Sussex vineyards by vintage bus from Brighton
A 1960s Routemaster to two Sussex vineyards, with a picnic of Sussex produce among the vines.
Starts Brighton station, Brighton
Home / Guides / Wine tasting in Sussex
Sussex
Wine tasting in Sussex
Sussex vineyards do not all work the same way. Some pour you a glass the moment you walk in. Others sell a seat at a tasting weeks ahead, and one or two will not let you in at all.
The short answer
You can taste wine in Sussex without booking at about ten vineyards, and at Rathfinny and Roebuck the first taste is free. A sit-down tasting costs about £20, and a tour with a tasting mostly £20 to £40 a head. We’d start with Rathfinny, near Alfriston, which opens every day and asks nothing of you in advance. If you have no car, pick a vineyard on the London to Brighton line or let a day tour do the driving.
Where you can just turn up
These vineyards pour without a booking. Walk-in tastings are shorter and less formal than a booked one, and a big group should still ring ahead. Each name links to our full guide.
| Vineyard | Where | What you get | Price | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathfinny Wine Estate | Alfriston, East Sussex | A short introductory tasting at the Cellar Door bar, for groups of up to six | Free | Every day |
| Roebuck Estates | Near Petworth, West Sussex | A tasting of its vintage sparkling wines at the cellar door | Free | Every day |
| Oxney Organic Estate | Beckley, near Rye, East Sussex | A wine flight of four wines with an introduction to the estate | £15 | Most Tuesdays to Saturdays |
| Leonardslee | Mannings Heath, near Horsham, West Sussex | A flight of its three sparkling wines, without a guide | £18 | From 11am. The estate shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays |
| Ridgeview | Ditchling Common, East Sussex | The Discovery Wine Tasting, six small pours with a host. Walk-ins only if there is space | £20 | Thursday to Monday |
| Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard | Near Robertsbridge, East Sussex | Wine flights, with or without cheese, and a free self-guided walk round the vines | Not published | Wednesday to Sunday |
| Kingscote Estate | Near East Grinstead, West Sussex | A walk-in tasting, and a café in the Tithe Barn | Not published | Every day |
| Bluebell Vineyard Estates | Near Uckfield, East Sussex | A self-guided tasting, and wine by the glass on the terrace | Not published | Thursday to Sunday |
| Artelium | Streat, East Sussex | A tasting in the bar, usually fine without booking for four people or fewer | Not published | Friday to Sunday |
| Henners | Herstmonceux, East Sussex | Wine by the glass at the cellar door, with cheese and charcuterie boards | By the glass | Thursday to Sunday |
Rathfinny’s free taste lasts up to ten minutes, which is enough to decide what to buy and not much more. Pair it with the estate’s free vineyard trail and you have a morning. Roebuck is the one to call at if you are already near Petworth.
Tastings to book
A booked tasting gets you a seat, a host and more wine. These are the ones we would look at first, with prices per person.
| Vineyard | Tasting | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolney Wine Estate | Cellar Door Tasting of sparkling and still wines, with no vineyard walk | £20 | 30 minutes | Daily at 11am |
| Tinwood Estate | A vineyard walk and three sparkling wines, then a table kept for you in the Vineyard Kitchen | £21 | 1.5 hours | Daily, all year |
| Rathfinny Wine Estate | Sussex Wine Tasting Experience, six sparkling and still wines and no tour | £24 | 1 hour | Sundays until 25 April 2027 |
| Ashling Park | An estate tour, then five tastings, one of them the gin made from its own Pinot Noir | £25 | About 90 minutes | Thursday to Sunday |
| Henners | A walk through the vineyard and winery, then five wines in the tasting room | £29 | About 1.5 hours | Saturdays at 12pm until December |
| Wiston Estate | A winery tour and four wines, all of it under cover | £30 | 1.5 hours | Thursday to Sunday |
| Rathfinny Wine Estate | Winter Tour and Tasting, indoors through the winery | £34 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Fridays and Saturdays until 24 April 2027 |
For value we’d book Tinwood, which is the cheapest tour here and keeps your lunch table afterwards. On a wet day we’d choose Wiston, because nobody has to stand in a field. Our guide to Sussex vineyard tours compared sets all twenty tours side by side.
Nyetimber is the name most people ask about, and it takes no drop-in visitors. You get in on a ticketed open day at £50, and every 2026 date has sold out.
