English organic wine & Sussex wine

Some of the biggest names in English wine are striving to create wines to rival the best in the World and Sussex in England’s south-east wine region is where some of the best vineyards are planted. 

There may be a growing number of excellent English wine producers in Sussex, but you won’t find many whose strategy is organic farming and organic wine production. One such wine producer is Oxney Organic Estate in East Sussex, the largest single-estate producer of organic English sparkling wine. 

Given the challenges posed by England’s relatively cool and wet climate, most English wine producers, although 100% committed to ‘sustainable farming’ and wine production are unable to commit to ‘organic’.

We were intrigued to find out more about Oxney Estate and discover how and why they make it work.

Oxney Organic Estate

Oxney comprises 35 acres of organic vineyard, part of an 800 acre organic farming estate, owned and managed by Kristin Syltevik and Paul Dobson. Oxney is located in between the towns of Rye and Tenterden, alongside the river Rother and on the edge of Romney Marsh. 

After a very successful career in technology PR, co-owner Kristin decided to follow her dream and establish a vineyard in this beautiful part of Sussex, but from the outset it was always going to be ‘organic’. 

Kristin in fact purchased 4 farms initially, merged them to create a single organic farming estate and in 2012 set about planting by hand some 8,500 vines on the best parcel of land for growing vines.

Those vines now number almost 60,000, producing in an average year, 850 bottles per acre. The first harvest was in 2014.

The fact that Waitrose added their wines to its English and organic wines portfolio in 2020 is testament to the significant achievement of Oxney Organic Estate in putting sustainability and organic processes at the heart of their wine business. 

Oxney organic vineyard

The vineyard is planted with the 3 grape varieties typically blended to make English sparkling wine - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier - along with the lesser known varietal, Seyval Blanc. This is an early-ripening grape, which suits England’s cooler climate and importantly, has good disease resistance.

The vineyard’s location has some natural benefits, which help create excellent conditions for growing high-quality organic grapes. The vines are planted on a warm, sheltered site on a gentle southwest-facing slope, which maximises sun exposure and aids ripening.  Located 6 miles from the English Channel and 17 metres above sea level, an adjoining ancient oak forest provides natural wind protection,

The healthy, well-draining ‘Tunbridge-Wells’ sand and silt-loam soils are nurtured with compost and manure from the cattle grazing on the farm, the vines are strengthened through targeted weed management and healthy grapes are encouraged by using natural spraying and careful canopy management (to achieve optimum airflow and exposure to sunlight).

Organic certification

According to Kristin, ‘We’re organic and we can’t imagine why everyone else isn’t!’  However, the fact that, as according to Oxney, some 20% of the organic grapes grown in the UK come from Oxney’s 35 acres, is proof that attaining ‘organic’ status, isn’t realistic for most English wine producers.

Kristin and Oxney need to be applauded for their uncompromising organic strategy, but there are good reasons why others are unable to sign up for it themselves - grape yields are lower and the risks of losing grapes to frost, mildew and disease are always higher.

Oxney’s vineyard and grapes are certified by the UK Soil Association.

Like Oxney we believe that a sustainable and preferably organic approach to viniculture (farming) and viticulture (wine-making) is key to the future of the wine industry, the environment and the planet - read more of our thoughts on this subject here.

Oxney winery

Organic, minimum intervention practices extend from the vineyard and into the onsite winery, situated close to the vineyards to optimise the quality and freshness of the grapes. The latest winemaking equipment is used in conjunction with natural techniques such as the use of natural yeasts, no filtration and minimal use of S02.

Oxney English sparkling wines

Oxney wines are hand-crafted as a showcase for the naturally high-quality, organic grapes grown in the vineyard.

Oxney produces a range of award-winning vintage and non-vintage sparkling wines, made by the traditional method. The ‘Classic’ vintage sparkling wines tell the story of each growing-season, whereas the ‘Estate’ non-vintage sparkling wines reflect a benchmark English sparkling wine and Oxney style. Both ranges include a white and a rosé, but in the Classic range there is also a 100% Chardonnay (Blanc de blancs) sparkling wine and a 100% Pinot Meunier sparkling wine.

Oxney has also introduced a lovely still rosé wine to its range.

Our wine tour to Oxney Organic Estate

Oxney only offers wine tours on a Saturday so we booked up a visit to round off our little tour of Kent and E. Sussex. It turned out to be a wonderful and relaxing way to end our trip!

Vineyard & winery tour

We started our tour with some introductions, facilitated by our guide, Caroline,  to establish the level of wine knowledge amongst the group, which made it much more personalised. Caroline then spent about 30 minutes giving an excellent introduction and context to English wine, explaining the challenges faced by wine producers in a cooler climate country and why a Chardonnay from one wine region can taste completely different to one from a different wine country and wine region.

We then all walked into the vineyard to appreciate more how the vines are looked after naturally to optimise grape health and quality and to talk some more about the growing season cycle for an organic English wine producer.

We then walked round into the winery - not a brand new, modern building but a beautiful converted Grade II listed square oast house, which all adds to the charm of Oxney.

Caroline introduced the winery as ‘where the magic happens’ - and of course she’s right! As well as natural winemaking processes, Oxney uses different types of oak barrels in the fermentation process to give their wines a hint of buttery croissants and hazelnuts (French oak) and vanilla (American oak).

Wine tasting

Now this is the part of the Oxney wine tour we really loved! It was wonderful to sit under an open teepee style tent/marquee, next to the vineyard and have a selection of stunning Oxney wines introduced to us by Caroline and served by Kristin, on hand to add her own personal perspective to the wine descriptions. Gazing across over the vineyard and the rustic winery and having wines served from what looks like an old traditional travellers caravan, was utterly charming - and relaxing!

