Sandridge Barton Vineyard & Winery: A Complete Guide to Devon's Dart Valley Wine Estate
Set into a quiet, south-facing bowl on the east bank of the River Dart, Sandridge Barton is one of the South West's most distinctive English wine estates. What began as the Dart Valley wines of Sharpham in the early 1980s has grown into a 48-acre, multi-site operation producing still, sparkling and skin-contact wines from some of the most promising terroir in the country, alongside a busy cellar-door bar, a restaurant, self-catering holiday accommodation and a packed calendar of vineyard events.
Today, the winery sits at Lower Well Farm, a 450-acre estate near Stoke Gabriel just south of Totnes, where the gently sloping vineyards, orchards and woodland roll down to the tidal Dart. It is a place designed for slow mornings, lingering outdoor lunches and slow afternoons spent with a glass in hand - and it is one of the most complete visitor experiences on any English wine trail.
A brief history of Sandridge Barton
Although the Sandridge Barton brand is relatively new, the winemaking story stretches back more than four decades. In 1981, Maurice and Ruth Ash - owners of the Sharpham Estate since the 1960s - planted 13 trial grape varieties on the south-facing slope above the River Dart overlooking Sharpham House. The little-known variety Madeleine Angevine showed the most promise, and from that trial the first Sharpham vineyard was established.
The first wines were released in the late 1980s and stood out for their French-leaning style, distinct from the more Germanic wines most UK producers favoured at the time. The resulting Dart Valley Reserve became the first - and for a long time only - English wine to be selected as the Co-op's own-brand English wine, selling more than 10,000 bottles.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the Ash family's nephew Mark Sharman took over the wine and cheese business, plantings expanded to include Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and Phoenix, and a young Duncan Schwab joined the vineyard team in 1992. Duncan, who is now CEO and head winemaker, went on to make his name as one of the country's leading winemakers and was listed in the Master Winemakers Top 100 in 2024.
By the mid-2000s, the original Sharpham team had begun buying fruit from a new Dart Valley vineyard that was being planted on the Sandridge Barton estate. When the search began for a long-term home with more space and better exposure, the answer was obvious: relocate across the river. A purpose-built winery was constructed in time for the 2020 harvest, and the visitor centre opened its doors in June 2022. The transition was completed in 2025 when the entire Sharpham wine range was rebadged under the Sandridge Barton label.
The Dart Valley vineyards
Sandridge Barton now farms 48 acres of vines across three distinct sites, all within a stone's throw of the River Dart. Each contributes its own character to the wines, and the team is increasingly bottling single-vineyard wines to show those differences off.
Sandridge Barton Vineyard
First planted in 2008, the main vineyard covers 32 acres on a south-facing slope that gently tumbles towards the river. The site enjoys the warming influence of the tidal Dart as well as Devon's mild maritime climate, and produces over 80 tonnes of fruit each year. Varieties include Madeleine Angevine, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Bacchus, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. The geology is varied: sandy loam topsoils sit largely on volcanic tuff known as Schalstein, with pockets of limestone and slate underneath.
Stonyfield Vineyard
Planted in May 2021, Stonyfield is the newest - and arguably most exciting - of the three sites. The eight-acre vineyard sits on a raised limestone bed that was once a shallow tropical reef, one of only a few such formations in the UK. The team planted Burgundian and Champagne clones of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier - varieties that thrive in limestone soils. The first crop was harvested in 2024 and is currently in barrel, with the first single-vineyard releases expected from this site within the next year.
Reservoir Field Vineyard
The most recent planting took place in May 2023, when a further eight acres went in on the site of an old reservoir next to the main Sandridge Barton vineyard. Varieties include Madeleine Angevine, Bacchus and Pinot Noir Précoce, on a mix of volcanic tuff and limestone bedrock with a sandy loam topsoil. The first harvest from this site is expected in 2026.