East or West Sussex
East Sussex has more vineyards and more ways to see them. The Wealden Wine Trail takes in sixteen, from Tunbridge Wells down to the coast near Eastbourne, with Rathfinny, Henners and Bluebell among them. Round Rye, the six vineyards of the Rother Wine Triangle include Oxney and Tillingham, where the wines are natural and the bar opens every day. Sedlescombe is north of Hastings.
The cluster under Ditchling Beacon is East Sussex too, by its addresses. Ridgeview, Artelium and Court Garden are all a short taxi ride from Burgess Hill, which makes this the easiest part of the county to do without a car.
West Sussex is more spread out. Bolney, Kingscote and Leonardslee sit in the Weald, on our Mid Sussex page. Wiston, Roebuck and Nyetimber follow the South Downs west, and Tinwood and Ashling Park are either side of Chichester. If you want lunch as well as a tasting, West Sussex is the stronger choice. Bolney, Tinwood, Wiston and Ashling Park all have a restaurant or kitchen on the estate.
Our Sussex vineyards page has every one on a map.
Without a car
- On foot from a stationArtelium is under 30 minutes’ walk across the fields from Plumpton. Ridgeview is a 30 to 40-minute walk from Burgess Hill, ending over a stile, and Court Garden about 40 minutes from Hassocks. Wildwood is 12 minutes from Eridge station, though it opens only on summer weekends.
- From BrightonBurgess Hill and Hassocks are on the main line north, and Hassocks is under ten minutes away. A taxi from Burgess Hill reaches Ridgeview or Court Garden in about ten minutes. By car, Bolney is about 20 minutes from Brighton and Bluebell around 40. Albourne, about eight miles out, is the nearest of all but shuts for the winter.
- From LondonFast trains reach Hassocks in under an hour, and East Grinstead, ten minutes by taxi from Kingscote, has direct trains from Victoria. For Rathfinny, Victoria to Berwick takes about 1 hour 15 minutes, then it is ten minutes by car. For Birchden, Tunbridge Wells is about an hour from Charing Cross.
- TaxisBook the cab home before you set out. Rathfinny has no shuttle, Artelium says ride-hailing drivers will not collect from it, and Oxney suggests booking Rye taxis several weeks ahead for a Saturday.
- By busBus 55 runs from Chichester to Halnaker crossroads in about ten minutes, and Tinwood is a 10 to 15-minute walk from the stop.
- On a walkOur Alfriston and Rathfinny walk is a four-mile loop from the village through the estate, with the free tasting at the Cellar Door on the way round.
Prices and when to go
- What a tasting costsNothing at Rathfinny and Roebuck. A flight is £15 at Oxney and £18 at Leonardslee, and a hosted tasting is £20 at Bolney and Ridgeview. Most tours with a tasting cost £20 to £40, and Tinwood’s is £21.
- In winterTinwood and Bolney run tours every day, and Wiston’s tour is indoors all year. Albourne and Wildwood are shut until May, and Roebuck’s tours start again on 1 May 2027, though its cellar door stays open. Henners cuts its tour to Saturdays.
- In spring and summerBluebell’s woods fill with bluebells in spring. Oxney’s Saturday tours run from May to October, and Albourne’s Tasting Room opens at weekends from early May to the end of September.
- The day of the weekThis catches more people out than the season does. Ridgeview is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Leonardslee and Sedlescombe on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Oxney on Sundays and Mondays. Friday to Sunday is the safe choice everywhere.
Let someone else drive
Two vineyards is a sensible day, and somebody has to drive between them. These day tours take care of that.
From Brighton
Sussex vineyard tour by minibus from Brighton
Tastings at Sussex vineyards and time in a village pub, with the minibus picking you up and dropping you back in Brighton.
Starts Pickup and drop-off in Brighton
Sussex wine and beer day from Brighton
A drive over the South Downs to two Sussex vineyards for guided tastings, with a seasonal picnic lunch.
Starts Brighton, near Brighton station
Seven Sisters, Rathfinny and a local brewery
A minibus day to Rathfinny Wine Estate and the Seven Sisters cliffs by way of historic villages, with a stop at a local brewery.
Starts Hotel pickup in Brighton
Sussex wine estate and Devil’s Dyke
A wine flight and self-guided vineyard walk at a Sussex winery, views from Devil’s Dyke and a country pub lunch stop. Wine and lunch are paid for on the day.
