Hencote Vineyard

Perched on sun-catching south-facing slopes a little over a mile from the medieval centre of Shrewsbury, Hencote is one of the most complete English wine estates in the West Midlands. Twenty-three thousand vines, a working winery, a restaurant and bar with some of the most photographed views in Shropshire, formal wedding gardens, a large-group retreat and a string of award-winning wines all share one address. The Hencote team describe the site as “simply too special to keep to ourselves” - and with tours, tastings, dining events and a year-round What’s On calendar, they have bent the estate open to share that view of Shrewsbury, the vineyard and the Shropshire Hills.

Where Hencote Sits in the Shropshire Landscape

Hencote is positioned between the Shrewsbury suburbs and the surrounding Shropshire countryside, “1.3 miles from Shrewsbury, in the heart of Shropshire” as the estate’s own description puts it. The trellis rows look out across the town’s castle, town walls, cathedral, abbey and churches, and on to a chain of Shropshire landmarks on the horizon: Clee Hill, Wenlock Edge, the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd. Tour guide Brian Scott, who has walked the estate in every season, says that whatever the weather or the hour, the view “is simply stunning … it’s a view that makes me smile every single time I see it.”

The vineyard sits on warm, south-facing slopes - the kind of aspect that UK growers watch for keenly when they are pushing English wine into cooler-climate territory. The current planting is built around classic cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Solaris, Rondo and Pinot Noir Précoce among the grapes that find their way into the bottle. Winemaker Gavin Patterson runs the cellar side, while the vineyard team manages the 23,000 vines through a programme that is “biofarming” in spirit: worm-compost applications, careful canopy management, leaf removal, and frost-protection equipment such as the Frostguard and a Cold Air Drain that are deployed in the small hours when spring temperatures plummet.

The Hencote Story

The estate has been associated with the Stevens family since 1997, and is registered as a UK LLP-style entity - Company No. OC396006, registered in England and Wales. Across the years the family has overseen the planting of the vineyard, the construction of the winery, the development of the restaurant The View, and the launch of English wines that have been picked out by international judges. The first vineyard-scale vintage came in 2018, with Evolution Sparkling, Solaris and Mark I red among the debut releases; that first vintage quietly went on to collect a Silver and Bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Hencote has continued to evolve - quite literally. The Evolution sparkling line, first released in 2018, was built around Seyval Blanc and a short, four-month lees ageing programme that made Hencote one of the first UK producers to release a vintage sparkling just a year after harvest. In managing director Mark Stevens’ own words, the wine was conceived as “vibrant, fresh and fruit-driven… an easy-drinking and palatable sparkling wine suitable for any occasion” - and the name was chosen as a nod to both the wine’s quick turn-around and the constant improvement of the vineyard.

The estate has also invested in unusual kit for an English producer of its size, including traditional clay amphora vessels imported from Florence. The terracotta allows gentle micro-oxygenation through the wall of the vessel itself, and gives Hencote’s winemaking team a tool for producing white wines and Pinot Noir Noirs without the overlay of oak, allowing the Shropshire terroir to speak more directly.

The Hencote Wine Range

Hencote’s wine shop carries a tight, focused portfolio of three sparklings, one red, a still rosé, a still white and a small selection of mixed and special-release cases. Every wine is available individually and in 6-bottle cases, with magnums offered on the main sparkling and rosé lines.

Sparkling Wines

• Evolution Sparkling - £24.00 per bottle, £125.00 for a 6-bottle case, £68.00 Magnum. The youthful, fruit-forward fizz that launched Hencote into the English wine conversation. A blend that has included Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Seyval Blanc and Solaris, aged on lees for around four months. View Evolution Sparkling.
• LXX Sparkling - £40.00 per bottle, £218.00 for a 6-bottle case, £103.00 Magnum. A 100% Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs aged for at least 36 months on the lees, delivering the brioche-and-biscuit complexity that winemakers chase in méthode traditionnelle wines. View LXX Sparkling.
• Isadora Sparkling Rosé - £38.00 per bottle, £207.00 for a 6-bottle case, £80.00 Magnum. A traditional-method rosé made from the three classic Champagne grapes - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay - aged for at least 18 months on the lees. View Isadora Sparkling Rosé.

