About

Stopham Vineyard is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the South Downs National Park in West Sussex and produces still and sparkling Sussex wine.

Vineyard and Tasting Tours at Stopham Vineyard

In the summer season, Stopham opens it barn doors for wine tours at the vineyard and winery every Saturday from April - October.

You will have the opportunity to learn how we grow and nurture our vines to give us the best grapes. You will gain an understanding of how the weather can impact yield, and the importance of the soil and the environment to the wine. We then walk to the winery, a converted Grade II listed Victorian barn at the top of the vineyard. You will be guided through our winemaking process, learning about the modern, innovative methods and state-of-the-art equipment that we use in our production of quality English wine. The winemaker then talks you through a wine tasting of all our wines. This includes our wine that was selected for the Queen’s party on the Royal Barge at her Diamond Jubilee celebrations and is served at top restaurants, such as Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons.

The perfect place for lunch after a tour and tasting at our vineyard is the White Hart pub which sits on the River Arun. An idyllic spot to absorb nature and the surroundings. Tours and lunch can be booked via the website.

For 11am tours, (optional) lunch is at 1.30pm. For 2pm tours, (optional) lunch is at 12pm.

There are so many tourist hot spots nearby such as Amberley Castle, Parham House, The Chanctonbury Ring, the South Downs Way and the beautiful historic towns of Arundel and Petworth.

Sussex wine at Stopham Vineyard

​​​​​​The story of Stopham Vineyard is an inspiring one. A dream to become a winemaker has resulted in award winning wines made sustainably with passion and precision.

Simon Woodhead, owner and winemaker of Stopham Vineyard started out in his career as an engineer designing automotive sensors for TAG McLaren Formula 1. He decided to take some time out of engineering to go and live in Spain where he spent 3 years. It was here that he discovered his love of viticulture and in 2005, he made the dream a reality and enrolled in a winemaking course at Plumpton Agricultural College in East Sussex.

Following the successful completion of his course in viticulture, Simon’s next mission was to seek out the perfect site for planting a vineyard.

After attending a party in the rural and idyllic hamlet of Stopham, near Pulborough in West Sussex, he knew he had found the perfect place to plant his vines.

The six hectare (15 acre) estate was established at Stopham in 2007 when Simon planted 21,000 vines, largely grape varietals popular in Alsace and Germany which have a similarly cool climate.

The vines planted are predominantly for the production of aromatic still white wines (Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Bacchus) and varietals for sparkling include Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The vineyard enjoys a favourable location due to its low altitude and south facing slopes, therefore maximising warmth and exposure to sunlight. The terroir is also a key factor in selecting the best vineyard conditions. The free-draining sandy soil at Stopham makes it the perfect site to grow aromatic varietals. Vines produce the best fruit when they are hardworking and have to dig deep to reach the nutrients and water they need to become well established and drought proof.

Situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty overlooking the south downs, Stopham is located just outside of Pulborough and is steeped in history. The estate stretches over 1300 acres and the neighbouring church to the vineyard, St Mary The Virgin dates back to the 11th Century and is a Grade 1 listed building. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a manor of Stopham or Stopeham and the same family, the Bartletts or Barttelots, has held the manor since the Norman Conquest of England.

Stopham’s winery is housed in a beautiful Victorian barn, a Grade II listed building. The towering stainless steel fermentation tanks sit in stark contrast to the ageing beams that overhang and serve as a reminder of the old and the new working in harmony.

Being located within the South Downs National Park means that the growers at Stopham are very conscious of the precious environment and have to protect the natural ecosystem to ensure sustainable vineyard practice such as soil management, minimal spraying of pesticide and use our water and energy supply efficiently. Each vintage from Stopham Estate tells the story of the changeable Sussex countryside, with all of its unique trials and tribulations. Stopham only use grapes grown on the estate and these are hand-picked to ensure high quality hand crafted aromatic white wines that offer fruity flavours and a crisp natural acidity.

Sustainability lies at the heart of our winemaking and our viticultural practice at Stopham Vineyard.

Sustainability in the Stopham vineyard:

Because of our location within the South Downs National Park, we have to be mindful of our environment and leave the least impact on our beautiful surroundings. We leave part of the vineyard wild to encourage biodiversity and wildlife and we are fortunate to be situated next to 2 rivers, the River Arun & the River Rother. Our free draining sandy soil reduces run off into the surrounding environment and local rivers. In our drive to be more sustainable we have installed a new frost protection system which will irrigate the vines in the event of a serious frost using water from the River Arun.

Soil management is key for us. We do not cultivate the soil, we mow between the rows and under the vines so that we can control weeds without the use of herbicides. Allowing grass to grow further reduces run off and erosion.

We mulch the winter prunings letting these go back to the soil instead of being burnt.

We return the grape pomace to the vineyard and it is added to our compost heap, mixed with manure and added back to the soil over the winter months. This improves soil structure, improves nutrient retention which benefits the soil ecosystem and long term soil health.

Sustainability in the Stopham winery:

We are housed in an existing building (a Grade II listed Victorian barn). 

We use our water sparingly when cleaning tanks and where we can we will use a steamer to be more efficient.

We try to minimise our use of electricity and the time we need to use it most is during fermentation to chill the tanks for slow fermentations.

We recycle everything, all of our organic waste e.g. grape pomace goes back to the vineyard, the containers used for fertilisers and pesticides are sent to an approved contractor to be recycled.