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Vineyard guide · Twyford
Visiting Stanlake Park Wine Estate
Stanlake Park has grown grapes outside Twyford since 1979 and makes white, rosé, red, orange and sparkling wine in an old barn on the estate. It is a 15-minute walk from Twyford station, so it is one of the few English vineyards where nobody has to drive. Book the Wine Tour & Tasting and stay on in the wine bar afterwards.
Stanlake Park at a glance
| Founded | First 500 vines planted in 1979 |
|---|---|
| Known for | A long range of still and sparkling wines, tasted as you go round the vineyard and winery |
| Grapes | Thirteen varieties, among them Bacchus, Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe and Chardonnay |
| Open | Wine bar and shop Tuesday to Sunday from 9am, closing 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday and 8pm Thursday to Saturday; closed Mondays except bank holidays |
| Booking | Tours and tastings are booked and paid for online through the tour calendar; the wine bar needs no booking, though weekends are busy |
| Tours from | £20 |
| Food | Cheese and charcuterie boards, picnic packs, nibbles and cream teas in the wine bar; no restaurant |
| Dogs | Well-behaved dogs on a lead in the wine bar and shop, not on tours or in the winery; service dogs allowed |
| Children | Welcome in the wine bar and shop; tours and tastings are for over-18s only, babies included |
| Stay | North Lodge, a one-bedroom gatehouse from £200 a night, and South Lodge, a villa for up to eight from £650 a night |
| By train | Twyford, a 15-minute walk on pavements or 3 minutes by taxi |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About Stanlake Park
The estate is old. It dates back to 1166, when the land was called Hinton Pipard, and took the Stanlake name after a Thorpe daughter married Nicholas Stanlake. The brick manor house went up in the 1620s for the Aldworth family. Vines came much later. Jon Leighton, whose family lived here from 1952, came back from Australia in 1979 and planted 500 vines as a trial. It worked, and the vineyard was first called Thames Valley Vineyard before it was renamed Stanlake Park.
Peter and Annette Dart bought the estate in 2005 and the present owners took over in 2013. In 2018 the winemaker Nico Centonze, who comes from a winemaking family in Puglia and had worked at Nyetimber, in Bordeaux and in Romania, joined with his partner Natalia Pezzone. She runs the marketing and holds the WSET Diploma, and she trains the tour guides.
There are about 10 acres of vines in four vineyards across a 130-acre estate. Some of the Gewürztraminer in the walled garden dates from the late 1970s, and the estate says these are among the oldest vines of their type in the UK. The winery sits in a Grade II listed barn and can take 70 tonnes of grapes. It makes around 40,000 bottles a year and gets close to 10,000 visitors.
The wines
The interesting thing here is how much red there is. The Reserve, a multi-vintage Dornfelder with some time in French oak, is the one we’d try, with Cricket Grove and a Pinot Noir alongside it. The Orange wine is made from the 1979 Siegerrebe vines in the Stallion Vineyard, which makes it worth a look. Among the whites, Regatta is the everyday blend, and King’s Fumé is a richer oaked blend of Chardonnay and Ortega. The sparkling wines run from Hinton Brut and Bacchus Brut to Heritage Brut, Rosé Superior and Stanlake Brut at the top. Every wine is sold by the glass in the bar. There is also an Italian Collection of Fiano, Primitivo Rosé and Negroamaro made for Stanlake in Italy, so don’t mistake those for English wine. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Stanlake Park
Everything starts at the wine bar and cellar shop, in a converted Victorian greenhouse beside the walled garden, with a rose garden outside and a large free car park in front. Tours run whatever the weather because most of the time is spent inside the winery, which is kept cool, so bring a layer even in summer. The Wine Tour & Tasting has a lot of standing and walking, close to two hours of it. The team can make the route step-free and put chairs at each stop if you ask ahead. You can’t wander the vineyards on your own, since some are kept for weddings and one is in with livestock. Cancelling or changing with less than seven days’ notice costs £10 a booking, and no-shows get nothing back. The car park gets busy on wedding days, and the shop and bar take cards only.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine Tour & Tasting A glass of sparkling wine at check-in, then a walk through the Stallion Vineyard and round every part of the winery, from the press to the barrel room, fizz room and bottling line. You taste a different wine at each stop, six in all. Groups usually run to 20 or 25. Non-drinkers get one soft drink but no discount. | £20 per person, £25 at weekends in high season | 1.5 to 2 hours | All year on dates in the tour calendar; November 2026 Saturdays have tours at 11am and 2pm |
| Wine & Cheese Tour The same vineyard and winery walk, cut to about an hour, then a seated tasting in the wine bar of three wines with British cheeses, crackers and chutney. Smaller groups of 14 to 16. Dairy-free diets can be catered for. | £30 per person | About 1 hour 45 minutes | Selected dates in the tour calendar, for example Friday afternoons at 2pm |
| Wine & Cheese Tasting No tour. A glass of fizz on arrival, then a guided tasting of three wines with local cheese at the barrel tables in the wine bar. | £25 per person | About 1 hour | Selected evenings, for example Fridays at 6pm |
| Wine Tour and Cream Tea A wine tour followed by a cream tea. The listing gives few other details. | £25 per person | 1.5 hours | Selected afternoons, for example Thursdays at 2pm |
| Wine tasting flights Three samples with tasting notes, at the bar, with no booking. | From £7 | – | Wine bar opening hours |
Book these on the Stanlake Park website.
Buy Stanlake Park wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
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Getting there
Twyford station is on the Great Western main line and the Elizabeth Line, about 25 minutes from London Paddington and 7 from Reading. From the station it is a 15-minute walk on pavements. By car, the estate is on the B3018 Waltham Road out of Twyford towards Wokingham, near Ruscombe and Hurst. Local taxis can take up to 30 minutes to arrive and Uber is rare out here, but there are usually taxis waiting at Twyford station. You can leave your car overnight if you give the staff your details.
Make a day of it
Henley-on-Thames and Windsor are both a short drive away. For a second vineyard, Chiltern Valley sits above Hambleden on the other side of Henley, though its tours book up well ahead.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Chilterns directory. Our other Chilterns vineyard guides: Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery.
Questions people ask
Can you visit Stanlake Park without booking a tour?
Yes. The wine bar and shop are open to everyone from Tuesday to Sunday, and you can order a tasting flight of three wines there without booking.
Can you get there by train?
Yes, and it is the easiest way. Twyford station is a 15-minute walk away and has direct trains from London Paddington and Reading, including the Elizabeth Line.
Can I bring children?
Children are welcome in the wine bar and shop, but no one under 18 can join a tour or tasting, and that includes babies and toddlers.