Hattingley Valley Vineyards & Partners

Hattingley has always sourced fruit from a wide range of England’s regions rather than relying on our own vineyards in Hampshire. Although England is a small country, there is a multitude of soil types and microclimates which make all the difference in a cool, marginal climate. Frost can be a major problem, so being able to spread the risk across a variety of areas is very useful.

Over the past few years, we have worked with several established farmers who either had vineyards already or who wished to diversify from other types of farming. Growing grapes successfully is tremendously difficult in the UK, so we only choose those sites that have true potential. We enter into long-term (usually ten years as a minimum) contracts to ensure they are viable for all.

The old adage of ‘you can make bad wine from good grapes, but it is impossible to make good wine from bad grapes’ remains true, meaning we work very hard to ensure that we work with only the very best fruit possible.

We are now pleased to see these vineyards starting to bear fruit (quite literally), and we wanted to show you some of our partner growers. In 2022 our vineyards were awarded 'Sustainable Wines of Great Britain' status, an initiative started in 2020 by Wine GB.

Location: Kent
Owner: Patricia Davenport 
Vineyard Managers: Will Davenport & Tom English
Soil Type: Tunbridge Wells Sandstone
Year Planted: 2017 & 2020
Grapes Grown: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir Précoce
Vineyard Area: 17 Hectare / 42 acres
Altitude: 100m

Hazel Street Farm, and the surrounding area, have a history of hop farming since the 15th Century. The Davenport family purchased the farm in 1990, and they have continued the farming legacy. More recently, they focused almost exclusively on apple and pear orchards until our conversations began; they planted 10 hectares of vines in 2017.  A further 7 hectares followed in 2020. The vineyard manager, Tom English and his dedicated team members are determined to produce the best quality grapes possible. They are Red Tractor Farm Assurance Fresh Produce and are Gold Standard only achieved with a genuine commitment to environmental consideration and encouraging natural biodiversity.

Location - Suffolk
Owner - Paul Halsall
Vineyard Manager - Paul Halsall
Soil Type: Light sandy loam
Year planted: 2016         
Grapes Grown: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Vineyard Area: 3.29 Hectare-8.13 Acres
Altitude: Sea Level

The Halsall family must be one of the oldest farming families in the UK, with a history dating back to 1400. Paul’s great-grandfather moved to Essex from Lancashire in 1921 for the warmer climate and superb growing areas. Paul has been a farmer in this area all his life and manages over 1000 acres of farmland, predominantly arable, diversifying into grapes in 2016.