Winery · Hambledon

Hambledon

"Birthplace of English Wine" (1952) — Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones planted 90 hectares on Champagne chalk seam; reborn 1999 as world-class sparkling beacon.

What to do there

TourHambledon VineyardIn 1951, Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones — WWI Military Cross, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps to two monarchs — stood at a window and decided to plant vines. He called Pol Roger for advice. Every English wine since traces its commercial lineage to that phone call. Ian Kellett invested £10M+ to build England's only gravity-fed winery in these Hampshire chalk hills — the same Cretaceous limestone as Champagne's Côte des Blancs. In a Jancis Robinson MW blind tasting, Hambledon came first. Pol Roger came third. The village is also the birthplace of cricket.

Wineries nearby

Winery · Winchester Winchester (Venta Belgarum) Venta Belgarum, Roman capital of the Belgae (AD 70), became one of Britain's largest towns—144 acres of trade—importing wine and oil in amphorae from southern Spain, North Africa and the Mediterranean, proving that Winchester has been a crossroads of wine cultures for 2,000 years.
Winery · Lower Wield Hattingley Valley Hattingley Valley, 2008: Hampshire's 200-medal champion, first English sparkling on British Airways first class.