Stonor Valley Vineyard: A Family-Run English Sparkling Wine Estate in the Chiltern Hills
Stonor Valley Vineyard is one of the newest faces on the English sparkling wine scene, but the family behind it has been working the chalk-rich soils of the Chiltern Hills for nearly three generations. A small, planted-in-2022 vineyard of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier near Henley-on-Thames, it has grown rapidly into a working wine farm with a converted cellar door, a pick-your-own sunflower field, a small apiary, and a packed calendar of vineyard tours, tastings, yoga classes and craft workshops.
Where Stonor Valley Vineyard Sits
Stonor Valley Vineyard is part of Stonor Farm, a working arable holding tucked into the Stonor Valley in the heart of the Chiltern Hills, just outside Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The postcode is RG9 6HB, and the entrance is on the Stonor Road (B480). It is easily combined with a visit to the WalkWorks trail that links neighbouring vineyards in the valley, and the farm is a recognised stop on the broader Chilterns vineyard tourism circuit.
The setting is deceptive. From the road, Stonor Farm looks like a conventional mixed farm, but the chalky soils that frustrated generations of arable farmers with flint and stones are exactly the geology prized for top-quality sparkling wine. Combine that geology with a south-facing Chiltern valley and you have the classic English sparkling wine recipe.
A Three-Generation Farming Story
The Carr family has been farming at Stonor since 1955, when the current owner's grandfather moved his family north from Sussex. The original holding was a mixed operation of arable crops and a dairy herd. The next generation narrowed the focus to wheat and barley, battling the chalk-and-flint soils that made conventional tillage a constant headache.
What was a curse for the combine proved to be a blessing for the vine. The same soils that shred ploughmetal in a wet spring are the free-draining, mineral-rich substrate that gives English sparkling wines their characteristic finesse and acidity. In 2022, after spending time making wine around the world, the current generation planted a small vineyard of the three classic Champagne varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. That is the starting point of the Stonor Valley wine story.
The Wines They Make
Stonor Valley is a single-style producer at heart: premium English sparkling wine, made in the traditional method from the same trio of grapes that growers in Champagne rely on. The current release list includes several vintages of the Classic Cuvée, with the more recent label of "SV Classic Cuvee" added for the 2018 and 2022 wines.
Classic Cuvée range
- 2017 Classic Cuvee - £45.00 per bottle, available for tasting at the cellar door.
- 2018 SV Classic Cuvee - the rebranded label for the 2018 release.
- 2021 Classic Cuvee - £38.00 per bottle, the current youthful release available in the shop.
- 2022 SV Classic Cuvee - the newest SV-labelled vintage, available from the cellar door.
The shop also stocks a small jar of estate honey (£6.00) made from the farm's own bees, which sit alongside the vineyard and the wildflower meadows. Wines can be bought online by the case, and a digital Gift Card can be redeemed against wine, events and goods at the Wine Farm.
The Wine Farm: A Cellar Door in a Converted Milking Parlour
The most distinctive feature of Stonor Valley is its cellar door, which the team has christened "The Wine Farm". It is built inside an abandoned milking parlour that has been carefully converted, with a lot of love and hard work, into a tasting room and bar. The bones of the old dairy are still visible, but the space is now a relaxed, indoor-outdoor venue that opens right onto the Chiltern countryside.
What is on offer
- Wine tastings of the Stonor Valley Classic Cuvée range.
- Glasses and bottles of Stonor Valley wine to drink on site.
- Rebellion beer on tap.
- A selection of other premium wines grown in the Stonor Valley, so visitors can compare neighbouring producers side by side.
- Burger van Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Opening hours
The Wine Farm is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00, with late nights on Friday and Saturday when the bar runs through to 22:00. The cellar door is closed on Mondays. Outside of summer, hours may be reduced, so it is worth confirming before travelling.
Tours, Tastings and Grape-by-Grape Experiences
Stonor Valley Vineyard runs a layered programme of paid and event-based experiences, with options for casual visitors, private groups and dedicated wine tourists.
Private tastings
Private tastings are bookable at £15 per person. Bookings are handled by email through the team (carr@stonorfarm.com) rather than through an automated ticketing system, which allows the cellar door to tailor the experience to the group.
