Stonyfield Wine: A Single-Acre Northamptonshire Vineyard Punching Well Above Its Weight
Hidden on a stony south-facing field above the entrance to England's longest canal tunnel, Stonyfield Wine is one of the most quietly remarkable English vineyards you will ever visit. A single acre, a thousand vines, a family team and a string of national trophies that no producer its size should be able to claim - Stonyfield is Northamptonshire's pocket-sized Champagne-method specialist, and it opens its gates to the public on the second Sunday of every month.
A single field with a 230-year story
The story of Stonyfield begins, improbably, in 1793, when engineers working on what was to become the longest canal tunnel in England - the Grand Union Canal at Blisworth - spread the ironstone rock they excavated over the field above the tunnel entrance. The result was an extraordinarily stony patch of land that resisted ploughing for two centuries. The family tried free-range pigs, then wild-flower seed production for several generations; Belinda's parents were proud to have played a major part in saving the harebell and cowslip in England. The land was satisfying but never quite paid its way.
Belinda's late husband Michael, an irrepressible wine lover, had long insisted that the field should be turned over to vines. When Michael died in 2010, the family decided to make it a memorial - to clear the ground, plant a vineyard and see his vision through. The field was cleared at the end of 2010, the thousand vines went in during a community planting weekend in April 2011 with the help of twenty friends and family, and the first harvest was picked in October 2013. As Belinda puts it: "A south-facing field with well-drained shingle soil is perfect for vines."
The vineyard: one acre, a thousand vines
Stonyfield is a textbook example of how much wine a single acre can produce when it is properly understood. The vineyard holds just under a thousand vines in exactly one acre, supported by 271 posts and over ten kilometres of wire in a Double Guyot variant trained on slightly higher wires than traditional - a small but important adaptation that helps deter rabbits and makes the harvest far easier on ageing knees.
The planting is half-and-half:
- 500 vines of Pinot Noir - the classic Champagne grape, with black skin but white flesh, which is why Pinot Noir can produce both a still red and a sparkling white depending on how the skins are handled after pressing.
- 500 vines of Seyval Blanc - a robust, disease-resistant hybrid nicknamed "Save-All", prized in cooler English sites for its reliability and crisp acidity.
In a good year the vineyard can yield up to four and a half tonnes of grapes; in a bad year barely half a tonne. The long-term average is around two and a half tonnes, equivalent to roughly 2,500 bottles. Every vintage is at the mercy of the English weather - late frosts in May 2020 destroyed 95% of new shoots and wiped out the Pinot crop; the 2024 harvest was skipped entirely because of mildew pressure and unripened fruit. As Belinda puts it, "we are so so conscious of the weather and seasons, and knowing that they, more than you, control the outcome."
The wines: Champagne method in a Northamptonshire field
Stonyfield produces only sparkling wine, made by the traditional Champagne method - secondary fermentation in the bottle, long lees ageing, dosage, riddling and disgorgement. The wines are blended and bottled by Halfpenny Green Wine Estates in Staffordshire, where winemakers Martin, Clive and Ben turn Stonyfield's grapes into the finished cuvées.
Sparkling White
The Stonyfield Sparkling White is a blend of roughly four-fifths Seyval Blanc and one-fifth Pinot Noir. The crisp, green-apple freshness of the Seyval is softened and given complexity by the Pinot, producing what the family describe as a sophisticated, dry taste. Alcohol is 12% ABV and the only declared allergen is sulphites. Current and recent vintages include:
- 2019 Sparkling White - WineGB National Trophy winner for the best sparkling blend in its class.
- 2018 Sparkling White - WineGB Silver Medal winner.
- 2017 Sparkling White - WineGB National Trophy winner (Stonyfield's first trophy, which made headlines at the time).
Sparkling Rosé
The Sparkling Rosé is made when the harvest is generous enough to leave enough Pinot Noir fruit. The blend is approximately two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Seyval Blanc. The Pinot is a white-fleshed grape with dark skins; leaving the skins in contact with the juice for a short time gives the wine its pale pink hue. Like the white, it spends several years on the lees before disgorgement, producing a dry, complex sparkling rosé. The current release is the 2019 Sparkling Rosé, a WineGB National Silver Medal winner.
