So last week we hopped on a pretty early train from Waterloo for a day in the countryside. Pulling into Dorking station it was lovely to be greeted by vines running along the side of the track. I hadn't been to this part of England before and was really pleasantly surprised about how lovely the North Downs are.
First of all we went on an outdoor tour where we were taken through the vineyards in a lovely little train pulled by a Land Rover. It was a shame the weather wasn't great, but it didn't dampen our spirits as we had a glass of demi-sec up a hill side whilst we learnt about the history of the winery. The tour guide was informative and fun, and it was certainly a pleasant way to spend an hour.
The amount of different varietals they grow there is quite surprising and have some German grapes I hadn't heard of, alongside champagne grapes and others I have seen at English wineries like Bacchus and Pinot Gris.
We then went inside and watched a short film about the vineyard before being taken on a short tour and a tasting of 3 still wines.
The whole operation was very slick and I imagine could be very appealing to tourists. The tours and tour guides were good, but the still wine wasn't really to either of our tastes, and the wine was the main reason for visiting! As is often the case with English white, we found them too acidic, and too austere. The best of the three was their bestseller the Surrey Gold that had some peach tones to it, but again wasn't really for me.
The restaurant on the 3rd floor of the lovely farmhouse style building gave a super view of a lot of the vineyard. Our lunch was pleasant and we enjoyed a glass of fizz before and after the meal.
So if you are in the area I would say pop in, as they have a farm shop as well as lots of wine based goodies and chutney and art exhibitions etc. But I wouldn't hurry back for the wine...
Stick with 'Greenfields' which in my opinion is their best bottle...
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