Chartham Vineyard

Nestled on the valley side above the River Stour, just three miles south-west of the historic city of Canterbury, Chartham Vineyard is one of Kent's most quietly impressive family-run wine estates. From a 2½-hectare slice of arable land on a chalk down farm whose soils replicate those of Northern France, the Goodenough and Waller families craft elegant English sparkling and still wines that have earned them Double Gold at the 2026 London Wine Competition and consistent praise from visitors and critics alike.

A Family Enterprise on a Historic Farm

Chartham Vineyard is part of Burnt House Farm, a 40-hectare patchwork of arable, pasture, coppice and ancient woodland that has belonged to Roz Waller's family for seventy years. The original Burnt House Farm mansion burnt down in 1730, but its 17th-century Dovecote - now a scheduled monument - still stands at the gateway to the vineyard and is celebrated in the Chartham Vineyard logo. That same dove house stands sentinel over the vines today, presiding over a working farmyard that has been sympathetically converted into a visitor hub.

The vineyard itself was planted in 2013, seven hundred and ten years after Chartham's first recorded vineyard was established in 1303 by Prior Henry of Eastry at nearby Deanery Farm. Cathedral archive records survive even today detailing the considerable maintenance costs of that medieval plot: a new gate with palings in 1292 cost 67 shillings and 3 pence, while a new press house and cart house in 1310 set the Priory back £6, 3 shillings and 2 pence. The current custodians are keenly aware they are continuing an old Kentish tradition.

The enterprise is run jointly by Roz Waller, a former GP, and her husband Richard Goodenough, a former university lecturer. Their son Andy Goodenough manages the vineyard day-to-day, and the three of them can often be found in the vineyard shop, leading tours and arranging the art exhibitions that fill the converted cow-barn gallery.

Terroir Mirroring the Champagne Region

Chartham's vineyards sit on a south-facing slope above the River Stour, just below the ancient North Downs Way footpath that pilgrims once walked on their way to Canterbury. The aspect maximises sunshine exposure, while cold air drains down into the valley, reducing the risk of frost.

Beneath the vines lies a dark-brown flinty loam over a massive chalk bedrock laid down more than 100 million years ago from the shells of sea creatures in a tropical sea. A chalk pit on the farm is designated an important geological site because the flint and marl bands here can be correlated with identical Upper Cretaceous sequences across the Anglo-Parisian Basin - the same geology that underlies the Champagne region around Reims. It is this rare English combination of free-draining chalk, heat-retaining flints and a relatively warm, dry microclimate that convinced the family to plant champagne varieties.

Vineyard Planting and Sustainable Practice

After a year of intensive site selection and soil preparation in 2012, 1.6 hectares of vines were planted by machine in May 2013, with rows aligned up and down the slope to maximise sunlight exposure. A further 0.5 hectares of a Burgundy clone of Pinot Noir followed in May 2014 to provide colour for rosé and the occasional still red in exceptional vintages. All vines are grown on a vertical shoot-positioned trellis, 2 metres tall, with the fruiting wire at 60 cm, and are trained on the traditional single-guyot system that is ideally suited to English conditions.

Sustainability is a guiding principle. The vineyard is working towards accreditation under the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain scheme, a rigorous audited process that requires evidence of improved soil health, reduced pesticide use, enhanced biodiversity and a lower carbon footprint. Wildflowers flourish between and around the rows as part of a gentle, integrated approach to pest control.

Grape Varieties

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the most widely planted white grape in the world and has been particularly successful in south-east England. Its affinity for chalk soils made it an obvious choice at Chartham, and it provides the structure and finesse in their traditional-method sparkling wines. It is the sole grape in the celebrated Blanc de Blancs.

Pinot Noir

A demanding variety, Pinot Noir has nevertheless become one of the traditional components of fine English sparkling wine. It performs particularly well on well-drained limestone-based soils and, in good ripening years, also makes excellent rosé and red wines. Chartham grow both champagne clones and a Burgundy clone, the latter planted specifically for colour.