The family's advice on cellaring is simple: wines are released when they are ready, typically after five years in bottle. Buyers who collect two or more bottles receive a 10% discount at the cellar door. Prices are not published online - the team prefers to discuss pricing personally and may be able to offer cellar-door discounts on the day. To buy, call 07942 380578 or visit during an Open Day.
An award-winning vineyard that is also the smallest to win a national trophy
Stonyfield's medal tally is extraordinary for a one-acre site. They are, by their own count, the smallest and most northerly vineyard ever to win the WineGB National Trophy for Best Sparkling Blend - an award that historically goes to the larger, better-funded houses of the South East. The full list of awards reads as follows:
- 2015 - Gold Medal, MVA Wine Challenge.
- 2016 - Decanter Magazine Highly Recommended; Bronze Medal, MVA Wine Challenge.
- 2017 - MVA Wine of the Year, Best Sparkling Wine, Best Wine in Region, Best Older Vintage, Members' Choice.
- 2018 - Members' Choice, MVA.
- 2019 - Finalist, Carlsberg Food and Wine Awards.
- 2020 - Decanter Recommended; Gold Medal and Artisan Drink of the Year, Weetabix Food and Wine Awards.
- 2021 - WineGB Best Sparkling Blend Trophy and Gold Medal (the headline win, judged by Oz Clarke and Susie Barrie MW).
- 2022 - WineGB Bronze Medals for both the Rosé and White Sparkling.
- 2023 - Silver Medals at the IEWA for both the Rosé and White Sparkling.
- 2024 - Silver Medal for the new 2019 Rosé at the IEWA.
- 2025 - A second WineGB National Trophy for the 2019 Sparkling White.
Stonyfield's wines have been featured in the Daily Express, Decanter magazine, Country Life, Tatler and in the international wine publication Father Daughter Wine. Local coverage on winning the 2021 trophy included ITV Anglia, BBC Radio Northampton and the Northampton Chronicle & Echo.
Meet the team
Stonyfield is unapologetically a family affair, with the wider winemaking team and a rather excitable dog.
- Belinda - matriarch and driving force. It was her late husband Michael's dream that became Stonyfield after his death in 2010; Belinda has shepherded it from planting to two national trophies.
- Prue - daughter and the day-to-day voice of the vineyard.
- John - leads tours on Open Days and is responsible for the long-running vineyard restoration that has seen the original wooden posts replaced with longer-lasting metal ones.
- Martin, Clive and Ben of Halfpenny Green Wine Estates - the winemakers in Staffordshire who advise on viticulture and turn Stonyfield's grapes into the trophy-winning sparkling wines.
- Monty - "the newest, and definitely the liveliest, member of the team". He was famously required to be on his best behaviour during the 2021 trophy presentation.
- The four 'children' - all help in the vineyard when they can be assembled in one place.
Visiting Stonyfield: monthly Open Days and Sunday cheese & wine
Stonyfield is open to the public on a regular but intimate basis. The headline offer is the monthly Vineyard Open Day on the second Sunday of every month, when the gates open for a personal guided tour of the vineyard, an explanation of how the wine is made, and a tasting of the award-winning sparkling wines. No booking is needed - just turn up. Times vary by season:
- February & March - 11am to 3pm.
- April, May, September, October - 11am to 4pm.
- June - English Wine Week special opening, 21 June from midday to 5pm.
- November & December - 11am to 3pm.
- July & August - every Sunday from 12 noon to 5pm with cheese platters and wine in the garden overlooking the vines.
Tours and tastings on Open Days are free of charge. The standard tour is a guided walk-and-talk through the vineyard and winery story, finishing with a tasting of the current Sparkling White and Sparkling Rosé releases.
Private tours and group talks
Stonyfield also welcomes booked private groups and offers to come out to local associations, wine societies, horticultural societies, Women's Institute groups and similar gatherings with a slide show, a talk and a tutored tasting. These proved so popular in 2024 that they have become a regular fixture. Enquiries should go to info@stonyfieldwine.co.uk.
Cheese & wine days
Every Sunday in July and the first three Sundays of August, the garden opens for relaxed cheese and wine afternoons, with platters supplied by Mark of Cheese on Towcest and Stonyfield's own sparkling wine. The format was first trialled in 2022, when more than sixty people came to the inaugural event; it has been repeated and expanded ever since. On 9 August 2025 the vineyard also hosted an evening for the Northamptonshire Gardens' Trust with cheese platters and a talk on viticulture (rather than horticulture, as Prue was at pains to point out).