Inside the winery
Completed in time for the 2020 harvest, the Sandridge Barton winery is a purpose-built facility designed to give the winemaking team complete control over every stage of the process - from fruit sorting through to bottle fermentation for sparkling wines.
The kit includes a new larger press, a sorting table for selecting only the best fruit, additional stainless-steel tanks ranging from 1,500 to 14,000 litres, French oak barrels and two 1,000-litre wooden foudres. There is also a riddling and disgorging line, allowing the winery to produce traditional-method sparkling wines on site from start to finish and take on contract work for smaller local producers.
Winemaking is deliberately minimal intervention. All ferments are spontaneous, relying on indigenous yeasts from the vineyard. The team does not use fining agents, gently filters only three of the wines, and adds minimal sulphur at bottling. The aim is to do as little as possible to the fruit - and to let the Dart Valley speak for itself in every glass.
The wines
Sandridge Barton's range divides into three streams: the core Dart Valley wines, the single-vineyard releases and the experimental Don't Feed the Ponies range. Each has won national and international recognition, including gold medals at the Sommeliers Choice Awards, the Decanter World Wine Awards, the Global Sparkling Wine Masters and the Wine GB Awards.
Favourite picks from the cellar door
The current selection in the cellar door and online shop includes four wines that sum up the estate's style today:
- Classic Cuvée Rosé 2022 - A bottle of this elegant English sparkling rosé costs £34.00 and is a fresh, food-friendly pour that has picked up gold at the Global Sparkling Wine Masters.
- Dart Valley Reserve 2023 - The wine that put Sharpham - and now Sandridge Barton - on the country's wine map. At £14.95 a bottle, it remains one of the very best-value English whites on the market.
- East Field Madeleine Angevine 2024 - A single-vineyard release from the East Field parcel, where iron-rich Devon red soils and volcanic influence give the wine its character. £24.00 per bottle.
- 'Little Bee' Skin Contact Pinot Gris 2025 - The latest release of the estate's bestselling orange wine, made by leaving the juice to soak with the skins for several weeks to add colour, texture and flavour. £23.00 per bottle.
The 'Don't Feed the Ponies' range
The Don't Feed the Ponies collection is a small-batch, low-intervention series where the winemaking team tinkers with alternative methods to coax unusual characters out of Dart Valley-grown grapes. The name comes from a poster head winemaker Duncan Schwab's daughter once designed for the farm. The range includes the orange wine Little Bee, the Pinot Gris-based Figgie Daniel, the Col Fondo-style Sonny and the new Beaujolais-style Chub Nouveau, which debuted after the exceptional 2025 harvest.
The new Single Vineyard range
Launched in early 2026, the Single Vineyard range is the team's most terroir-driven project to date. Each site has a slightly different soil and microclimate: East Field sits lower by the river with iron-rich red soils and volcanic influence; Stonyfield is higher and breezier with shallow limestone; and Reservoir Field combines upper limestone slopes with lower rows on volcanic material. In the best years, single-varietal wines from each site will be bottled to show off those differences - and only in the best years, so quantities will be limited.
Tours and tastings
Sandridge Barton offers three core visitor experiences, all bookable through the on-site shop and most available as gift vouchers:
- Self-Guided Wine Tasting - £15.00 per person for an hour-long slot in the bar. Pick four wines from the tasting note booklet and pair them with a cheese or charcuterie board if you wish. Slots can be extended subject to availability. This is the most flexible option and the one used by most people who simply want to enjoy a glass on the lawn.
- Guided Tasting - £24.00 per person for around an hour. A sommelier walks you through three of the estate's wines, takes you on a tour of the winemaking facilities and finishes with a sample of Sharpham cheese. Maximum group size is 14 people.
- Vineyard Safari - £48.00 per person for around two hours. The full estate experience: a guided walk through the vines and into the winery, finishing with a structured tasting. This is the option for anyone wanting to understand exactly how Dart Valley fruit becomes award-winning wine.
