Plumpton College Wine Division & Ditchling Vineyard: England's Centre of Excellence for Wine Education
Tucked into the rolling chalk landscape of the South Downs, just a stone's throw from Brighton and Lewes, Plumpton College's Wine Division is the home of Ditchling Vineyard - and one of the most influential vineyard sites in English wine. It is the only place in Europe where students can study for English-taught university degrees in viticulture and oenology, and the wines its students produce under the Plumpton Estate label have become quietly respected by sommeliers across the country.
A vineyard at the heart of the South Downs
Ditchling Vineyard is the working estate of Plumpton College's Wine Division. Ten hectares of vines are planted on the chalk soils of the South Downs National Park, producing around 40,000 bottles of award-winning still and sparkling wines each year. Those numbers matter in the context of the English wine industry: WineGB estimates that the sector will need to grow from around 2,000 employed today to roughly 24,000 by 2040, and Plumpton is producing the people - and the prototype wines - that make that growth possible.
The vineyard sits within Plumpton College's much larger 800-hectare land-based estate, alongside a commercial dairy, arable land, woodland, an aquaculture fish farm and the recently restored Stanmer Park Walled Garden in Brighton. That cross-departmental context is part of what makes Plumpton's wine training unusually broad.
Inside the Plumpton Wine Centre
Behind the vines is the purpose-built Plumpton Wine Centre, which brings together the full chain of production under one roof:
- A commercial winery where students learn on the same equipment used by professional producers.
- A research winery for small-lot experimental ferments.
- Teaching and research laboratories.
- A dedicated sensory evaluation room for tastings and structured panel work.
The centre underpins a portfolio of courses that ranges from one-day workshops through to a full BSc (Hons) degree, and it has helped Plumpton win the highest national honour in UK further and higher education: a Queen's Anniversary Prize, awarded for its work in wine education and wider impact on the English and Welsh wine sector.
Plumpton Estate Wines
The still and sparkling wines made on the site are bottled under the Plumpton Estate label. They are crafted by students studying the BSc Viticulture & Oenology and FdSc Wine Production degree courses under the guidance of the Vineyard Manager and Winemaker. The estate therefore functions simultaneously as a teaching winery, a research winery and a commercial producer.
Plumpton Estate wines - including both still and sparkling styles - can be bought through the college's Plumpton Shop. Wine sales enquiries (including trade and cellar-door enquiries) are handled separately to general enquiries:
- Email: winesales@plumpton.ac.uk
- Telephone: 01273 892 128
Current bottle and case prices are available from the Plumpton Shop.
Wine courses at Plumpton
The Wine Division offers what is widely recognised as the most comprehensive wine-education pathway in the UK. Courses are organised around a three-tier National Wine Training Programme (Introduction, Intermediate, Advanced), plus a separate stream of Industry Essentials short courses covering mandatory qualifications such as spray certificates, health and safety, and first aid.
University-level degrees (validated by the University of Greenwich)
- BSc (Hons) Viticulture, Oenology & Business Management - a full Bachelor's degree covering grape growing, winemaking and the commercial side of the wine trade.
- BSc (Hons) Viticulture & Oenology Top-Up - a one-year top-up route for those who already hold an FdSc or equivalent.
- FdSc Wine Production & Business Management - a two-year Foundation Degree.
Apprenticeship
- Crop Technician (Viticulture) Level 3 Apprenticeship - a paid, work-based route into vineyard management, delivered in partnership with employers across the UK wine sector.
Part-time and short courses (advanced winemaking and vinegrowing)
These Plumpton College Certificates and Certificates of Achievement are designed for current industry professionals and run alongside the degree teaching:
- Advanced Principles of Vinegrowing - Spring Operations (Certificate of Achievement in Spring Vineyard Management)
- Advanced Principles of Vinegrowing - Summer Operations (Certificate of Achievement in Summer Vineyard Management)
- Advanced Principles of Vinegrowing - Vineyard Winter Operations - Pruning (Certificate of Achievement in Vineyard Winter Operations - Pruning)
- Advanced Principles of Vinegrowing - Crop Protection (Plumpton College Certificate)
- Advanced Principles of Sparkling Winemaking - Bottling & Tirage (Plumpton College Certificate)
- Advanced Principles of Winemaking - Early Intervention for Successful Fermentation (Plumpton College Certificate)
- Advanced Principles of Winemaking - Harvest Operations (Plumpton College Certificate)
- Advanced Principles of Winemaking - Wine Stabilisation for Cool Climate Production (Plumpton College Certificate)
- Advanced Winemaking Techniques (Plumpton College Certificate)
Industry Essentials (mandatory training for wine businesses)
Delivered through Plumpton's commercial training arm, LandPro Training (Lantra, BALI and NPTC accredited), these cover the regulatory baseline that any wine-business employee needs - spray qualifications, health and safety, first aid and similar.
FREE Skills Bootcamp: Vineyard Operative
The Wine Division runs a FREE Skills Bootcamp in Viticulture for learners aged 19 and over (subject to eligibility). The bootcamps are fully funded and run across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove; on completion, learners are offered an interview with a local employer. There is a wine and hospitality variant too, with past learners describing being offered full-time contracts that include helping to build a cellar door.