2026 events calendar
The 2026 calendar has been published and includes the regular monthly Open Days, the summer Sunday cheese & wine afternoons and an external appearance at the Blakesley Show. Upcoming dates (relative to today) include:
- Sunday 9 August 2026, 12 noon to 5pm - Sunday Wine & Cheese in the Vineyard.
- Sunday 16 August 2026, 12 noon to 5pm - final summer Sunday Wine & Cheese.
- Sunday 13 September 2026, 11am to 4pm - Monthly Vineyard Open Day.
- Sunday 11 October 2026, 11am to 4pm - Monthly Vineyard Open Day.
- Sunday 8 November 2026, 11am to 3pm - Monthly Vineyard Open Day.
- Sunday 13 December 2026, 11am to 3pm - Monthly Vineyard Open Day.
Stonyfield is also a founding member of the East Midlands Wine Trail, a collaboration of vineyards celebrating the character and quality of wine grown in the region.
Where to find Stonyfield's wines
Stonyfield deliberately keeps its distribution small and personal. Wines are sold from the cellar door, online, and through a handful of trusted local outlets:
- The Deli @ Castle Ashby - a family-run, artisan delicatessen in the rural shopping yard at Castle Ashby.
- Jeyes of Earls Barton - a family-run shop and visitor attraction in the heart of Northamptonshire.
- Royal & Derngate - the main arts and entertainment venue in Northampton.
Stonyfield also recommends Waterloo Cottage Farm at Great Oxendon for excellent meat, although this is not a stockist.
Free local delivery is offered and wider delivery can sometimes be arranged. For collections, deliveries or trade enquiries, call 07942 380578 or email info@stonyfieldwine.co.uk.
How Stonyfield is run, season by season
Winter (January - March)
Pruning dominates. The lockdown winters of 2020/21 were a rare gift, allowing the team to finish pruning earlier than ever, on Easter Sunday. The focus then turns to replacing broken posts before bud-burst.
Spring (April - May)
Bud-burst is a moment of "excitement, and sheer relief" - the first green growth after a nervous winter. Late spring frosts are the biggest single risk; in May 2020 a frost wiped out 95% of new shoots. By May 2025 the dry spring was suiting the vines perfectly.
Summer (June - August)
Flowering, fruit-set, veraison and the run-up to harvest. The team opens the vineyard every Sunday in July and August for cheese and wine afternoons that often bring more than sixty people into the sunshine, feeling more like the south of France than Northamptonshire.
Harvest (September - October)
Pick days are community events, with friends, family and volunteers turning out over several days. Some years the harvest is generous - 2025 was a "hot summer, good size but slightly reduced by mildew in the Pinot". Other years there is no harvest at all - as in 2023 and 2024, when mildew pressure and unripened fruit made the team decide not to risk a poor-quality vintage.
Late autumn (November - December)
Once the fruit is off, there are still odd bunches to glean. Belinda has turned these into excellent grape jelly ("slightly sharp but very refreshing"). The year closes with a busy Christmas, including a Christmas Fayre at Stowe.
Practical information for visitors
- Address: 30a Stoke Road, Blisworth, Northampton, NN7 3BZ.
- Phone: 07942 380578 (international +44 7942 380578).
- Email: info@stonyfieldwine.co.uk
- Online: www.stonyfieldwine.co.uk
- Facebook: facebook.com/stonyfieldvineyard
- Instagram: instagram.com/stonyfieldwine
- Booking: not required for Open Days; private groups and talks by arrangement.
- Accessibility: vineyard tours involve walking on uneven ground in a working field - sensible shoes are recommended.
Why Stonyfield matters
Stonyfield is a reminder that the English wine story is not just being written in the deep South. A one-acre family vineyard on the stony ground above a Northamptonshire canal tunnel has, twice, been judged the best sparkling blend in the country. The team does it without a tasting room, without a permanent shop, and without a marketing department - just Open Days, free tours, a string of medals, and a tiny but devoted following. For anyone planning a vineyard visit in the East Midlands, or simply looking for a serious English sparkling that does not come from the largest names, Stonyfield is an essential stop.