Evening Tour & Tasting
The most visible ticketed experience is the Evening Tour & Tasting, a 90-minute guided session running from 17:30 to 19:00 on selected Thursdays. Multiple dates are scheduled through the summer, each with its own booking page. The format is a guided tour of the vineyard and winery spaces followed by a structured tasting of the Classic Cuvée range. Tour tickets are added to the calendar as dates are confirmed.
WalkWorks Vineyard Trail
Stonor Valley is a featured stop on the WalkWorks Vineyard Trail, a guided walking tour of the Stonor Valley vineyards led by Tamsin, Caroline and Liz. The trek combines vineyard tours, food pairings and wine tastings, with hosts walking visitors between neighbouring sites and explaining the management, winemaking process and the people behind each label. The experience covers the management of the vines, the winemaking process and the personalities behind the wines, all while strolling through the Chiltern Valley. Bookings are routed through the WalkWorks site.
Vineyard Safari Tours
For visitors who would rather not walk between wineries, the Vineyard Safari Tours offer a bus-based circuit of vineyards in the Chilterns, with food pairings, vineyard and winery tours, and the chance to meet the producers behind the wines. Buses collect and drop off at local train stations, removing the need for a car to do the trail. Dates and tickets are advertised on the participating vineyards' calendars.
The Sunflower Field
Long before the first vintage was released, Stonor Valley was already a destination, thanks to its pick-your-own sunflower field. Sunflowers are grown as a cover crop on the arable land, helping to feed the soil between cereal years, and the family opens the flowering crop to the public for a few weeks every summer.
What to expect
- Parking is at the Wine Farm cellar door, where visitors pay and collect secateurs.
- The main cut path is approximately 1 km long and takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk at a leisurely pace. Shorter routes are available for those in a hurry.
- Standard sunflowers are £2 per stem, or three stems for £5.
- A separate, more exclusive second field of taller sunflowers is also open in good seasons, with a £10 entry fee to reflect the longer walk.
- Bench seating is scattered throughout the field for picnics and quiet stops.
- Picnic benches are positioned so visitors can grab a bottle of Stonor Valley wine and enjoy a glass during the walk.
- Free parking, an on-site loo, and dawn-to-dusk opening hours for the best photo opportunities.
- Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead, as livestock are in the area and it is a working farm with machinery.
Trade and charity flowers
Stonor Valley supplies bulk sunflowers to local businesses and to the annual Henley in Bloom campaign, a partnership with Henley Town Council that brings sunflower-growing kits to local primary schools. In 2025 and 2026 the sunflower field has been affected by prolonged dry conditions, and the team has communicated closures through social channels as the season progresses. Visitors are advised to follow @stonorvalley on social media for live updates during the field's short season.
Sunflower Yoga
Sunflower Yoga is a recurring add-on during the field's open weeks. Classes are led by Caroline, who adapts the session to suit all abilities, and take place nestled beneath the flowers with views down the Stonor Valley. The classes are ticketed and have been listed on Saturday mornings at 09:30 in past seasons.
Events at the Wine Farm
The Wine Farm functions as much as a small events venue as a tasting room. The current calendar runs through the late summer and includes the following:
- Sip and Pour: Jesmonite tray workshop - a creative workshop making a Jesmonite tray while enjoying Stonor Valley wines, hosted at The Wine Farm.
- Evening Tour & Tasting - a recurring Thursday-evening guided tour and tasting of the Stonor Valley wines, listed on multiple dates across the season.
- Yoga in the Vines 2, 3 and 4 - a Saturday-morning series of outdoor yoga sessions in the vineyard, run in conjunction with the Sunflower Yoga programme.
- Sunflower Sip & Stitch - a craft-and-drink evening hosted at The Wine Farm during the sunflower season.
- Flower to Form from the Field: a mini retreat - a half-day retreat built around the flowers of the field, hosted at The Wine Farm.
- Livery Event - a private function booked by a City livery company, illustrative of the venue's private-hire capacity.
Each event has its own ticket page with start times, duration, venue and ticket price (where charged). The events catalogue mixes free community events with paid ticketed experiences, and the venue is available for private hire by emailing carr@stonorfarm.com.
Charity and Community Work
Charitable giving is built into the Stonor Valley model. Every year the farm opens part of its land to the public - the sunflower field, the wildflower meadows and an open farm day - to raise money for local charities. The 2023 charity day was held in aid of The Chiltern Centre, which supports young people with disabilities, their families and friends. The day raised £12,400 through a combination of the Gold and Silver Wire Drawer Livery Company, sales of eggs, honey, sunflowers and a public farm day. The 2024 charity beneficiary was the Turville Trust, a charity that invites school children living under adverse circumstances to enjoy respite in the countryside and to learn where food comes from.
