Dropmore Vineyard: Award-Winning English Sparkling and Still Wines from the Heart of Buckinghamshire
Tucked into a gentle south-east facing slope near the ancient woodland of Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire, Dropmore Vineyard is one of England's quietly distinctive small producers. Founded in 2008 by John and Feona Petersen on the paddock behind their 17th-century farmhouse, the vineyard has grown from a back-garden experiment into an award-winning English wine estate whose bottles now earn medals at national and international wine competitions.
Today the vineyard is run by Feona Petersen, continuing the legacy of her late husband John. The estate remains intentionally intimate: Dropmore is a private vineyard, not open to casual visitors, but in the summer months it welcomes pre-arranged small groups by appointment for tours, tutored tastings and to buy directly from the cellar. If you have ever wandered the lanes south of Beaconsfield and wondered whether fine English sparkling wine really can come out of a Buckinghamshire field, this is the place to put that question to the test.
History: A New Zealand holiday that started it all
The story of Dropmore Vineyard begins over a glass of Sauvignon Blanc far from home. In 2005, John and Feona Petersen were on holiday in New Zealand, following the Marlborough wine trail on the South Island and visiting vineyards large and small. The Marlborough region's first vineyard had only been planted in 1973, yet it had already become world famous for its aromatic, expressive whites. The Petersens reasoned that if the Kiwis could do it in their climate, perhaps they could too.
Back home in England, the couple embarked on a period of extensive research, eventually enrolling on viticulture courses at Plumpton College in East Sussex, the UK's leading wine education centre. They then commissioned a detailed site analysis of some three-plus acres of paddock behind their home. The report confirmed what they hoped: a gentle slope 65 metres above sea level, with an ideal aspect and the kind of well-drained, mineral soil that vines thrive on.
Site preparation began, varietals were carefully selected and sourced, and the first vines went into the ground in 2008. The vineyard sits on land that was once part of the home farm of Dropmore House, a private mansion built in the late 18th century for William Wyndham Grenville, Baron Grenville, who served as Prime Minister from 1806 to 1807. Grenville is best remembered for helping steer through Parliament the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 - a piece of social history that gives Dropmore Vineyard its nicely ambiguous name. As the founders liked to point out: always time for "a drop more wine".
The terroir
Dropmore sits on the edge of Burnham Beeches, a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest. Soils here are largely chalk-and-clay derived from the local geology, free-draining and warming up quickly in spring. The vineyard's elevation - modest at 65 metres - is enough to catch a breeze off the Chilterns plateau and to let cold air drain away on spring nights, which reduces frost risk at bud burst.
The vineyard is essentially a south-east facing field of just over three acres (a little over a hectare). It is small in commercial terms - Dropmore has always been a boutique producer rather than a volume brand - but it is precisely this scale that allows almost everything to be done by hand and for the fruit to be picked with the precision that English sparkling wine demands.
The grapes
Five grape varieties grow on the estate:
- Bacchus - the modern German cross of Silvaner, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau that has become a flagship of English still white wine. At Dropmore it produces a youthful, aromatic, lightly zesty white.
- Chardonnay - a classic Champagne grape and the backbone of the estate's traditional-method sparkling blend.
- Ortega - a lesser-known Müller-Thurgau × Siegerrebe cross, named after the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. It is gaining a quiet following among English growers and gives a fuller, gently oaked white at Dropmore.
- Pinot Meunier - the third traditional Champagne variety, lending roundness and fruit to the sparkling blend.
- Pinot Noir - used both in the sparkling blend and as the sole base for the Sparkling Rosé, and also part of the Rolling Rosé still blend.
All five grapes are blended in a sparkling cuvée, while the still wines are typically single-varietal or simple co-fermentations, allowing the character of each grape to shine.
The wines
Dropmore currently releases five wines plus a gift voucher, all from estate-grown fruit. Harvesting, vineyard husbandry and bottling are coordinated by Feona and her team, and the wine is made off-site by experienced winemaker Nico Centonze at Stanlake Park Wine Estate.
LIMITED EDITION Rocking Rosé 2022
The newest release and the most exclusive. Only 288 individually numbered bottles were produced, made from all five Dropmore grape varieties - Bacchus, Chardonnay, Meunier, Ortega and Pinot Noir. The wine takes its name from the founders' twin passions for music and wine: the specially commissioned label is suitably funky. Expect a pale, elegant sparkling rosé with delicate aromas of raspberry, citrus and fresh peach, vibrant in the mouth with persistent bubbles and a long, bright red-berry finish.
Price: £60.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Dropmore Sparkling Rosé
Made from 100% Pinot Noir, this is the estate's classic Sparkling Rosé: pale, elegant and refreshingly dry, with a delicate fresh raspberry and strawberry nose and a clean, crisp finish. 12% ABV.
Price: £40.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Dropmore Brut Sparkling
The estate's signature white sparkling, made in the traditional method from Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay all grown at Dropmore. Locally it has earned the affectionate nickname "Bucks Fizz". Expect zesty notes of lemon and pear with soft hints of toast, fine bubbles and a dry finish. White, dry, 12% ABV.
Price: £38.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Rolling Rosé
A gentle, light, dry rosé with delicate strawberry and red-cherry flavours. Made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, it is best served slightly chilled - the kind of bottle that lends itself to lazy summer days. Rosé, dry, 11.5% ABV.