The Plumpton Wine Resilience Fund
To mark its centenary year (the college dates back to the 400-acre farm bought in 1919), Plumpton has pledged £500,000 of fully funded short-course training to the English wine industry. The Plumpton Wine Resilience Fund runs from January to July 2026 and is open to eligible wine businesses and professionals, providing free places on Plumpton's short-course portfolio to help the sector through a challenging economic period.
Plumpton College scholarships for 2026/2027
Two scholarship programmes sit alongside the Wine Resilience Fund for students starting in the 2026/27 academic year:
- The Plumpton College Scholarship Programme
- The Plumpton Wine Resilience Fund scholarships
Both are aimed at supporting new entrants into the wine industry.
National Wine Careers Week
Plumpton College co-founded National Wine Careers Week with Nyetimber. The 2026 edition runs 12 - 18 May 2026, focusing on the breadth of careers available across the UK wine sector - from vineyard manager and winemaker through to sommelier, lab work, marketing and business management. The week is part of Plumpton's wider drive to recruit the next generation into an industry that is forecast to multiply its workforce more than tenfold by 2040.
The National Competency Framework for the UK Wine Industry
The Wine Division has also led the development of the first National Competency Framework (NCF) for the UK wine industry, funded by a grant from the Vintners' Company. The framework maps the skills, knowledge and behaviours required across the sector and is intended as a strategic tool to standardise training and progression routes.
Visiting Plumpton and the Wine Centre
The Plumpton campus sits on Ditchling Road between Lewes and Brighton (postcode BN7 3AE). The college is not a traditional visitor winery with daily drop-in tastings, but tasting opportunities exist in a number of ways:
- Plumpton Estate wines can be bought directly from the Plumpton Shop for collection or delivery.
- The college runs Open Events throughout the year, at which prospective students can tour the campus and meet the Wine Division team in the Wine Centre.
- Year 10 Taster Days and Future Fields events are open to school groups.
- Industry visits and trade enquiries can be directed to winesales@plumpton.ac.uk or by calling 01273 892 128.
Open Events at Plumpton College (2026 and 2027)
Plumpton College runs a rolling series of Open Events on its main Plumpton campus. These are free, run from 9am to 12pm (or 4pm to 7pm in summer), and include informal tours, talks from Principal Jeremy Kerswell, curriculum-area drop-ins, and visits to the Wine Centre and Veterinary Studies Centre.
- Saturday 10 October 2026, 9am - 12pm
- Saturday 21 November 2026, 9am - 12pm
- Saturday 16 January 2027, 9am - 12pm
- Saturday 13 March 2027, 9am - 12pm
- Wednesday 16 June 2027, 4pm - 7pm
Bookings can be made via the Calendar of Events.
Other upcoming events at Plumpton College
Beyond the wine-specific Open Events, the college's event calendar includes:
- Webinar - Apprenticeships Uncovered: Myths, Facts & Opportunities, Thursday 21 August 2026, 4:30pm - 5:00pm, online and free.
- Late Applicant Event for 16+ Entry in September 2026, Tuesday 8 September 2026, 5:00pm - 7:00pm, Plumpton campus.
- Hurstpierpoint Ploughing Match, hosted at Plumpton College, Sunday 27 September 2026, Plumpton campus, Ditchling Road, BN7 3AE.
Where Plumpton College sits in the wider story of English wine
Plumpton is one of only a handful of UK institutions to have received a Queen's Anniversary Prize for its contribution to the wine sector, and it remains the only college in Europe to offer English-taught university degrees in wine business and production. Its wine-industry work is regularly profiled at awards such as the South Downs Design Awards, and its Ditchling Vineyard sits within a designated South Downs Whole Estate Plan area.
For wine drinkers, the most direct way to experience what Plumpton does is to open a bottle of Plumpton Estate - every glass is a vintage of a working teaching winery, made by the same students who, in a few years, will be running their own cellars across the UK.
Practical information
Contact
- General enquiries: enquiries@plumpton.ac.uk · 01273 890 454
- Wine sales (Plumpton Estate wines, trade and cellar-door enquiries): winesales@plumpton.ac.uk · 01273 892 128
- Marketing and media: marketing@plumpton.ac.uk · 01273 890 454
- Apprenticeships for employers: business@plumpton.ac.uk · 01273 892 127
- Skills Bootcamps: skillsbootcamps@plumpton.ac.uk
- Conferences and venue hire (AgriFood Centre): events@plumpton.ac.uk · 01273 892 020
Address
Plumpton College, Ditchling Road, Plumpton, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 3AE.
Shop and online payments
- Plumpton Shop (wines, merchandise, event tickets): https://shop.plumpton.ac.uk/
- Online payments (tuition, accommodation, trips, bus tickets): Online Payments page
Social media
- Plumpton College on Facebook
- @plumptoncollege on Instagram
- Plumpton College on LinkedIn
- Wine Division on X: @plumptonwine