Busi Jacobsohn Wine Estate: Family-Run Single Estate Sparkling Wines in the Sussex High Weald
Busi Jacobsohn Wine Estate is one of the most quietly compelling boutique sparkling wine producers to have emerged from England's fast-rising cool-climate wine scene. Tucked into the wooded, gently rolling hills of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Eridge in East Sussex, the estate is the work of husband and wife Douglas and Susanna Jacobsohn, who swapped successful corporate careers for a different kind of venture: planting a vineyard from scratch and crafting traditional-method English sparkling wine that genuinely reflects its place.
Founded in 2015 and now bottling around 10,000 bottles a year with a long-term plan to grow to 25,000, Busi Jacobsohn is a single estate grower-producer in the truest sense. Every grape is estate-farmed; every decision, from pruning to blending to dosage, is taken with the family closely involved. The wines are classic Champagne varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier - made in the traditional method, with long lees ageing, low dosage and an unwavering commitment to purity.
The story of Busi Jacobsohn
The estate was born in 2014 when the Jacobsohns bought Blackdon Farm just south of Tunbridge Wells in the village of Eridge. There was no fixed plan at first - only a desire to do something rooted in the land. A conversation with a neighbour about soil and agriculture prompted the idea of planting vines, and a chance meeting with Ian Kellett of Hampshire pioneering estate Hambledon, who invited the couple to a dosage trial, proved catalytic. From there things moved quickly.
Stephen Skelton MW, the UK's most respected vineyard consultant, was brought in to assess the land and identify the best plots for planting. Douglas and Susanna both completed an intensive three-month viticulture course at Plumpton College - the country's leading wine school - and by 2015 some 20,000 vines were in the ground. The first vintage, in 2017, offered an early glimpse of what the estate could do. The 2018 vintage, a landmark year for English wine, sealed its potential: warm, dry conditions produced a bumper crop of exceptional quality and gave the confidence to expand the range beyond the original Brut and Rosé.
A family affair
Although the brand has the polish of a serious commercial enterprise, Busi Jacobsohn is, at heart, a family-run vineyard.
- Susanna Busi Jacobsohn - co-founder. With ancestral roots in Piemonte (Italy) and Kefalonia (Greece), Susanna's cultural background has shaped her taste for good wine and food. Her career began in fashion, before she became a stay-at-home mother and then a Life Coach and Feng Shui student at the Nordic School of Feng Shui. Her interests in art, painting and design now feed into the branding and aesthetic of the tasting room and wine estate.
- Douglas Jacobsohn - co-founder. Raised in Sweden, Douglas spent most of his career in marine insurance (notably as chief executive of Skuld) but always dreamed of owning a farm. The countryside air felt a natural fit with the vineyard project, and he has since set himself the goal of producing wines that reflect the estate's terroir and his and Susanna's attitude to life.
- Charles - the eldest of the two sons. After studying Psychology at university he became closely involved in vineyard work when time allowed, playing a vital role particularly during harvest. He is now a Detective in London but remains a keen foodie with wine firmly on his radar.
- Tom - the youngest. After studying Design and Technology at Loughborough University and working as a diver at a marine research station in the Seychelles, Tom moved into the yachting industry before returning to Sweden to serve in the military. He still lends a hand at harvest, and his strong views on design and branding have shaped much of the visual identity of the Busi Jacobsohn brand.
- Smilla - the vineyard's resident black and silver mini-schnauzer. Now the sole vineyard dog, she patrols the rows to keep deer and pheasants at bay and is an unofficial ambassador for the estate.
Two earlier vineyard dogs, Luna and Kane, are remembered fondly. Luna, a herding dog, spent eight years guarding the grapes and estate, while Kane, the family's first vineyard dog, taught her everything she knew.
The estate and the High Weald
Busi Jacobsohn sits in the High Weald, the heavily wooded sandstone ridge that runs through Sussex, Kent and Surrey - quite different geology from the chalky South Downs further south. The soils here are acidic clay loam over greensand: a combination that, while less celebrated than chalk, is prized by many growers for the structure and fruit expression it gives to pinot-led wines.
Although the estate has 20 hectares at Eridge, only five are currently under vine, with the rest of the farm kept as woodland, pasture and habitat. The vineyard sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with insects, bees and birds thriving among the rows. Winemaking is handled at Ridgeview under the supervision of head winemaker Simon Roberts, with Douglas and Susanna closely involved throughout the process on blending and dosage decisions.
Sustainability and the environment
Respect for the surrounding environment runs through everything the estate does. The vineyard is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its carbon footprint, with both solar-powered energy and biomass heating (which burns biological matter such as wood chips) used on site.
