The summer is very much here and what better way to kick off the festivities than with English Wine Week, which was by popular acclaim, the best yet. With the Kent vineyards basking in the sunshine, and wine lovers enjoying all that’s been going on so far this summer, the collaboration of nine of the county’s leading vineyards working together to promote tourism is certainly paying off.

Friend and partner, Jo Ginn from Wine Garden of England tells us more about some exciting events coming up, as well as why people love Kent wines and how you can learn more about them.

Celebrating Kent

“The recent Summer Celebration at the iconic Chilham Castle welcomed 1500 people from the South East, London and even Norway, where everyone is obsessed with English wine. It was a joyous day where the producers could introduce their wine to enthusiasts and novices alike.

Meeting people and showing them the wines from Kent is the absolute best way to grow our very exciting new wine region, as once people discover how good the wine is they want to visit the vineyards, and we have plenty of them! The wine speaks for itself, but we have learned over the years that our guests remember the quality of the experience first and foremost. All our vineyards offer fantastic, diverse experiences which is why so many people like to try them all.

August is a wonderful month to visit because the vines have a lot of fruit that is starting to ripen and hopefully the weather is warm enough for outside dining and drinking!”

A pick of the crop

In the next couple of months, local growers will be starting to harvest and many vineyards welcome local pickers. If you’ve never tried it, why not get in touch with a vineyard near you and see if they need some help?

Gusbourne, near Rye, is looking to employ harvest workers for three weeks in October, so why not contact them at harvest@gusbourne.com and give it a try!

Come & join us!

We love paying host at Rencraft, so if you would like to join us for one of our events, whether it be wine tasting, a pasta making masterclass, a sushi and cocktail evening or private dining with our Tunbridge Wells neighbour, Robin from The Counter, or our fellow Chart Farm friend, Tom from Three Sisters, make sure you sign up to be amongst the first to find out about our exclusive events.