Still Wines

• Vivienne White - £24.00 per bottle, £125.00 for a 6-bottle case. A still white built around Solaris and Chardonnay, named after a member of the Stevens family. View Vivienne White.
• Suzanne Rosé - £24.00 per bottle, £125.00 for a 6-bottle case. A 100% Pinot Noir still rosé with brief skin contact, giving a pale salmon hue and red-summer-fruit character. View Suzanne Rosé.
• Mark V Red - £35.00 per bottle, £187.00 for a 6-bottle case. The current iteration of the Hencote red, a limited-edition blend built around Pinot Noir and matured in used oak for a soft, structured finish. View Mark V Red.

Special Releases and Cases

• The Hencote Origins - £72.00. A premium, archive-style release.
• A Taste of Hencote Case - £140.00. A curated mixed case of the estate wines.
• The Hencote Legacy Case - £156.00. A flagship selection drawing on the broader Hencote portfolio.
• Mixed Estate Wine Case - Suzanne & Vivienne - £125.00. Six bottles of the two still wines, half-and-half.
• Champagne Stop - £9.50. A vacuum-style stop closure for sparkling bottles.

Awards and Recognition

Hencote’s wines have been tasted and ranked on both sides of the English wine world. The estate has multiple entries in the International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards ledgers, including:

• International Wine Challenge Silver - Vivienne 2021 (90 points).
• International Wine Challenge Silver - Evolution 2020 (91 points).
• International Wine Challenge Silver - LXX (92 points).
• Decanter World Wine Awards Silver, 91 points - Mark I 2018 (placed among the top five English red wines in its category).
• Decanter World Wine Awards Bronze - Evolution 2018.
• Decanter World Wine Awards Bronze - Solaris 2018.
• Decanter World Wine Awards recognition for the Amphora Chardonnay and Amphora Pinot Noir releases, and for the 2018 and 2019 Vivienne, Suzanne, Mark II and Isadora.

These results are notable in context: Hencote lies almost 200 miles north of the major English wine clusters of the South East, and producing red wines that perform at Silver level in Decanter is something the team openly flags as a particular point of pride.

Tours and Tastings

Tours and tastings are the heart of the Hencote visitor experience. The estate runs a daily tour diary (previously Thursday to Sunday, since expanded to cover every day of the week depending on event schedule), led by a guided team of WSET-trained tour guides and a wine tour manager, Thomas Corbett. The classics are booked online, alongside a self-guided wine flights option for visitors who prefer to explore the range at their own pace.

Three headline tasting formats are on offer:

• Wine Tasting Experience - a guided tour of the vineyard and winery plus a structured tasting of the Hencote range.
• Wine Tasting and Canapé Experience - £40 per person, pairing the tasting with a curated canapé selection. Book the Canapé Experience.
• Wine Tasting with Cheeseboard - £45 per person, with a cheeseboard option included. Book the Cheeseboard Experience.

General wine tours can also be booked directly through DigiTickets. In harvest season (October and into November) the estate has historically launched a series of harvest tours that take guests behind the cellar door to taste grapes off the vine, juice from the press and base wines in tank - places are limited and announced through the What’s On calendar.

Tour guides at Hencote are encouraged to “tell stories” as much as decant. The team shares the history of the site from the Anglo-Saxon period, through the long arc of Shrewsbury’s trading history, to the Stevens family’s involvement from 1997. For visitors who want to deepen the experience, Brian Scott has written an accessible introduction to Pinot Noir - the grape that turns up in six of the eight estate wines - which gives a useful primer on the variety.

The View Bar and Venue

The View is Hencote’s restaurant and bar, set inside the winery building with floor-to-ceiling views over the vineyard and the Shropshire skyline. The View has been deliberately repositioned in recent years from a traditional à la carte model to a “curated, ticketed food and wine events” programme - a calendar of immersive dining experiences, seasonal tasting menus, wine pairing evenings, Sunday lunches, live entertainment nights and exclusive culinary events.

The kitchen takes its lead from local Shropshire produce, with menus developed to pair naturally with the Hencote wines. The current published programme includes:

• Malaysian Tapas Menu - scheduled for 1st, 21st August, 8th, 12th September, 10th, 17th, 24th October 2026. The full menu is available as a downloadable PDF. View the menus.
• Sunday Roast Menu - scheduled for 26th July, 9th, 30th August, 6th, 13th September, 11th, 18th, 25th October 2026. The Sunday Roast menu is also available as a downloadable PDF.
• Hencote Wine List - a current, season-specific list of all wines available at The View, refreshed periodically.

