Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Chapel Down is England’s leading winery. Located in Tenterden, in the heart of the Kent countryside, Chapel Down offers a world-class range of sparkling wines created using the Traditional Method, also used in Champagne, from chardonnays and pinot grapes grown in the Southeast of England.
With a mission to surprise and delight, Chapel Down has quickly gained support from leading chefs and sommeliers as well as receiving an unparalleled array of international awards.
Chapel Down offers guided tours of vineyards and of the winery, which boasts excellent visitor facilities, including an impressive restaurant, herb garden and retail shop.
The limestone soils of England’s southern end have proven ideal for the production of British sparkling wine. While it might seem too damp and cold for grape growing in England, recent warm summers and the onset of global warming signify great future growth for the British wine industry.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.