- Soil health and wildlife. Pesticide use is reduced to the bare minimum, with mechanical weed management progressively replacing herbicides as the estate works towards being completely herbicide-free. Vegetation is allowed to grow on headlands to promote environmental, landscape, archaeological and historical features.
- Ecosystem. The vineyard is managed as an ecosystem and habitat for wildlife, with the rich insect, bee and bird life considered vital to vine health.
- Energy. Solar panels power winery operations and excess energy is fed back to the national grid.
The estate is registered in England and Wales (company number 10888811) with its registered office at Blackdon Farm, Eridge Green, East Sussex, TN3 9HX.
The Busi Jacobsohn wine range
Busi Jacobsohn's philosophy is single-vintage, single-estate, traditional-method winemaking with no reserve wine and no safety net. Each wine is produced in small quantities and individually numbered where production is limited. All wines are PDO English Quality Sparkling Wine unless otherwise stated, and most are bottled at 12.0% ABV.
Sparkling wines
Classic Cuvée 2021
The newest release and the estate's entry point into the sparkling range, priced at £39.00 per bottle. It is a crisp and delightful vintage comprised of 30% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, with a dosage of 4.5 g/L. The 2021 growing season moved from a cool, frosty spring into a wet summer, finishing with a late harvest - challenging conditions, but producing fresh, vibrant wines with bright acidity and good balance. The wine shows an attractive aroma of biscuits, roasted nuts, oatmeal and apple, with apple crumble and pastry notes on the palate. Pair with seafood, salmon, sushi, black caviar, roasted chicken with truffle, or a vegetarian lasagne.
Rosé 2019
Priced at £39.00 per bottle. Made only from grapes grown on the single estate vineyard in Eridge, this PDO English Quality Sparkling Wine is a blend of 48% Chardonnay, 46% Pinot Noir and 6% Pinot Meunier with a 6.3 g/L dosage. It pours a light, gently peach colour; the nose recalls cranberry, raspberry and red apples, with hints of candy floss. The palate is crunchy, fresh and tangy, with youthful red fruits, crunchy red apple, ripe cherries, rhubarb and savoury notes. Pair with celebrations and aperitifs, poached salmon, roast chicken or guinea fowl, nduja pizza, Spanish tortilla, orecchiette with cauliflower, sun-dried tomato and saffron, cheese and Asian duck. Vegan friendly.
Blanc de Noir 2018
Priced at £48.00 per bottle. A new Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier blend (92% Pinot Noir, 8% Pinot Meunier), Blanc de Noirs 2018 is a PDO English Quality Sparkling Wine of outstanding quality with a soft complexity and full of fruit aromas. It has earned high praise on the international stage - most notably a 99/100 score in the 2026 "50 Great Sparkling Wines of the World" awards, placing Busi Jacobsohn in the top three globally, alongside two prestige Franciacorta wines. It also won Gold and Top Sparkling at IEWA and Gold at the International Wine Challenge 2023.
Cuvée Extra Brut 2019
A crisp and delightful vintage comprised of 60% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, with a dosage of 4.6 g/L. Made only from grapes grown at the Eridge estate, the wine is vegan-friendly and PDO English Quality Sparkling Wine. Aromas of biscuits, roasted nuts, oatmeal and apple give way on the palate to lemon zest, chalky minerality, roasted nuts and toasted oats, with great length, acidity and balance. Pair with celebrations and aperitifs, smoked salmon, seafood, pâté, buttered asparagus, creamy pasta, truffles, Swedish caviar löjrom, Asian food and birthday cakes.
Blanc de Blanc 2018
Priced at £59.00 per bottle. A refined experience made from 100% Chardonnay, providing a pure balance of rich and striking medium-bodied flavours, with 44 months on lees. A light golden colour with fine and delicate long mousse; aromas of lemon sherbet and smooth soft honey lead into fresh pastry and characters of toasted brioche. The palate is rounded and soft, offering generous elegant notes of green apple, lemon zest and a touch of baked nuts with a long and complex finish. Excellent to keep in the cellar for a few years. Pair with seafood, oysters or a luxury celebration on its own.
Blanc de Blanc 2019
Priced at £59.00 per bottle. Another 100% Chardonnay PDO English Quality Sparkling Wine from the Eridge estate, with a 6.0 g/L dosage. Some really lovely delicate expressive elegant fruit and autolytic flavours, with a long finish and pleasant acidity prominent. Well balanced with a long finish. It won Gold in the "Zesty & Zingy" category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2025.
Cuvée Extra Brut 2020
Priced at £42.00 per bottle. A blend of 30% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier, with a notably low 4.0 g/L dosage. An elegant and special vintage - bright, textured and refreshingly vibrant, showcasing integrated lees characters with toasted nuts and oats, crunchy apple and sweet pie crust. "A wine to savour and enjoy the complexity and discrete accessibility." The 2020 vintage is showing exceptional quality thanks to early-spring sunshine followed by challenging frost in early May, then perfect flowering conditions and beautiful healthy ripe grapes. It won Silver at IEWA25 and Silver at the IWSC (90 points) in 2025.
