Kent Wine Tours / Vineyards / Woodchurch
Vineyard guide · Woodchurch
Visiting Woodchurch Wine Estate
Woodchurch has grown sparkling wine on a south-facing slope above the Kent Weald since 2009, and the Classic Brut has collected a long run of medals. Come on a Saturday for the 11am guided tour, then stay for pizza on the balcony. It is open Thursday to Sunday all year.
Woodchurch at a glance
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Traditional method sparkling wine from a single estate, above all the Classic Brut and Rosé Brut |
| Awards | Classic Brut: Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2023, the Independent English Wine Awards 2023 and Kent Wine of the Year 2023. Chardonnay Brut: Glass of Bubbly Trophy 2022. Rosé Brut: Kent Wine of the Year 2020 |
| Grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Bacchus |
| Open | Thursday and Friday 12pm to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm, all year. Last food orders an hour before closing |
| Booking | No booking for drinks, wine flights or the self-guided tour. Book the guided tour online, and book a table if you want to be sure of food |
| Tours from | Free (self-guided); £30 guided |
| Food | Snacks, small plates, cheese and charcuterie boards and hot plates, with stone-baked pizza at weekends |
| Children | Children can join the guided tour at no extra cost if you say so when booking |
| By train | Ashford International, about 20 minutes by taxi |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About Woodchurch
Graham and Donna Barbour founded Woodchurch in 2009, planting 10,000 vines on a south-facing slope at the edge of the village. The vineyard now covers more than 12 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Bacchus, and looks south over Romney Marsh towards the Channel.
The wine is made off the estate in a modern winery. The current sparkling wines and the rosé name Matthieu Elzinga as winemaker, and the approach is minimal intervention. In the vineyard the vines are managed by hand, herbicide use is kept low, no insecticides are used, and the grass round the edges is left long for wildflowers and wildlife.
Medals came early and kept coming. The Classic Brut won three golds in 2023, at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the Independent English Wine Awards and Kent Wine of the Year, and the Rosé Brut was Kent Wine of the Year in 2020. Since April 2026 it has been run by four friends, Kelly and John Smith and Donna and Darren Worsley, who are adding more food, a summer events programme and new wines.
The wines
Start with the Classic Brut, a non-vintage blend of 60% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 15% Meunier aged 56 months on its lees, and the wine with most of the medals. The Rosé Brut, mostly Pinot Noir, is the other one people go for. If you want something more serious, the Chardonnay Brut 2017 spent five years on its lees and is the most expensive bottle in the shop. The still wines are worth a look too, among them a Field White of Bacchus and Chardonnay pressed together, a Chardonnay-and-Meunier rosé, and a 2023 Chardonnay, the first still wine made only from Chardonnay since 2018. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Woodchurch
The cellar door is a bar and restaurant with seating inside and a balcony over the vines, and on a clear day the view runs down across the marsh to the coast. It is open four days a week right through the year, which is more than many Kent vineyards manage in winter. Saturday is the day to come if you want the guided tour, since that is the only regular slot. On other days the free self-guided route and a wine flight cover most of what a first visit needs, and you can turn up without booking. Food is a good reason to stay. Pizzas are served at weekends, and it is worth booking a table if you are coming to eat. The estate also has a wine club with harvest places and members’ events.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Guided Tour Pick up a map at the bar and walk the vineyard on your own. No booking needed. | Free | About 20 minutes | Any time the cellar door is open |
| Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting A guided walk round the vineyard covering the work of the vineyard year, then a tasting of four Woodchurch wines and a look at how they are made. You may be hosted by one of the owners. Children come free if you add a note when booking. Bookings cancelled 72 hours or more ahead can be moved or refunded. | £30 per person | About 1 hour 15 minutes | Saturdays at 11am |
| Wine Flight Three 50ml glasses of the current releases with the winemaker’s tasting notes. No booking needed. | See the wine list | – | Any time during opening hours |
| Private Tours Email info@woodchurchwine.co.uk or call 01233 860276. | On request | – | By arrangement |
Book these on the Woodchurch website.
Buy Woodchurch 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
High-speed trains from St Pancras and Stratford International reach Ashford International in about 36 minutes, and the taxi from there takes about 20 minutes. By car it is about 9 miles from junction 9 of the M20 via the A28 and Bethersden Road. The vineyard is on the left as you come along Susan’s Hill. From Woodchurch village, footpaths from behind the church bring you to the bottom of the vineyard after about half a mile, and during opening hours you can use the gate and walk up through the vines.
Make a day of it
Woodchurch village is half a mile away on foot. Wayfarer Wines, a separate small vineyard in Woodchurch, also runs tours and tastings, and Tenterden is a short drive south west.
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’, Mereworth, Oast Wood, The Mount, Brabourne, Terlingham.
Questions people ask
Do I need to book?
Not for drinks, a wine flight or the self-guided tour. The guided tour must be booked, and a table is worth booking if you want food.
Is Woodchurch the same as Wayfarer Wines?
No. Wayfarer is a different, smaller vineyard at Highfield Farm in Woodchurch with its own tours.
Can I walk from the village?
Yes. Footpaths from behind Woodchurch church reach the bottom of the vineyard in about half a mile, and the gate is open during opening hours.