Bacchus

Bacchus is a hardy, early-ripening variety well-suited to cool maritime climates. Its aromatic, floral wines are often compared to Sauvignon Blanc in style, with the bracing acidity typical of English still whites.

Pinot Gris

Associated with the Grand Est region of eastern France, where it produces richly honeyed dry whites and superb late-harvest wines, Pinot Gris (known as Pinot Grigio in Italy) is also used by Chartham as a blending component in sparkling wines and as a still white in its own right.

Winemaking with Litmus Wines

Chartham's grapes are made into wine by Litmus Wines, a high-end consultancy and production house based at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey, and run by the highly respected John Worontschak and Matthieu Elzinga. On the day of picking, hand-harvested crates are loaded into a tractor bin, taken up to the farmyard and transported by truck to Dorking, where they are weighed, crushed and made into wine. The must then returns to Chartham's cellar to settle and mature.

John Worontschak, Litmus' managing director and chief winemaker at Denbies, has been making fine English wine since the 1980s after winemaking stints in Australia, France and California, and consults for wineries around the world. Matthieu Elzinga, Litmus' production manager, learned his craft running his family's wine estate in Muscadet for eleven years and spent time in Champagne studying traditional-method production. Chartham's wines, in the family's own words, could not be in safer, more experienced hands.

The Wines

Sparkling Wines

• Blanc de Blancs 2022 - 100% Chardonnay, traditional method, awarded Double Gold at the 2026 London Wine Competition.
• Blanc de Noir 2021 - 100% Pinot Noir, traditional method, also a 2026 London Wine Competition Double Gold winner.
• Rose de Noir 2022 - a delicate 100% Pinot Noir pink sparkler.
• Sparkling Trio - a mixed three-bottle selection of Chartham's sparkling range, available from the online shop.

Still Wines

• Bacchus 2023 - aromatic English still white from the early-ripening Bacchus variety.
• Pinot Gris 2023 - a richly textured dry white from the Grand Est classic variety.
• Rosé 2023 - a pale, fragrant English rosé from estate-grown Pinot Noir.

For those new to the range, the Starter Wine Case of six bottles offers a curated introduction to every wine Chartham currently produces. All wines are made 100% from estate-grown, hand-picked fruit and are available by the bottle, mixed case or as a half case direct from the online shop.

Visiting the Vineyard

Chartham Vineyard welcomes visitors every Saturday from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm. The farmyard forms the visitor hub, with free parking on the right and the cellar-door shop on the left, set in a sympathetically renovated former cow shed. Adjacent to the shop you will find the art gallery and tasting room, a 17th-century brick barn and the ancient dovecote beside the demonstration vineyard. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, and visitors with mobility restrictions are encouraged to contact the team in advance so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

The Vineyard Shop and Cellar Door

The Saturday shop is the heart of the visitor experience. All of Chartham's medal-winning wines are available by the bottle, the case or - for those wanting to linger in the courtyard - by the glass. Customers are welcome to mix and match their favourites, or to take home a Starter Wine Case as an introduction to the full range. The shop accepts cards and contactless payments (cheques are no longer accepted), and free local delivery is offered on orders of £100 or more, or on purchases of six bottles or more within six miles of the vineyard.

Online orders are despatched the next working day in sturdy recycled packaging via trusted carriers, with delivery charges calculated by bottle count at the checkout. The same free-delivery threshold applies.

Guided Tours and Tutored Tastings

For a deeper experience, Chartham runs pre-booked Guided Tours and Tutored Tastings at 11.00 am and 2.00 pm most Saturdays between February and December, hosted by co-owner Richard, vineyard manager Andy or one of the family team. The format lasts around an hour and a half in total: 45 minutes exploring the main vineyard and learning how the family started Chartham Vineyard, followed by 45 minutes of tutored tasting of still and sparkling wines from the current range. In bad weather, the tour moves indoors and becomes an illustrated talk and tasting in the Great Barn or art gallery.

Tour details:

• Price: £25 per person
• Group size: 15 to 22 places per session, depending on date
• Under 18s: welcome when accompanied by an adult, with soft drinks provided
• Dogs: well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome
• After the tour: visitors are welcome to stay on, bring a picnic, enjoy a glass or bottle in the courtyard, and visit the free art gallery next door.