The School Sunflower Mission
The School Sunflower Mission is a community education programme run jointly with Henley Town Council. Despite a challenging 2024 harvest, the team saved several tonnes of sunflower seeds and distributed them to local primary schools, with each child receiving a packet of seeds to grow over the summer. The classes are then invited to visit the farm to see sunflowers grown at commercial scale and to learn about the realities of food production, winemaking and responsible drinking. The 2026 campaign is building to a town-wide display on 8 August in Henley Market Square, as part of Henley's bid as a top-3 finalist in the Britain in Bloom competition.
Henley in Bloom
Stonor Valley is one of the principal partners of the Henley in Bloom campaign. The vineyard provides certified dwarf sunflower seed packs (variety Helianthus Annuus 'Goldimi Dwarf') to pubs, shops and cafés in Henley, with all profits donated to The Chiltern Centre. Henley college students are creating a giant bee as the centre feature of the town display, and the wider Britain in Bloom celebration takes place on 8 August 2026 in Henley Market Square.
Sunflower Honey and Other Farm Goods
Beyond wine, the farm produces a small amount of honey from hives kept on the property. The bees forage across the vineyard, the wildflower meadows and the sunflower field itself, giving the honey a distinctly floral character. Small jars are listed in the shop at £6.00 and are usually available alongside the wine cellar door tastings. Bulk enquiries from local businesses are handled by emailing Emily at carr@stonorfarm.com.
How to Plan a Visit
Stonor Valley Vineyard is small, so planning ahead makes the difference between a flying visit and a full day out.
Getting there
The Wine Farm is signed from the Stonor Road (B480), with the postcode RG9 6HB. There is plenty of parking near the cellar door tasting room. Be aware that it is a working farm with machinery in operation, so sensible footwear is recommended, particularly for the sunflower field.
Visiting the cellar door
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00. Late nights on Friday and Saturday. The burger van is on-site Friday to Sunday. Tasting flights are available at the bar, and bottles of any current vintage can be opened to drink on site or taken away.
Joining a tour
Evening Tour & Tasting tickets are listed individually on the events calendar. Private tastings (£15 per person) are arranged by email. WalkWorks Vineyard Trail and Vineyard Safari Tours are pre-booked experiences with neighbouring vineyards and run on specific dates across the summer.
Sunflower season
The sunflower field is open for a few weeks from late July through August, weather permitting. The 2026 season was affected by very dry conditions, and the team announced the closure of the field mid-season. Visitors are advised to follow @stonorvalley on social media for live updates before travelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to book?
Walk-in tastings and drinks at the cellar door do not require a booking. Tours, tastings and events are ticketed and should be booked in advance.
Are children welcome?
Yes. The Wine Farm and sunflower field are family-friendly, with space for children to move around.
Are dogs allowed?
Dogs are welcome in the sunflower field but must be kept on a lead, as the farm is a working farm with livestock and machinery in the area.
Is the site accessible?
The cellar door is on a level farmyard. The sunflower field paths are rough and uneven, with terrain that can be challenging in wet weather, so sensible footwear is recommended.
Can I buy a gift?
Yes. A digital Gift Card is available and can be redeemed against wine, events and goods at the Wine Farm.
Can I hire the venue?
Yes. The Wine Farm is available for private events such as the Livery Event slot visible on the calendar. Enquiries should be sent to carr@stonorfarm.com.
Contact and Practical Information
- Address: Stonor Farm, Stonor, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 6HB.
- Email: carr@stonorfarm.com.
- Cellar door hours: Tuesday to Sunday 12:00 to 20:00, with late nights Friday and Saturday to 22:00. Closed Mondays.
- Shop: stonorvalleywinefarm.com/s/shop.
- Events: stonorvalleywinefarm.com/events.
- Website: stonorvalleywinefarm.com.
Stonor Valley Vineyard is a small, family-run English sparkling wine estate that has managed to pack a lot of personality into a very short life. From chalk-bed Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines to a converted milking parlour serving Rebellion beer and a sunflower field that doubles as a community classroom, it is a candid example of how a modern English wine farm can be a year-round destination.