Wine & Wellness

It may well be Sober October this month but for those who work in the wine industry abstinence, even for a month, can be difficult. So, I’m always looking for ways I can add balance.

The Secret Vineyard, in the East Sussex village of Herstmonceux, is a place that offers just that. Run by sisters Helen and Vicky Tate, the vineyard sits beside a pond where visitors are encouraged to go for a wild swim before sipping on a glass of English Chardonnay.

The vineyard’s Wellbeing in the Wild programme includes both group and private yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and meditation classes and there’s also a lakeside wood-fired hot tub to warm up in after the cold water dip.

Helen and Vicky planted 3,000 Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot noir and Pinot Gris vines in 2022 after the pandemic lured them to close the retail arm of their family business, Lime Cross Nursery. The pair had taken over the nursery in 2014 after their father, Johnathan Tate, a founding member of the British Conifer Society, passed away from cancer. Eight years on they felt it was time for the business to start a new chapter.

‘We’d spent a long time running the business as it was, but retail can be a real slog and we wanted to do something more freeing and exciting,’ says Vicky, who has a wealth of horticultural experience, including working at Auckland Botanical Gardens in New Zealand.

The sisters have fond memories of growing up at the nursery, riding Shetland ponies, hiding among the rare conifers that their father grew and swimming in the pond he dug to irrigate the plants.

‘Dad actually used to tell us off for swimming in there,’ says Helen of the 30ft deep spring-fed lake that is now central to their wellness offering. ‘I do often wonder what he’d think now.’

Helen, who has a background in wine having studied at Plumpton College, had encouraged her father to plant a vineyard on adjacent fields before he died but he had worried it wouldn’t be profitable. She’s determined to prove him wrong.

The vines are expected to produce a small crop this year, which they may experiment with by making wine themselves, but expect a decent enough harvest next year to produce wine commercially.

While they have been waiting for their own vines to mature, Helen and Vicky have worked with contract winemakers Defined Wines in Kent to produce two still wines – a Chardonnay and a rosé (both £22) – made from grapes brought in from growers across Kent and Sussex.

‘We wanted to build a brand and a buzz around the vineyard in the lead up to us making our own wines,” says Helen, adding that tours will begin next year.

In the meantime, visitors can book onto classes and retreats and even stay in the shepherd’s hut or mirrored ÖÖD Cabin, which sit on the edge of the lake. It’s the perfect spot for some R&R, or should I say W&W?

The PIG launches first Sussex wines

THE PIG hotel group has released its first wines made from grapes grown on its vineyards in West Sussex and on the Kent/East Sussex border. The first harvest from vines planted at THE PIG-in-the-South-Downs, in Madehurst, took place last October and the grapes were handed to Dermot and Ana Sugrue, of Sugrue South Downs, to make into wine. The result is Alpaca Block Chardonnay (£65) and Alpaca Block Field Blend Rosé (£59), two still wines named after the Alpacas which used to graze on the land. Another still white, Where Eagles Fly (£69), has been made from Seyval Blanc vines planted some 40 years ago at Groombridge Place, the site of the brand’s next venture on the East Sussex/Kent border, due to open in 2026.

All three wines are available across all THE PIG hotels - thepighotel.com

Three wine books by Sussex authors

How to drink wine by Tom Surgey, £14.99

In this wine 101, Lewes resident and Plumpton College Wine Division ambassador Tom Surgey, unpicks the intimidating, confusing and unnecessarily complicated side of wine. He covers questions such as: How is wine made? How do I know what to buy in a shop? Am I holding my glass correctly? And how do I avoid a hangover?

The Wine Flavour Guide by Sam Caporn, £20

Forest Row resident Sam Caporn is one of just 417 Masters of Wine worldwide but don’t let that intimidate you as this guide is very easy going. Sam’s Wine Flavour Tree infographic forms the basis for the book, which helps readers understand the various things that can contribute flavour to wine, as well as what wine to drink when and what to pair it with.

An English Vineyard Cookbook, £25

Proceeds from this book by the Gladwin family, owners of Nutbourne Vineyard in Pulborough, will go to food waste charity City Harvest. Illustrated by Bridget Gladwin, who designs the artwork for Nutbourne’s wine labels, it features over 100 recipes using locally-grown ingredients, along with wine pairings and foraging advice.