Tickets and gift cards can be booked through the online shop; the e-gift card version is ideal for treating family or friends to a vineyard experience.

Harvest Volunteers and the Post-Harvest Supper

Each September and October the Chartham team gathers a small group of family and friends to hand-pick the year's crop. The actual picking dates are set after regular refractometer, acid-titration and hydrometer testing in the vineyard, with confirmation from winemakers John Worontschak and Matthieu Elzinga at Litmus Wines. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the team in advance, and as a thank-you, the family lays on a post-harvest supper in the old Kent Barn at Burnt House Farm towards the end of October.

Art, Events and the Great Barn

Throughout the year the courtyard hosts a rolling programme of art and craft exhibitions in the cow-barn gallery and workshop studio, and plays, films and other events in the 80-seater Great Barn, an atmospheric 17th-century building that also serves as a picturesque venue for enjoying a glass of wine. Recent and forthcoming exhibitions include a solo watercolour show by Geoffrey Sainsbury (11 April - 1 August 2026), an ongoing Artisan Makers showcase of ceramics, wood and jewellery from Will Dickinson, Isabel Dickinson and Khoa Mahon (Saturdays from 4 April 2026) and the annual Canterbury Society of Art Summer Exhibition in the Great Barn, held every day from 18 to 26 July with proceeds supporting Pilgrims Hospices.

Visitors can keep up to date with the latest programme by following Chartham Vineyard on Facebook, by joining the priority e-list, or by consulting the events calendar.

How to Find Chartham Vineyard

By car

From the A28 Ashford Road, Chartham Vineyard is just off the main road with vineyard signage at the turning; the farmyard entrance is on the left. SatNav postcode: CT4 7HU. Free parking is available on site.

By train

Chartham railway station is only fifty metres from the vineyard entrance and is just six minutes from Canterbury West on the line that also serves Wye, Ashford International, London Charing Cross and St Pancras International. Around 28 trains run each weekday.

By bus

The number 1A bus stops at Chartham Station, a minute's walk from the vineyard, running between Ashford, Wye, Chilham and Canterbury.

On foot or by bicycle

Chartham Vineyard sits directly on the Great Stour Way, also known as the Pilgrims Cycle Trail (National Cycle Route 18), a three-mile traffic-free route between Canterbury and Chartham that follows the banks of the River Stour right to the cellar door. Cyclists can hire from Kent Cycle Hire or Yellow Bikes in Canterbury.

A Long History of Kentish Viticulture

Chartham's vineyard is far from the first in the area. The Domesday Book mentions several East Kent vineyards, and wine was traded between the local manors, although the resulting wine was probably sour and had to be sweetened with blackberry wine. Viticulture peaked through the 13th century before the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152 brought easier access to French wines, the Little Ice Age cooled English summers, and the Black Death decimated the rural workforce. Chartham's revival in 2013 is therefore both a return to roots and a continuation of an old Kentish story - one that visitors can taste in every glass of Blanc de Blancs, Rose de Noir or Bacchus.

Awards and Recognition

• Double Gold, 2026 London Wine Competition - Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noir.
• Multiple Great British Wine Awards and Decanter Wine Awards across the range.
• Featured in Great British Wine, 2019 by John Mobbs as one of the hidden gems of English wine.
• Consistently high ratings on TripAdvisor and Google, with visitors praising the family-friendly welcome and the quality of the wines and tours.

Plan Your Visit

Whether you arrive by train, bus, bicycle or car, Chartham Vineyard offers a relaxed, family-friendly slice of Kent at its most authentic. Drop in on a Saturday between 10.30 am and 5.00 pm for free wine tastings in the shop and a stroll around the gallery, or pre-book a guided tour and tutored tasting to walk the vineyard rows and meet the family behind the wines. The cellar door, the online shop, the art gallery and the regular programme of events make Chartham an ideal destination for anyone exploring the Garden of England's fast-growing wine scene.