Tey Brook Farm: A Five-Generation Family Estate Bringing Its First Vintages to Essex
Tey Brook Farm is not yet a household name in English wine, and that is precisely the point. Tucked into the Essex countryside just outside Colchester, this quietly remarkable five-generation family farm is in the closing chapters of preparing its very first commercial release. Fifteen acres of vines, 18,000 of them, planted on a hillside that once grew vegetables for the family table, are being coaxed into biodynamic balance by a father-and-children team whose farming philosophy stretches back more than a century. Their debut still and sparkling wines are due to be bottled and presented in 2026.
Tey Brook is best understood as an estate on the cusp. The vineyard is still young, the cellar is borrowed from friendly winemakers across the country, and the labels have reportedly been through something close to a hundred revisions. What is already fully formed, however, is the sense of place. The same water meadows, orchards and woodland that supply the family kitchen now supply a candlelit woodland restaurant. The same lake that doubles as a wedding venue cradles three dog-friendly cabins. And the same farmyard that produced the Brownings' school-age veg boxes now produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and a clutch of hardy PIWI hybrids.
The Browning family and a century on the land
Tey Brook has been in the Browning family for over a century. Five generations have planted, pulled up, replanted and reshaped the land. The current chapter is led by three siblings, Nat, Archie and Meg, whose great-great-grandfather, Richard Browning-smith, bought the farm in the early 1900s. Their great-grandfather Bob took it on in 1933, his son Roger in 1958, and their father Richard in 1980. Each generation has left its mark; some marks are regretted, such as the hedges that were stripped out in the 1960s and have since been painstakingly replanted, while others, like the family's outright refusal of GM crops in the 1990s, have been vindicated many times over.
Today the farm is run by what the family describes as steady hands and occasional chaos. Richard senior still tends the land. His wife Lucy, a sculptor, runs her studio on the farm alongside Archie, and their joint sculpture trail winds through the trees of Tey Brook Orchard. The grandmothers, Rosemary and Bridget, are now in their nineties and still live at Tey Brook, a daily reminder of the multi-generational continuity that defines the place. Roger, Tony, Dexter and Majo complete the wider family tapestry; both Nat and Becky, and Archie and Majo, have been married at the farm, surrounded by the same landscape that continues to shape everything the Brownings do.
From straight lines to biodiversity
When Richard took over in 1980, Tey Brook was, in his daughter Meg's words, "all straight lines and machinery". He had studied at Cirencester and returned home prepared to follow convention, but convention did not hold him for long. The defining moment came in the 1990s, when genetically modified crops were being pushed hard across British agriculture. He went the other way, beginning the slow conversion to organic farming that the farm still practises today.
Since then, Richard has spent decades putting life back into the land. He planted woodland after the great storm of 1987, replanted the hedgerows that had once been ripped out, and slowly shifted the farm's balance from production alone to production in harmony with biodiversity. The vineyard is the natural continuation of that work. Patience, observation and a willingness to be quietly stubborn are the same values that guide every decision made on the hillside today.
Creativity in the orchard
Lucy's sculpture studio sits on the farm, and her work, along with Archie's, gives Tey Brook Orchard much of its atmosphere. Lucy works in flowing, birdlike or botanical forms that respond to the landscape and to the long human history of the land, reaching back to the Bronze Age. Archie, who began in large-scale abstract painting, now focuses on stone carving after learning from traditional artisans in India, Italy, Mexico and the UK. His pieces are described as more tribal and prehistoric, intuitive responses to the same place. Together they have built a sculpture trail that doubles as the setting for the farm's signature dining event.
Browning Bros and the next generation
After university, Nat and Archie came back to the farm with an idea: to create something that would bring people together. That idea became Browning Bros, the family events company that began with borrowed tools and a single field and has since grown into a thriving business known for its lakeside weddings, retreats and outdoor gatherings. Today Nat and Archie continue to grow Browning Bros across multiple sites, welcoming guests both at Tey Brook and beyond. Meg, meanwhile, leads the development of the wine project and practises as a Craniosacral Therapist, a path that she says follows directly in her father's holistic footsteps.
The vineyard: 15 acres, 18,000 vines, one father-of-three's retirement plan
The vineyard story is told in Meg Browning's own words in the Farm Journal. It begins, as many Tey Brook stories do, with one of her father's "wacky ideas". A fun retirement project, he said, for the years in which he would gradually hand over the farming reins. The fun, it turned out, involved fifteen acres and 18,000 vines ordered from Germany, varieties chosen with their consultant Duncan to suit the soil rather than fashion, and not just organic but biodynamic farming from the outset.
