About Davenport Vineyards

Davenport Vineyards started planting grape vines in 1991, carefully selecting two sites in South-East England's High Weald. The first vintage of the "Horsmonden" dry white wine was launched in 1995 and since then more than 30 top awards have been won at national and international level (we lost count a few years ago). 1997 saw the launch of the first vintage of sparkling wine, which is a specialist area where Davenport Vineyards hope to develop a reputation. In 2000 both vineyard sites were registered for organic management with the Soil Association, making Davenport Vineyards one of only three commercial UK vineyards to use only organic methods.

Will Davenport has been making English wines since 1989. Since then he has established a reputation as one of England's top winemakers, producing a range of wines which show consistent high quality, combined with a style that sets them apart from the rest. The range of wines include dry  white wines and "traditional method" sparkling wine. A red Pinot Noir is in the pipeline for 2006. All these English wines are made from grapes grown in our own vineyards and all the winemaking is completed in our own winery.

While just commencing organic registration (there is a compulsory 3 year conversion period), the wines are made to strict environmental guidelines, with no chemical fertilisers, insecticides or weed-killers used in the vineyards, and these have been our self-imposed guidelines since 1995. The winery also follows a policy of minimal chemical intervention, resulting in wines that comply with organic standards. The 2001 vintage are the first wines that are officially "Soil Association approved organic conversion" and wines are fully organic from the 2003 vintage.

All of our dry white wines have passed the UK Quality Wine Scheme standard and are entitled to be labelled as "English Quality Wine p.s.r.". These wines also carry the English Wine Producers Quality Wine Marque . These two quality assurance systems together give you the best guarantee of quality that is available. Our wines have been tasted and tested by independent panels, analysed for chemical faults, and passed the whole lot with ease. On top of this you can have confidence in the fact that our production methods are inspected by the Wine Standards Board (responsible for enforcing European wine rules) and the Soil Association.

We are not open to visitors, but in exceptional circumstances can be persuaded. We will be open to the public at some stage in the future, so try joining our newsletter group to make sure you are among the first to know. 

Please explore this site to find out more about vine growing and winemaking in the UK. Wines can be purchased from the wine shop page and we can deliver anywhere in mainland UK