I went to the English vineyard that feels more like France with outdoor wine tastings and cheese experiences

I WANDER through lush vines laden with grapes, clutching a wine glass to sample the produce as I go.

I could be in France’s Champagne region – but no, I’m at the Oxney Organic Estate in East Sussex.

Oxney, near the pretty coastal town of Rye, is the largest single-estate producer of organic wine in England and welcoming more tourists than ever, all keen to learn more and explore its 35 acres.

As well as vineyard tours, there are wine-flight tastings and lunches.

I enjoyed a picnic of local cheeses, breads and home-made brownies, served in a basket and accompanied by a glass of wine.

Oxney, which planted its first vines in 2012, is part of Sussex’s recently launched Rother Wine Triangle, connecting six vineyards in the Rother Valley.

VIN-TASTIC

You can sleep inside a giant wine jar in the middle of a vineyard

WINE NOT?

I stayed at one of England’s oldest vineyards in the Cotswolds with wine tours

Visitors can use local transport or go by foot or bicycle along marked trails through rolling countryside.

Or firms such as Vine and Country ferry visitors between vineyards by minibus, serving up lunches cooked by private chefs.

Figures from WineGB, the trade association for the UK industry, show the number of vineyards across the country has increased by seven per cent in the last year alone.

There are now around 1,100 – and many are in the South East, which enjoys similar climate, soil and topography to the Champagne region of north east France.

Nicola Bates, CEO of WineGB, tells me: “The thought of growing Chardonnay here 30 years ago would have been seen as crazy. However, we now have a climate more suited to viticulture.

“Our data shows the number of days above 30C gradually increasing, and the number of days from flowering to harvest gradually decreasing.”

Wine tourism is also booming, with 1.5million visits to vineyards and wineries in 2023, up 55 per cent compared with the previous year.

Not far from Oxney, wine buffs are also sampling the produce at Mountfield, Oastbrook, Sedlescombe and Tillingham.

My next stop, though, is Charles Palmer Vineyard, just outside the ancient East Sussex town of Winchelsea.

It’s a laidback spot, with picnic tables and wooden pods set up for tastings with views over the lush green vines in the valley below.

Next year will mark 20 years since the first of these were planted by hand.

The first vintage was produced three years later, in 2009, with just shy of 1,000 bottles released.

Today, the site produces tens of thousands of bottles a year and offers 18 tastings a week, with sparkling wines including a Classic Cuvée among the favourites.

But whichever of all these fabulous Sussex wine producers you visit, you’ll experience the very best of the increasingly tasty and moreish English wine.

You might even delay that pricey jaunt to Champagne for a few more years.