All three tours are dog-friendly, with well-behaved dogs welcome on leads. Private tours can be arranged for groups, and gift vouchers are available for the Guided Tasting and Vineyard Safari.
ROAM restaurant
Opened in summer 2025, ROAM is the estate's new 70-cover restaurant, taking over the site formerly home to Circa. Led by local hospitality veteran Ian Alexander, with head chef Sean Blood in the kitchen and Miles Tuddenham (formerly of Noble Rot, Planque and Norman's Café) front of house, ROAM is built on a simple idea: food that follows the rhythm of the land.
Menus lean on ingredients grown, raised and foraged on the estate and nearby - meat from the farm, vegetables from the kitchen garden, and produce from no-dig growers and regenerative farms in the Dart Valley. The cooking is bold, bistro-style and rooted in European and Basque traditions, with a guest chef residency programme in the pipeline.
ROAM is open Wednesday to Sunday, 12:00 - 16:00, with a bar menu served on Mondays and Tuesdays when the restaurant is closed. Sample menus and bookings are available on the ROAM website.
Stays at Sandridge Barton
Three self-catering properties on the estate let visitors turn a tasting visit into a longer holiday in the South Hams. All are within a short drive of the beaches of Torbay, the South Devon coast and Dartmoor National Park, and all are within walking distance of the charming village of Stoke Gabriel.
Sandridge Barton House
A classically furnished six-bedroom Georgian farmhouse set among vineyards and orchards in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Once home to the Elizabethan explorer John Davis, the house sleeps up to 12, with five bathrooms, a heated indoor pool, a games barn, a south-facing terrace and a private wine-tasting and dining space on the lower ground floor. No pets, no smoking.
The Boathouse
A lovingly restored 1850s boathouse tucked away on the tranquil banks of the River Dart. The two-bedroom property is reached via a scenic walk through ancient Beech woodland and a flight of 71 steps - so guests need to be comfortable with steep access. Inside, floor-to-ceiling French windows open onto a private balcony with panoramic river views. Sleeps four, no pets, no smoking.
Lower Well Farmhouse
A four-bedroom converted farmhouse sleeping up to eight, situated right next to the winery, shop and ROAM restaurant. The south-facing courtyard and vineyard walk are on the doorstep, and this is the only property where small, well-behaved dogs are allowed.
Bookings can be made directly through each property page on the Sandridge Barton website, with enquiries handled by the stay@sandridgebarton.com inbox.
Meetings, events and corporate hire
The estate has two dedicated event spaces. The Vine Room is a light, open-plan conference space set in the heart of Lower Well Farm, with a bespoke table made from a fallen elm tree and views over the small vineyard and orchards. Half-day hire is £200.00, full day hire £350.00, and the room comes with coffee from local roaster The Curator, Exmoor tea, a projector, flipchart and screen. The Gallery Bar is the main tasting barn, a beautifully renovated traditional space suited to drinks receptions and larger conferences for up to 40 people, with a fully stocked bar and snack menu available. Both can be combined with wine tours, tastings and bespoke ROAM menus.
The Vineyard Vibes events calendar
From spring through to autumn, the estate hosts a packed programme of music, food, wellness and cultural events under the Vineyard Vibes banner. The full calendar is published on the Events page, with individual tickets bookable through each event's own page. Highlights include:
Live music
- Vineyard Vibes Saturday Sessions - Free afternoon DJ sets on the lawn, alternating between Balearic house with James G & Friends, Cal, Ru & Co., and the Sunset Social Club. Music runs from 4pm to 8pm.
- Vineyard Vibes Acoustic Sundays - Free afternoon sessions featuring Spanish guitar (Mark Barnwell, 30 August), harp (Misuzu Matsumoto, 31 August), and autumn live sets later in the year.
Wellness and workshops (Ground programme)
- Sculpt & Wine with Lizzie Kirwan - £70.00. Hand-building pottery workshop with a glass of wine.