Magnum Cuvée Extra Brut 2020
Priced at £89.00 per bottle. The estate's first magnum release - a blend of 30% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier, with a 2.0 g/L dosage. Bright, textured and refreshingly vibrant with integrated lees characters, toasted nuts and oats, crunchy apple and sweet pie crust. The Cuveé Brut Magnum 2020 scooped Gold at The Drinks Business Spring Tasting 2026, with Patrick Schmitt MW praising it as "a seriously fine English sparkling wine with its characteristic firm, fresh edge, but also plenty of creaminess from the fine bubbles, and depth from the ripe apple and lemon fruit at its core, along with the yeasty, bready flavours from lees ageing."
Still wines
Rosé de Meunier, Still Wine (6 Bottles)
A limited release of 300 bottles, sold only by the case of six for £99.00 (£16.50 per bottle). 100% Pinot Meunier from the Eridge estate, vintage 2025, ABV 12.0%. Bursting with fresh summer berries, lifted by a gentle breeze and with a long, smooth finish - "just like a perfect summer day." Tasted by Oz & Tom's English Wine Heroes: "A bright, exuberant pale rosé with a wonderful push-and-pull of zingy, tart red berry fruit and fresh cream, finishing with hints of granola and raspberries." Awarded Bronze at IEWA. *UK shipping only; European customers should contact the estate.
Barrel 1, Still White Wine
Priced at £19.95 per bottle. A limited edition of 500 bottles - a multi-vintage 2018-2022 blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier matured in old Burgundian oak barrels, ABV 11.0%. Aromas of green citrus and grapefruit, set alongside beautiful balance and structure; "a dry white, fresh and full of summer zest, with initial flavours of fruit and blossom layered with a subtle crispness."
Wines can be purchased online from the Busi Jacobsohn shop, with free UK shipping on orders of six bottles or more for most wines.
Wine-making philosophy: single estate, vintage-driven
A single estate grower-producer owns and farms its vineyard with complete control over the viticultural process from start to finish. This is similar to single-origin coffee and chocolate, or farm-fresh eggs - the produce will not necessarily taste the same every year. "This is what makes our wine so compelling and so uniquely interesting, as we own the vineyard and know everything there is to know about our grapes."
The aim, especially with a vintage, is to create a better wine each year rather than a consistent house style. All Busi Jacobsohn wines are made in accordance with the traditional method, with secondary fermentation in the bottle and extended lees ageing. The estate takes a clear-eyed view of common misconceptions about sparkling wine: it was the English scientist Christopher Merrett who documented in 1662 that English winemakers had been adding sugar to give their wines bubbles, thirty years before Dom Pérignon's supposed "invention" of champagne.
Experiences: tastings, vineyard walks and open days
Visiting Busi Jacobsohn is an intimate, family-run experience. Whether you come as a treat for yourself or a gift for a loved one, the estate offers tastings and vineyard walks that let you meet the owners and walk the rows.
Tastings and tours
- Tasting and Vineyard Tour - £32.00 per person. Includes a guided walk through the vineyard and tasting of the wines.
- Wine Tasting & Vineyard Walk - £32.00 per person. A more walk-focused experience through the vines.
- Private Tasting and Tour - bespoke; price on application. Ideal for groups wanting an exclusive visit.
- Bespoke Tastings - minimum 6 people; email info@busijacobsohn.com to book.
Estate Open Days
Open days at Busi Jacobsohn take place in July and August each year. The estate has been running themed open days such as the "Bubbles & Vines" Open Day on 10th August at 3.00 PM - a guided vineyard walk with Susanna and Douglas, followed by tastings of award-winning English sparkling wines. Tickets are usually sold via Eventbrite.
Past highlights have included "English Sparkling Wine, Pre-war Cars & Jazz Singer in the Vineyard", an August day combining vineyard strolls with vintage cars, live jazz and bring-your-own picnics. The estate has also hosted pop-up dinners at venues such as Limekiln in Sussex.
Cellar Door
The Cellar Door is open, but visitors are asked to call ahead so the team can ensure someone is on site to greet them. All enquiries should be directed to info@busijacobsohn.com, or bookings can be arranged via the Busi Jacobsohn experiences.
Awards and recognition
Busi Jacobsohn's wines have won consistent international recognition, including:
- Gold - Drinks Business Spring Tasting 2026 - Magnum Cuvée Extra Brut 2020 (Patrick Schmitt MW tasting notes included above).