Price: £19.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Ortega
A soft, rounded, full dry white aged in French oak, produced from Ortega and Chardonnay grapes. Vanilla aromas and gentle butterscotch and honey on the palate, with plenty of character and a good ageing potential. White, dry, 11% ABV. Ortega is a Müller-Thurgau × Siegerrebe cross; it is still unusual in the UK, but a quiet cult favourite for those who "discover" it.
Price: £19.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Bacchus
The original Dropmore wine. 100% Bacchus, young, fresh and light, with pleasing peach and mango aromas and a refreshingly zesty character. Eminently quaffable with fish, pasta or poultry, all year round. White, dry, 11.5% ABV. Best served chilled and consumed young.
Price: £15.00 per bottle. View in shop »
Mixed Case
A six-bottle case made up of 3 bottles of Ortega and 3 bottles of Bacchus. A practical way to introduce yourself (or a friend) to the two still whites from the estate.
Price: £90.00 per case. View in shop »
Visiting: tours, tastings and the Talk & Taste
Dropmore is, by design, a private vineyard. The estate sits in a rural residential area, so casual walk-ins are not possible. Instead, visits are arranged strictly by appointment, normally in small groups, and typically in the summer months when the vines are at their peak. A visit combines a tour of the vineyard with a tutored tasting in the on-site tasting room, followed by the chance to buy.
The most popular way to book is via a Talk & Taste Voucher. Each voucher costs £25.00 per person and is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Because the vineyard operates with a minimum of four people, smaller bookings will be slotted into a larger party group. The date of the actual tour is arranged directly with the vineyard by emailing sales@dropmorevineyard.co.uk.
Awards and accolades
Dropmore's first commercial harvest was in 2010, and medals followed quickly. Among the highlights:
- Decanter World Wine Awards - success at the UK's most prestigious international wine competition, with a Decanter World Wine Award win for one of the sparkling wines and a nomination as Decanter World Wine Award tasting-notes selection. Read the tasting notes »
- T&CVA Best Overall Wine Winner - awarded by the Thames & Chilterns Vineyards Association, the regional body that represents the local wine-growing counties.
- 2011 Bacchus won the best still wine in any class at the 2013 T&CVA challenge.
- The estate's early Pinot-based rosé took the Stefanowicz Salver for best still rosé in the T&CVA region in 2015.
- Across vintages, Dropmore has collected a range of gold, silver and bronze medals at regional and national annual wine challenges.
See Dropmore on the road: pop-ups and events
Because the vineyard itself is private, much of Dropmore's public face is at festivals, markets and tasting events across the south of England and the Chilterns. Recent and regular appearances have included:
- Rotary Cheese & Wine Evening at Beckonscot Model Village, Beaconsfield.
- Blenheim Palace Food Festival, a three-day celebration of British food and drink at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.
- Beaconsfield Market, a regular Saturday appearance in Old Town Beaconsfield.
- Chiltern Wine Tour, a guided day tour of local vineyards run by Chiltern Safari.
- English Wine Week Festival at the Upper Thames Rowing Club in Henley-on-Thames.
The team also regularly attends farmers' markets across the Chilterns and Thames Valley in summer.
Why Dropmore matters
English wine's reputation has been built on ambitious commercial estates and Champagne-owned partnerships, but pockets of magic exist in much smaller sites. Dropmore is one of those. It is a true family vineyard - an east-of-the-M40 answer to the better-known South Downs producers - that makes every bottle from estate-grown fruit, by hand, in tiny batches.
What sets it apart is its sense of place. The vineyard is named after the land, the soil, and the legacy of a rural Buckinghamshire farmstead once associated with the great abolitionist PM William Grenville. The wines reflect that modest ambition: they are not in-your-face, blockbuster bottles, but thoughtful, food-friendly, aromatic English wines with a particular softness and freshness of fruit that comes from the south-east aspect and the well-drained Burnham Beeches slopes.
Gallery: behind the scenes
A photo gallery offers a glimpse of harvests past, life on the road at events, the vineyard throughout the seasons, and shots of the tasting room - useful if you cannot join a tour this summer but want to put a face to the bottles.
Ordering and visiting
The fastest way to order is through the Dropmore Shop, where individual bottles, the mixed case and the Talk & Taste voucher can be purchased. Payment is taken securely online by credit/debit card or PayPal; the vineyard aims to dispatch within 5 - 7 working days, with extra time around Christmas and Easter.
For tours, tastings, group bookings or general enquiries, the contact form is the easiest route, or email sales@dropmorevineyard.co.uk. Please remember that Dropmore is a private vineyard: pre-arranged visits in small groups, strictly by appointment, are the only way to tour and taste on site.
Quick facts
- Founded: 2008; first harvest 2010.
- Founders: John and Feona Petersen. Now run by Feona Petersen.
- Location: Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, on the former home farm of Dropmore House. South-east facing slope, c. 65 m above sea level.
- Size: A little over 3 acres of vines.
- Grape varieties: Bacchus, Chardonnay, Ortega, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir.
- Range: Two sparkling wines (Brut and Rosé), three still wines (Bacchus, Ortega, Rolling Rosé) and one limited-edition sparkling rosé.
- Visit: Private vineyard, by appointment only, via the Talk & Taste voucher (£25 per person, min 4 people).
- Awards: Decanter World Wine Awards winner; T&CVA Best Overall Wine Winner; multiple regional and national competition medals.
A small Buckinghamshire vineyard with a big personality and a deep love affair with English wine.