the winery

The Winery at Chapel Down is the largest in the country. We have invested in modern equipment that has enabled us to increase production capacity and speed up the winemaking process. We have a wine press with a capacity of 100 hectolitres (10 tonnes) and various machines for riddling, disgorging and labelling.

Most of the wine we produce is fermented in stainless steel, which best suits the delicate aromas and flavours of the still and sparkling English white wines. Our Stainless Steel Vats have a combined storage capacity of 1 million litres. Last year we made 500,000 bottles, which means that Chapel Down accounts for over 50% of all commercially available English Wines.

We do mature some of our red wines and a couple of our white wines in oak barrels. At Chapel Down we use a mixture of both American and French oak barrels, and toasted oak chips, depending on the ultimate style of wine we want to produce.

The winery is only open to visitors who book on a tour. After visiting the vineyard our guides will take you through the winery and explain the production processes behind our award-winning still and sparking wines. If you thought that the French invented Champagne then think again!