Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Art Tukker, owner of Tinwood Estate in West Sussex. 

The Tukker family farm, which is situated in the hamlet of Halnacker, near Chichester, has a history of growing lettuce but when Art took over in 2006, he had other ideas. 

While studying agriculture and farming at university, it dawned on Art that growing vines could be his family’s future and, after spending some time working at vineyards in New Zealand, returned to Sussex and set about planting the three classic Champagne varieties. 

Fast forward 18 years and the Tinwood estate now has 110 acres under vine and harvests between three and four hundred tonnes of grapes each year. 

As well as touring the vineyards and sampling Tinwood’s award-winning sparkling wine, visitors to the estate can also stay the night in one of the three – very soon to be eight – luxury lodges. 

And once a year Art and his team host a sell-out summer party, where guests dance among the vines to the sound of top DJs, accompanied by fabulous street food and, of course, plenty of English sparkling wine. 

 We talk about how Art transitioned his family farm from producing salad to wine,  the challenges he faced in the early days and why Tinwood is all about making English sparkling wine and the vineyard experience inclusive for everyone.

To find out more about Tinwood Estate, visit tinwoodestate.com or follow @tinwoodestatevineyard on Instagram or @TinwoodEstate on Facebook.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. 

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