When I was organising my Hen Weekend back in 1999 I had just returned from living in Australia, where I toured many fantastic wineries. British wine was not really on anyone’s radar back then but on discovering that Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey did tours and tastings – and was even walkable from Dorking Station – I decided it was a perfect place to visit.
I have to be honest, I don’t remember much about the wine – I do remember sitting on a land train that took us on the tour – and we certainly had fun. Fast forward 25 years and with my new passion for British sparkling wine I looked them up and discovered they now have a wine hotel. Even better they offer fantastic value winter breaks (and incidentally have some twin rooms, which are a rarity in wineries that seem to have overlooked that not everyone wants a romantic break – my winery buddy is my sister!)
So on a Sunday in mid-January when people are traditionally feeling blue and contemplating those new year’s resolutions that have already been broken I was practically skipping up for my afternoon tour and tasting.
What I especially loved about this one was that you were immediately given a glass of sparkling wine while you watched an interesting video about the history of Denbies. Then you walked around the winery, tasting as you went and as a finale our knowledgeable guide Jeremy let us sample the Cubitt Blanc de Blancs 2016 which was a huge crowd pleaser. I’ve often wondered why Denbies isn’t as visible as some of the other large British wine producers but I learnt that they make wines for many other brands including Morrisons and M&S.
Our evening meal at the hotel was delicious and the full Denbies range could be bought by the glass so we finished fittingly with the dessert wine. We lucked out with the weather and woke to a frosty morning with winter sun over the vines. There’s lots of walking trails at Denbies to enable visitors to make the most of the beautiful Surrey Hills.
I’m so pleased I returned. It’s lovely to see how much Denbies Wine Estate has developed and being able to stay on site for a great value mini break was a real treat.
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