Our history

The Althorne Estate vineyard was originally an apple orchard for many years until the 1970s. It remained a paddock until 2017 when the soil was prepared for planting vines by the Hollingsbee family.

We are part of the Crouch Valley, Essex. This part of the UK regularly benefits from the warmest temperatures and lowest rainfall. The vineyard has an ideal south facing slope towards the River Crouch, where its unique micro-climate and clay soil provides the perfect growing conditions.

In our first year we planted two Burgandy clones of Chardonnay and two Burgandy clones of Pinot Noir, along with a small amount of Pinot Meunier. Later in 2019, an acre of Pinot Gris was added.

Our wine collection

We use only our estate grown grapes from our vineyard, handpicked to ensure the finest fruit is used to produce our wines.

Our first harvest in 2019 was used to produce English Sparkling Wine, for which we were awarded the Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine in Wine GB, Eastern Region.

Our original intention was to focus solely on English Sparkling Wine, however it soon became clear that the quality of our grapes would allow us to make world class still wines.

Our collection now includes English Sparkling Wine, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Following high acclaim, our wines can now be found in some of the best restaurants and bars in the UK.