- 6AM Club Yoga Pop-Up - £10.00. Sunrise-style yoga in the Dart Valley, 16 August at 9am.
- Stretch & Sketch - £55.00. A day of yoga and life drawing with Ashleigh and Ian, 13 September and 1 November.
- Fermenting Workshops - £40.00. Hands-on fermentation workshops with Purely Nourishing, 16 September and 18 November.
- Fabric Block Printing Workshop - £65.00, 26 September.
- Spoon Carving with Alex Finberg - £65.00, 9 October.
- Fabric Wreath Making - £45.00, 14 November.
Food and dining
- Dine In The Vines: Sophia Pelizzoli - £65.00 on 8 August. The final summer long-table supper, with a welcome tomato cocktail and three seasonal courses celebrating the tomato.
Talks, exhibitions and evenings
- Exhibit: Brian & Sheree Sedgbeer Photography - Free wildlife photography exhibition on show throughout August.
- Written in Stone & Stars: An Evening of Dartmoor Archaeology - £7.21 on 24 September, with archaeologist Alan Endacott and archaeo-astronomer Carolyn Kennett.
- Wild Words: An Evening of Dartmoor Stories & Encounters - £7.21 on 22 October.
- Exhibit: Lizzie Kirwan - 'Becoming' - Free solo exhibition opening 1 October.
- Quiz Night - £1 cash entry on 13 August and monthly thereafter.
Sustainability and the land
Sandridge Barton is a member of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain and participates in the higher-level Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The estate's approach to vineyard and winery management is regenerative, gentle and increasingly hands-off:
- No pesticides or herbicides are used in the vineyard. Under-vine tilling stopped entirely in 2025, with cover crops used to manage weeds and build soil.
- Diverse cover crops are planted between the rows to feed the soil, encourage microbial activity and compete gently with the vines, encouraging deeper roots.
- Wildlife is welcomed back into the rows through wildflower meadows, tree planting, bird and bat boxes.
- The winery runs entirely on indigenous yeasts, with low sulphur additions and minimal handling.
- The new winery and visitor buildings are powered by solar panels, with rainwater harvesting, air-source heat pumps, an aerobic digestion waste system and spring water extraction used throughout the site.
The estate is also part of a wider community of regenerative farms in the Dart Valley, with produce from neighbouring no-dig growers supplying ROAM's kitchen.
Finding Sandridge Barton
The estate is at Lower Well Farm, Waddeton Road, Stoke Gabriel, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6RL - less than a mile from the village of Stoke Gabriel, 5 miles from Totnes and Paignton stations (both on the main line from London Paddington), and roughly a 30-minute drive from Exeter. The what3words reference is elephant.cheered.rollover.
Visitors can walk from Stoke Gabriel via a footpath through Millpool and along Byter Mill Lane, avoiding the road, joining the estate at the trade and walkers' entrance. The route is just under a mile. There is no public boat access, and the nearest public quay is Stoke Gabriel. Taxis from Torbay (01803 211611), Totnes (01803 732834 or 01803 840400) and other local firms cover onward journeys from the stations. Parking is in the on-site parking barn, with additional gravel parking for longer vehicles and dedicated disabled parking.
Plan your visit
Sandridge Barton is open daily from 10am to 5pm (10am to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays). Wine tastings, tours, restaurant bookings, gift vouchers and accommodation can all be booked through the Sandridge Barton website, while wines and Sharpham cheese are available through the online shop. For any questions, the team can be reached at info@sandridgebarton.com or on 01803 732203.
Whether you're after a quick glass of award-winning Dart Valley fizz on a sunny afternoon, a long lunch at ROAM, a deep dive into the soils of Stonyfield on a Vineyard Safari, or a whole weekend in the Georgian farmhouse, Sandridge Barton is one of the most complete English wine experiences on offer today.