We tasted 4 wines: The Classic 2017 sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, giving a lovely and long-lasting apple-fresh taste, but with subtle pastry notes - delicious. We then went on the Classic Rosé 2020 made from both Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, which was just lovely.

We were then able to compare the Classic Rosé 2020 with the 100% Classic Pinot Meunier 2017. Only 530 bottles of this were made and it’s very unusual to create a wine made of solely Pinot Meunier grapes - we absolutely loved it! And finally we tried the Estate non-vintage Rosé 2018 - a lovely, fresh and fruity sparkling rosé.

Something we found really good about the Oxney wine tasting is that there is no right or wrong about what you personally taste in a wine - everyone tastes something different. Caroline encouraged the group to explore and discover their own personal tastes.

Where to buy Oxney organic wines:

You can buy direct from Oxney’s website and at the cellar door. As mentioned, Waitrose also stocks Oxney wines and a wide selection of independent shops, locally in Kent and Sussex and in London. See here for details.

Useful information for your Oxney Organic Estate visit

Wine tours and wine tasting options

90 minute guided wine tours around the vineyard and winery, including a tasting of 4 wines, are offered every Saturday at 11am between April and November. 

What you can also do is book a picnic lunch for an extra £20pp to enjoy at leisure in the vineyards. We saw other people enjoying this and would love to go back to Oxney to experience it for ourselves - it really is the perfect picnic spot and the breads, cheeses and charcuterie looked delicious! See here for details.

What to see and do in the area

The Oxney Organic Estate lies in the designated ‘area of outstanding national beauty’, the High Weald, reputed to be one of England’s finest landscapes. Explore its ancient woodlands, nature reserves, medieval castles and manor houses. See here for inspiration on what to see and do in the beautiful High Weald.

Oxney is also located in ‘1066’ country, famous for historic towns, castles, the Battle of Hastings, glorious beaches, fresh seafood and nowadays also for lovely vineyards.

For ideas about what to see and do near Oxney, visit here.

The historic town of Rye  is just 10 minutes away and we loved our time here, with its medieval houses and cobbled streets as well as the beautiful Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. We spent some time on Camber Sands beach just 3 miles from Rye - 3 miles of clean sandy beach and dunes and where the movie Dunkirk was filmed!

Where to stay and where to eat near Oxney

We stayed in Rye during our trip and loved everything about the Rye Windmill. It served as an ideal base for us to explore Rye (a must) and other surrounding villages, Romney Marsh and Camber Sands on the coast.

However - next time we visit Oxney we will definitely be staying more local!

Oxney Organic Estate offers a range of accommodation options, all of which provide the opportunity to enjoy a really authentic wine and nature experience.

You can stay right next to the vineyard in a 3 bedroom house, or down the road in 1 of 3 converted barns (great option if you’re a large group, sleeping up to 14 in total). Or - and this is something we’d like to try - you can go really rural and off-piste and stay in 1 of 2 fabulous shepherd huts located amongst the vines! We chatted with a couple on our tour who had spent the previous night in one of the huts and absolutely loved it! They are really comfortable and well equipped and offer that get-away-from-everything-back-to-nature experience we all sometimes crave!

In terms of where to enjoy good food, Kent is not short on great places to enjoy its wonderful produce - the best of the vine, the hop and the land, as well as the sea! Check out some options in ‘1066 country’ here.

This is what we personally experienced in Rye:

We had a fabulous meal in Kent at ‘Webbe’s at the Fish Café.’ Superb fresh fish and shellfish - an award-winning restaurant in a restored warehouse. We can also recommend The Hoof in Rye for meat lovers - and for curry lovers, an excellent Bangladeshi restaurant called Mahdi Lounge (most amazing lamb curries!)

Transport

Oxney is located near Beckley, East Sussex. It takes about 1.5 hours by car to drive from London or you could access by train from London St. Pancras rail station, via Ashford and Rye (suggest getting a taxi from Rye).

Address: Oxney Organic Estate, Hobbs Lane, Beckley, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6TU

Other UK vineyards to visit in the area:

Here are other vineyards local to Oxney we would recommend, if you wished to combine 2 or more wine tours. visiting:

• Wiston Estate (see our blog about Wiston here)

• Gusbourne Estate (see our blog about our visit to Gusbourne here)

• Balfour - Hush Heath Estate (see our blog about Balfour-Hush Heath here)

Conclusion

We loved everything about our visit to Oxney Organic Estate - there’s something very special and unique here.

We were really impressed with the tour - Caroline was very informative and spent time educating, but also inspiring the group about the wonderful world of wine, in a very relaxed and informal way.

Everything about a wine tour at Oxney highlights how special wine is and that time should be taken to really appreciate, enjoy and savour it! Wine is something truly defined by terroir and Oxney makes wines that truly express English wine and they produce them with the greatest respect for nature and for the environment. The end product is testament to their beliefs that organic is the only way forward - and we tend to believe in this too.

We asked Kristin how she could make being organic viable commercially when so many other UK winemakers cannot and her response was, ‘We have a long term view - it depends what your driver is..’ Oxney is a business yes, but their overriding driver seems to us to be about protecting nature and the environment and working with it to produce the finest wines they possibly can for their customers to enjoy. Their wines certainly are fine and we can only applaud what they are achieving and encourage you to go experience it yourselves!!

Visit Oxney’s website for information and to book your visit.

Refer to our web pages for more information about UK wines and the South-East wine region of the UK

We hope you manage to visit Oxney some day soon!

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