Music and social
Live music with Jack Bruley
Soul, Motown and modern favourites in three sets in the Courtyard Restaurant, with the usual menu. Book a table.
Thursday 19 November 2026 · From 7pm · No charge for the music · Book ahead
Kent Wine Tours / Vineyards / The Mount
Vineyard guide · Shoreham
Visiting The Mount Vineyard
The Mount grows eight grape varieties on ten acres of chalk at Shoreham in the Darent Valley, and it is as much a restaurant as a vineyard. Tastings run all year at weekends and come with a cheeseboard. Take the train, since the station is ten minutes’ walk away.
Seasonal note: The Flint Bar and tipi are closed for the autumn and winter and reopen in May. Tastings move indoors to the Wine Loft from October to May, and the vineyard tour runs from late May to late September.
The Mount at a glance
| Founded | Vines planted 2004, wine produced since 2008, open to guests since 2016 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Estate still and sparkling wines, including a sparkling red, drunk at the Courtyard Restaurant |
| Awards | Sparkling Red and Sparkling Rosé both described as IEWA Silver winners (years not given) |
| Grapes | Pinot Noir, Rondo, Regent, Bacchus, Seyval Blanc, Phoenix, Siegerrebe and Chardonnay |
| Open | Courtyard Bar and Restaurant Wednesday to Saturday 12pm to 11pm and Sunday 12pm to 6pm. Ten Acres Shop Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm |
| Booking | Book tastings and tables online. Tastings often sell out, though spare places can be taken on the day if you arrive 15 minutes early |
| Tours from | £38 |
| Food | Courtyard Restaurant with small plates, sharing platters and stone-baked pizza; kitchen closes at 9pm or 9.30pm, 5pm on Sundays. No outside food or drink |
| Dogs | Well-behaved dogs on leads welcome in all guest areas |
| Children | Welcome with their family for food and drink, but no children’s menu and no under-18s on tastings. There is a large pond on site |
| By train | Shoreham (Kent), a 10-minute walk |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About The Mount
Wine may have been made in the Darent Valley in Roman times, but the vines at The Mount date from 2004, when nearly 13,000 were planted in seven varieties: Pinot Noir, Rondo, Regent, Bacchus, Seyval Blanc, Phoenix and Siegerrebe. The first wines followed in 2008.
Simon Greenwood bought the property in 2011, after coming across it on a weekend away from Clapham, and added two acres of Chardonnay, which took the vineyard to eight varieties and ten acres. The vines sit on chalk within a 104-acre estate, and only estate grapes go into the wine. There is no winery on site.
Simon and his wife Sarah opened The Mount to guests in 2016. What began as the odd cheeseboard and a few glasses of wine is now a restaurant, a shop, a wine loft for tastings and events, and a team of more than forty. They also run The Samuel Palmer, a 15th-century pub in the village.
The wines
Sparkling Red is the one to try, a slightly off-dry blend of Pinot Noir, Rondo and Regent and an IEWA silver winner. The still wines go by Key names: Flint Key is the Bacchus, Cellar Key a Rondo and Regent red, and Rose Key a Pinot Noir rosé. There is also a Sparkling White and a Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Everything is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The Ten Acres Shop sells the full range alongside other wines and local spirits. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at The Mount
Most people come here to eat and drink, and the tasting is the way to learn about the wine itself. It runs in three sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all year, and the cheeseboard is part of the price. In summer we would book the 4.30pm tour and tasting, because the regular tasting does not go out into the vines. Book ahead, as sessions often fill. Out of season the tastings move upstairs to the Wine Loft, so tell them in advance if stairs are a problem. The Courtyard Restaurant has a retractable roof and underfloor heating, so it works in any weather, and the outdoor Wine Deck by the pond is first come, first served. The Flint Bar and tipi out among the vines close for the winter and reopen in May. You cannot bring your own food or drink, including birthday cakes, and balloons are not allowed.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine Tasting An informal tasting of a selection of Mount Vineyard wines with a cheeseboard, while your host explains the English wine industry and how the wines are made. On the Oak Terrace from May to September, and from October to April in the Wine Loft above the restaurant, which is up a flight of stairs. Adults only. | £38 per person | About 1.5 hours | All year, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 7pm |
| Tour and Tasting The tasting with a tour of the vineyard added. The only time of year you can go out into the vines with a guide. Adults only. | £43 per person | – | End of May to end of September at 4.30pm |
| Wine Flights Still and sparkling flights at the Ten Acres Shop. No booking needed. | From £10.95 per person | – | May to September, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm |
| Viticulture Course A year of hands-on vineyard work, from pruning and tying down in March through shoot thinning, tucking in and leaf stripping to netting in August. Each session starts with coffee and croissants and ends with pizza and a glass of still wine. Participants get first refusal on harvest picking dates. | £350 | Five workshops | March to August 2027 |
| Winter Walk and Lunch A guided walk with a Kent Downs National Landscape guide through the dormant vines, up to the Shoreham Cross and back along the River Darent, then pizza, a glass of wine or beer, olives and nuts. Steep in places. Over-18s only, no dogs. | £49 | About 1 hour 45 minutes walking, then lunch | Saturday 9 January, from 10am |
Book these on the The Mount website.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Christmas
Christmas bauble painting and lunch
Paint six baubles to take home with guidance from Carter & Kits, with a glass of fizz and a sharing lunch.
Wednesday 25 November 2026 · From 10am · £79.95 a head · Book ahead
Seasonal
Winter walk and lunch
A guided walk of about an hour and 45 minutes, followed by pizza and a glass of wine or beer at the vineyard.
Saturday 9 January 2027 · 10am to about 1pm · £49 a head · Book ahead
Music and social
Comedy nights in the Courtyard Restaurant
Three comedians and a host over dinner. Guests order at least two small plates or a pizza.
Wednesday 3 February and Wednesday 10 March · Tables from 5.30pm, comedy from 8.30pm · £21.50 a head plus food · Book ahead
Buy The Mount wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
Getting there
Shoreham (Kent) station is a 10-minute walk, with direct trains from Sevenoaks (about 9 minutes), Bromley South (about 20) and London (about 40), including Blackfriars and City Thameslink. From the station, take the steps down to Station Road, follow the path along the edge of the field and through the churchyard to Church Street. The vineyard entrance is about 100 yards along on the right, between a bungalow and a large white house. There is a car park by the Ten Acres Shop, but the vineyard itself suggests coming by train so you can drink.
Make a day of it
The Samuel Palmer, the vineyard’s sister pub, is a five-minute stroll away in the village. Shoreham also has two other pubs, an aircraft museum, a Norman church and walks up to the Shoreham Cross on the hillside above the valley.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Kent directory. Our other Kent vineyard guides: Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Balfour, Westwell, Warehorne, Silverhand, Domaine Evremond, Chartham, Yotes Court, Biddenden Vineyards, Simpsons’, Woodchurch, Mereworth, Oast Wood, Brabourne, Terlingham.
Questions people ask
Can children come?
Yes, for food and drink with their family, though there is no children’s menu, and they must stay supervised because of the large pond. Tastings are adults only.
Can I go on a vineyard tour in winter?
No. Tours run from the end of May to the end of September. Tastings run all year.
Can I join a tasting without booking?
If a session has space, yes. Arrive at least 15 minutes before it starts to ask, but booking ahead is safer because they often sell out.