Starts Hotel pickup in Brighton and Peacehaven
From London
Sussex vintage bus tour with train from London
Return train tickets from London to Sussex, then a vintage bus to two vineyards, with lunch at one of them.
Starts London, by train to Sussex
Sussex and Surrey wine tour from London
Three vineyards in Sussex and Surrey in a day from London, with a tasting at each and the driving done for you.
Starts London
Starting in Sussex
Guided walk and vineyard tour from Alfriston
A guided walk through the South Downs countryside with lunch at a village pub, then a visit to an award-winning vineyard.
Starts Alfriston, East Sussex
Charleston and Rathfinny guided walk
A guided countryside walk between Charleston, the Bloomsbury group’s farmhouse, and Rathfinny Wine Estate, with no car needed.
Starts Charleston, near Lewes, East Sussex
Owner’s tour and tasting at Oastbrook
A tour of this small vineyard by Bodiam Castle, hosted by the owners, with a tasting of their award-winning wines and the chance to stay on at the bar.
Starts Oastbrook Vineyard, Bodiam, East Sussex
Full-day wine tour in Sussex and Kent
Two or three vineyards in the East Sussex and Kent countryside, with a guided tour at each and tastings, and none of the driving to do.
Starts Hotel pickup in East Sussex and Kent, including Hastings, Cranbrook and Pluckley
There are more on our Sussex wine tours page.
Give a tasting as a present
Tour and tasting at Chapel Down
A guided tour of the vineyard and winery with a tutored tasting, at one of England’s biggest producers. Vouchers for a cheese and wine pairing or lunch at The Swan, its restaurant, cost more.
Good to know Chapel Down sends its vouchers by email, so they work as a last-minute present. The retailer vouchers are valid for twelve months; the cheapest covers visits from Sunday to Friday, the others any day.
Chapel Down’s own price: from £40 a head
Tour and tasting at Sedlescombe
A guided walk round one of England’s first organic vineyards, with a tasting along the way. Some versions add a bottle to take home.
Good to know In autumn and winter the tours run on Fridays and Saturdays, with dates on the vineyard’s booking page. Check what the voucher you choose includes.
Let them choose the vineyard
A voucher that works at any of 17 vineyards, including Yotes Court, Woodchurch, Wildshark, Oastbrook, Sedlescombe and Court Garden in the south-east. What is included varies by vineyard, and may be a tasting, lunch, afternoon tea or a tour with the winemaker.
Good to know For someone whose diary or home town you are not sure of.
Questions people ask
Which vineyards are near Brighton?
The nearest are on the north side of the Downs. Albourne is about eight miles away, and Ridgeview, Court Garden and Artelium are round Ditchling, reached by train to Burgess Hill, Hassocks or Plumpton. Bolney is about 20 minutes by car. Rathfinny is further east, near Alfriston, and several of the day tours above go there from Brighton.
How long does a wine tasting take?
Rathfinny’s free drop-in tasting is over in ten minutes. A seated tasting runs from 30 minutes at Bolney to an hour at Rathfinny on a Sunday. A tour with a tasting usually takes an hour and a half, and Bolney’s longest lasts three hours with food.
Can I bring children to a tasting?
To the estate, usually. To the tasting, often not. Bolney, Ridgeview, Wiston, Bluebell and Ashling Park keep under-18s off their tours. Sedlescombe lets children join its tours free, and Tinwood gives them mocktails on a child’s ticket.
Which Sussex vineyards take dogs?
Tinwood, Artelium and Birchden welcome dogs on a lead on their tours, and Roebuck does on its summer tours. Rathfinny allows them on the trail and in the shop but not on tours. Ridgeview takes assistance dogs only indoors, and Nyetimber does not allow dogs.
Can I visit Breaky Bottom?
Only to buy wine. Breaky Bottom, near Lewes, runs no tours or tastings at the moment. It sees people by appointment who want to buy and collect, and the wine is sold by the case of six.
The details on this page come from our vineyard guides. We checked each one against the vineyard’s own website in November 2026, apart from Henners, which we checked in October 2026. Days and prices change, so look at the booking page before you go.
Photo credits, via Geograph
- Rathfinny Estate vineyard: Ian Hawfinch, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Rathfinny Winery: David M Clark, CC BY-SA 2.0