Home / Vineyards / Sussex / Sedlescombe Organic
Vineyard guide · Cripps Corner, near Robertsbridge
Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard, founded by Roy Cook in 1979, calls itself England’s oldest organic wine estate. It sits in the East Sussex countryside north of Hastings, with a café bar, wine shop and booked vineyard tours, and it opens Wednesday to Sunday.
| Founded | 1979, by Roy Cook |
|---|---|
| Known for | England’s oldest organic wine estate, with organic and biodynamic wines |
| Grapes | Solaris, Reichensteiner, Johanniter, Müller-Thurgau, Rivaner, Regent, Rondo, Pinot Noir and Pinot Auxerrois, among others |
| Open | Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm |
| Booking | Book guided tours ahead, drop-in tastings and the café need no booking |
| Tours from | £25 |
| Food | Café Bar & Kitchen with charcuterie and cheese boards, ploughman’s, cakes and wine by the glass |
| Dogs | On a lead in the wine shop, tasting room and gardens, not on tours or in the vineyards |
| Children | Welcome on tours, and they go free |
| Stay | The Nest, a three-bedroom house on the vineyard, booked through Airbnb |
| By train | Robertsbridge, on the line from London to Hastings |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
Roy Cook founded the vineyard in 1979, planting 2,000 vines on one and a half acres of land just north of the village of Sedlescombe, together with his wife Irma. It was organic from the start, which is why the estate describes itself as England’s oldest organic wine estate. Plantings grew between 2000 and 2003 to 17 acres, and the estate now has 22 acres of certified organic vineyards in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
After 30 years of organic winemaking, Sedlescombe began converting to biodynamic farming in 2010, and it still farms on biodynamic principles today. Its wines are certified organic or biodynamic by the Biodynamic Association UK, and all are certified suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Like many organic growers, the estate has been moving its vineyards over to newer disease-resistant grape varieties.
The current visitor building went up in 2018, using reclaimed materials and heated by a ground source heat pump, with rainwater from the roof used for the toilets and for watering plants. The café aims to source its food from within 30 miles of the vineyard, and the wines use natural corks and minimal packaging. Sedlescombe is also one of the vineyards in the Rother Wine Triangle, a collaboration of six vineyards in the Rother Valley.
Every wine Sedlescombe sells is organic, and some are also biodynamic. The range includes White Solaris, a Pinot Noir Rosé, and Regent Red, a lightly spiced red made from Regent and Rondo. Old Vine is a biodynamic white from Rivaner vines that were 32 years old, with elderflower aromas that the estate likens to Riesling, and Pinot Auxerrois is an aromatic, slightly sweet white. For sparkling wine there are two pét-nats, a Brut and a Rosé Brut, natural and unfiltered, the Brut made from Solaris, Reichensteiner, Johanniter and Müller-Thurgau. The shop also sells organic wines from Château Saint-Roux, a sister vineyard in Provence. The disease-resistant grapes and the natural sparkling wines make this a different tasting from most English vineyards. Where to buy them.
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Sedlescombe opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, with a wine shop, tasting room, gardens and the Café Bar & Kitchen. The café needs no booking and serves wine by the glass, charcuterie and cheese boards, ploughman’s made with local organic cheese, home-made sausage rolls and cakes, and hot and cold drinks. There is a sunny patio, a tasting room for cooler days, and board games to borrow. The kitchen can adapt the menu for vegans, vegetarians and allergies. Guided tours change with the seasons and run on Fridays and Saturdays through autumn and winter; they need booking, and the estate will refund or rebook with 48 hours’ notice. The vineyard has disabled access and staff are happy to help. Private tours for groups can be booked by phone on 0330 122 5290, and the estate also hosts weddings and private events.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting A guided walk through the organic vineyard with a tutored tasting of five wines along the route. Tours run in the rain, so bring wellies and an umbrella. Book ahead online, with or without a gift voucher. | £25 per person, children free | Not stated | Fridays and Saturdays through autumn and winter |
| Tour and Tasting with Cream Tea The same guided tour and five-wine tasting, followed by a home-made cream tea in the café. | £31 per person | Not stated | On tour days, Fridays and Saturdays through autumn and winter |
| Tour and Tasting with Lunch The guided tour and five-wine tasting, followed by a home-made seasonal lunch. | £37 per person | Not stated | On tour days, Fridays and Saturdays through autumn and winter |
| Drop-in tastings and wine flights No booking is needed to taste the wines. The estate offers free self-guided tours, wine flights and paired cheese and wine flights, served on the patio in good weather or in the tasting room when it is cooler. | Self-guided tours are free, other prices not stated | As long as you like | Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm |
Book these on the Sedlescombe Organic website.
A tour of one of England’s first organic vineyards, a tasting of up to four wines, and a ploughman’s lunch or afternoon tea. About two and a half hours.
Good to know Wednesday to Sunday, May to October only, so a Christmas present waits for spring.
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.
Directions to Sedlescombe Organic
The vineyard is on the B2244 Hawkhurst Road at Cripps Corner, about 1.5 miles north of Sedlescombe village and 7 miles north of Hastings, off the A21. Parking is free on site. The nearest station is Robertsbridge, on the line between London and Hastings; you will need a taxi from there, so book one ahead. On summer Sundays, the Rother Wine Triangle bus links vineyards in the area with Robertsbridge and Rye stations, though which vineyards it visits changes from week to week.
Sedlescombe is in 1066 Country, so Battle, with its abbey and the site of the Battle of Hastings, and Bodiam Castle are both close by, and Hastings and the coast are a short drive south. Robertsbridge is the nearest village for a pub. For more vineyards, the Rother Valley has several others in the Rother Wine Triangle, including Mountfield, Oastbrook, Oxney Organic Estate, Tillingham and Charles Palmer, so check each one’s opening times before you go.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Sussex directory. Our other Sussex vineyard guides: Rathfinny, Court Garden, Bolney, Wiston, Nyetimber, Henners, Artelium, Ashling Park, Tinwood, Roebuck.
Not for a tasting or the café. You can drop in Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Guided vineyard tours with a tutored tasting should be booked in advance.
The guided tour with a tasting of five wines is £25 per person, £31 with a home-made cream tea, or £37 with a seasonal lunch. Children go free.
Tour times change with the seasons. Through autumn and winter, tours run every Friday and Saturday. Check the What’s On booking page on the estate’s website for dates.
Yes. Children are welcome on tours and do not pay.
Dogs on a lead are welcome in the wine shop, tasting room and gardens. They are not allowed on tours or in the vineyards, for food and hygiene reasons.
Yes. All the wines are certified suitable for vegans and vegetarians, and all are organic, with some also biodynamic.
Yes. The Nest is a detached three-bedroom house on the vineyard, surrounded by woodland and vines, and is booked through Airbnb.
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