldest commercial vineyard. Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones came back from France to his birth region and was inspired to plant the first vines in the Hampshire village of Hambledon, a quintessentially English part of Hampshire’s South Downs that’s also known as the Cradle of Cricket.

In 1999, after years of being neglected, the vineyard was acquired by current owner Ian Kellett, who understood the potential of the vineyard’s terroir, history and location. Kellett also recruited Herve Jestin, Champagne’s leading Chef de Caves. Together, in 2013, Kellett and Jestin opened a new state-of-the-art, fully gravity-fed winery – the only one in the UK – which enables the team to produce their sparkling drops with minimal intervention.

Order online or – better still – at the cellar door. Take a tour and walk through the historical vineyards, visit their state-of-the-art winery (the only one of its kind in the UK) and explore Hambledon’s underground chalk cellars, all led by their team of friendly wine experts. Finish your tour with an all-important tutored tasting of their Finest Fizz.

And there’s also a bumper calendar of special events at Hambledon Vineyard too, from sparkling afternoon teas to pop-up restaurants, jazz and fizz, cookery classes and more.