The View is also the centre of the estate’s entertaining offer. Whether the occasion is a wedding breakfast, a corporate dinner, a birthday or a christening, the team develops bespoke menus and tasting flights in collaboration with the Hencote wine cellar.

The Balcony and The Hencote Hideout

Two outdoor drinking spaces sit on the building’s terrace. The Balcony is the elevated outdoor terrace that overlooks the vineyard, ideal for pre-dinner drinks and informal gatherings. Below it, the Hencote Hideout is the newer “feature terrace bar” introduced in 2023, serving Hencote wines, perfect-pour G&Ts and bottled beers. The Hideout is walk-in only - no booking required - with high tables and cushioned sofas positioned to take in the same view as The View, just a level closer to the vines.

Weddings at Hencote

Weddings are a central part of the Hencote calendar. The vineyard offers ceremonies in the on-site gazebo, drinks on the lawn, wedding breakfasts in The View, and the dramatic backdrop of the Shropshire Hills for photography. Vivienne Stevens, the Weddings & Events Coordinator, organises everything from the initial meeting to the day itself, and the team has built a reputation for handling the unpredictable British weather with good humour - Vivienne has recalled ceremonies in the rain where all 79 guests squeezed into the gazebo and serenaded the couple to the Beatles’ All You Need Is Love.

Wedding menus are seasonal and built around Hencote wines, with a sample seasonal set menu available as a downloadable PDF. View Hencote weddings. Couples looking to host a hen party before the big day can download a dedicated Hen Parties at Hencote brochure (PDF).

Corporate Events and Private Parties

Hencote operates as a corporate event venue, with both exclusive and non-exclusive hire options for conferences, away days, product launches, private parties and special occasions. The team offers 2 and 3-course set menus, buffet options, canapé receptions and full wine pairings. Sample menus are available as downloadable PDFs. View Hencote corporate events. The dining rooms can be configured for anything from board meetings to large celebratory dinners.

Accommodation at Hencote

The estate’s accommodation offering is centred on a large, design-led farmhouse built for group stays, corporate retreats and multi-family gatherings. The interior is finished in a high-end country-house style, with expansive living areas, generous bedrooms, and direct access to the estate grounds. It pairs naturally with the vineyard, The View and the Hideout, allowing guests to go from morning walks through the vines to evening drinks on the terrace without ever leaving the property.

The Wine Shop and Online Orders

The Hencote wine shop carries the full wine range, plus gift ideas such as the Hencote Origins release and the Champagne Stop. Single bottles, magnums and 6-bottle cases are all available, alongside mixed selections like the Mixed Estate Wine Case (Suzanne & Vivienne), A Taste of Hencote Case and The Hencote Legacy Case. Gift vouchers for tours, tastings and stays can be purchased separately.

Online orders are dispatched nationwide, with free delivery to the SY1, SY2, SY3, SY4, TF1 and TF3 postcodes - broadly the Shrewsbury and Telford areas. The shop is also a useful way to pick up a single bottle or two before committing to a full tour if you want to taste the wines first.

Events Calendar and What’s On

Hencote’s What’s On calendar is at hencote.guestvoucher.co.uk/events, where visitors book tasting experiences, self-guided wine flights, wine and canapé sessions, and wine tasting with cheeseboard. The same booking system handles event bookings throughout the season, including the Sunday Roast lunches and themed dining evenings in The View. Sample event menus and the current wine list are available as downloadable PDFs. View the menus.

For background reading, Hencote runs a Vine to Wine series in which Alice sits down with winemaker Gavin Patterson each month to walk through what is happening in the vineyard and the winery. June, July and August editions are live, with the monthly cadence giving a clear window into how the English wine year unfolds.

Working at Hencote and the Wider Estate

The wine estate is part of a wider group that includes Shrewsbury Care Community as an associate company, and the team occasionally recruits new roles across the vineyard, winery, hospitality and events functions. A current Wine Tour Guide job description is available as a downloadable PDF for anyone interested in wine tour and tasting delivery. Join the Team.

Visiting and Contact

Hencote is open for tours, tastings, dining and events. The team can be reached by phone on 01743 298444 and by email at admin@hencote.com. The estate is just outside Shrewsbury, with a Google Maps link for directions. The View and the Hideout are linked in the “Visit Shrewsbury” and “Original Shrewsbury” destination networks, which is a useful way to combine a vineyard visit with a day in the county town.