- 99/100 (Top 3 globally) - 50 Great Sparkling Wines of the World 2026 - Blanc de Noir 2018.
- IWSC Top 50 Producers (No. 50) - recognised for consistent quality, craftsmanship and excellence over the last three years.
- Gold - Glass of Bubbly Awards 2025 ("Zesty & Zingy" category) - Blanc de Blanc 2019.
- Gold - International Wine Challenge 2023 - Blanc de Noir 2018.
- Gold and Top Sparkling - IEWA - Blanc de Noir 2018.
- Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 - Cuvée Brut 2020 ("complex nose of lime, peach and brioche… fine mousse, gentle mouthfeel…").
- Silver - IWC 2025 - Cuvée Brut 2021.
- Silver - IWSC 2025 (90 points) - Cuvée Brut 2020.
- Silver - IEWA25 - Cuvée Brut 2020 ("just shy of gold").
- Gold - Drinks Business Spring Tasting - Blanc de Blanc 2018.
- Five-Star Gold (95/100) - The Real Review - Rosé 2019.
- Bronze - WineGB Awards.
- Silver - IEWA - Blanc de Blanc 2018.
The estate has also been named one of the "Top Great British Wineries" by The Real Review and was profiled in depth by Charlie Haywood on Beyond the Lees, by John Mobbs at GreatBritishWine, and featured in Decanter, The Telegraph, The Star, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce magazine In Vino, the Munskskänkarna magazine and Munskänkarnas Magasin. Busi Jacobsohn's Cuvée Brut was also chosen ahead of a Norway vs England football match by Norway's most-read wine journalist, Ingvild Tennfjord.
Where to find the wines: stockists and restaurants
Busi Jacobsohn is proud to supply a curated list of some of the UK's and Scandinavia's most respected shops and restaurants. In the UK, the distributor is Yapp Brothers Ltd.
- Retail stockists: Harvey Nichols (Knightsbridge, London), Thorne Wines (Sawston, Cambridge), Just Perfect Wines (Stoke-on-Trent), Cepage (a wine lovers' shop in Tunbridge Wells), Fuller's Farm Shop (Bunny Lane, Eridge), The Sourcing Table (London) and The Warren (Tunbridge Wells).
- UK restaurants: Loch & Tyne by Adam Handling (Old Windsor); La Trompette (Chiswick); The Square Peg (Tunbridge Wells); Goodman Mayfair, Goodman City and 67 Pall Mall (London); Jones of Brockley; Bistro Lotte (Frome); Sussex Fine Food Co (Henfield); The George London; The Ledbury (Notting Hill); The Berkeley; The Frog by Adam Handling; UMU; The Twenty Two (Grosvenor Square); The Architect (Bristol); The Champagne Company; The Fordwich Arms; Tuddenham Mill; 10 Cases; Leroy Shoreditch; Fallow (Haymarket); Katn6; and The Kings Arms (Rotherfield).
- International: Selected Wine Partners (Oslo, Norway) - Busi Jacobsohn is now available in most Vinmonopolet shops across Norway.
Visiting and contact
Busi Jacobsohn Wine Estate is at Blackdon Farm, Eridge Green, East Sussex, TN3 9HX. The estate is family-run and welcomes visitors by prior arrangement.
- Email: info@busijacobsohn.com
- Telephone: +44 (0) 7590 181718
- Address: Busi Jacobsohn Wine Estate, Blackdon Farm, Eridge Green, East Sussex, TN3 9HX, United Kingdom
- Instagram: @busijacobsohn
Directions to the estate are available via Google Maps.
Why Busi Jacobsohn matters
The Sussex High Weald has long been overshadowed by the chalky prestige of the South Downs. Estates like Busi Jacobsohn are quietly proving that this wooded, clay-rich corner of the county is not just viable but vital - capable of producing sparkling wines of clarity, finesse and real intrigue. From the moment Susanna and Douglas chose Eridge, brought in Stephen Skelton MW, completed their Plumpton training and planted 20,000 vines in 2015, the project has been a long game.
Today, with consistent gold and silver medals across Decanter, the IWSC, the IWC, the Glass of Bubbly Awards and Drinks Business, with a place in the IWSC Top 50 Producers and a 99/100 score for the Blanc de Noir 2018 alongside the great Franciacorta houses, Busi Jacobsohn has firmly established itself as one of England's most exciting small-batch sparkling wine producers. Whether you drink a glass of the fresh Classic Cuvée 2021, linger over a Blanc de Blanc 2018, pour a magnum of Cuvée Extra Brut 2020 for a celebration, or cool down with the new Rosé de Meunier still wine on a summer afternoon, you are tasting the patient, precise work of a family that left corporate life behind to make something quietly, confidently, unmistakably English.