The first couple of years lulled the family into a false sense of security. The vines were small, the to-do list felt manageable, and the vocabulary was an education in itself: pruning, training, bud rubbing, leaf stripping, tucking in, wire fixing, undervine cultivation, biodynamic teas and sprays, roller hacking. Even as a farmer's daughter, Meg admits, she had no real idea what "cultivation" involved. Sheep were drafted in to mow the grass between rows. Certified organic sprays were added by the agronomist. And all the while, Meg was training as a craniosacral therapist, which felt about as far from a vineyard as it is possible to be.
2024: the first harvest
By the third year it had become apparent that fifteen acres is not something you casually manage on the side. The bank balance was doing one very consistent thing: going down. Then came the first harvest in 2024, and with it the leap into the unknown. The family genuinely did not know whether they would pick 500 kg or 5,000 kg. If no buyer could be found, the grapes would be composted. In the event, a brilliant team of volunteers hand-picked 3,500 kg across five varieties in a single ten-hour day. Richard delivered the grapes that night to a winery that had agreed to take them, and Tey Brook had completed its first harvest. Still no money in the bank, but a tangible sense that the family had not entirely lost the plot.
2025: a standout year
If 2024 was a tentative toe in the water, 2025 was the deep end. As Georgie Allen records in the second Farm Journal entry, last year Tey Brook harvested 3.5 tonnes. This year they harvested 28 tonnes. The vines, now in their fourth year and properly established, took full advantage of a summer full of sunshine, and the family moved from hand-picking small parcels to orchestrating a four-day operation with thirty pickers, a borrowed machine harvester, and three different hauliers.
On the first day the team hand-picked Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for Offbeat Wines in Salisbury. On the second day a machine harvester, capable of doing the work of roughly seventy people, brought in 17 tonnes of PIWI hybrid grapes for Flint Vineyard in Norfolk, destined for one of their Charmat wines. Day three was back to hand-picking, with Cabernet Noir driven into London by Nat and Archie for Renegade Urban Winery to turn into a still wine. Day four was unplanned, born of the realisation that there was far more fruit than estimated; the remaining Pinot Noir was picked for Veenow Wines in Shropshire. The final day brought the whole family together, including Maj back from Mexico and George up from Hampshire, to pick the last PIWI variety with a little extra patience to allow sugars to rise and acidity to soften.
What is being grown at Tey Brook
The vineyard is planted across five varieties selected in close consultation with Duncan, the family's viticulture consultant. The classic Burgundy contingent is led by Pinot Noir, which forms the backbone of several of the winery partnerships, and Pinot Gris, much of which goes to Offbeat Wines in Salisbury. Cabernet Noir, the more disease-resistant red relative of Cabernet Sauvignon, is sent to Renegade Urban Winery in London for still red wine. Rounding out the planting are the PIWI hybrid varieties, fungus-tolerant crosses that suit organic and biodynamic regimes particularly well; these are split between Flint Vineyard in Norfolk for Charmat-method sparkling wines and Renegade Urban Winery for further still red production. A small portion of Pinot Gris has even been kept at home for an experimental homebrew, a quietly typical Tey Brook touch.
The wines: arriving in 2026
Tey Brook's own-label wines are not yet on sale, with the estate noting plainly: "OUR WINE, Coming 2026". The family's stated philosophy is to craft a range of sustainably produced, organic and biodynamic wines driven by family, community and a deep commitment to the land. The first releases, due to be bottled in 2026, will be the result of fruit grown at Tey Brook but vinified by partner wineries across the country, including Offbeat Wines, J dot D at Hamstreet Wines, Gros Canon Wines at Hamstreet, Veenow Wines and Renegade Urban Winery.
An exclusive Tey Brook Farm sparkling wine will be poured at the September 2026 Wild Table event, giving early visitors a first taste of what the estate can do. As a sister concern, the family also jars honey from the farm's own bees, which is available to buy from the barn.
The Wild Table: woodland dining in Tey Brook Orchard
The Wild Table is the most distinctive experience currently on offer at Tey Brook Farm and a major reason the estate already draws visitors from well beyond Essex. Run in collaboration with Browning Bros and The Laundry Brixton, it is a seasonal woodland restaurant that pops up twice a year inside Tey Brook Orchard. The format is fire-led cooking, candlelit tables deep in the trees, and a menu shaped by whatever the farm and the season have to offer. Much of the produce comes directly from Tey Brook itself.
Guests are welcomed into the orchard, move through the woodland, and gather at long tables lit by candlelight as the chefs cook over open fire. The atmosphere is relaxed, outdoor and unhurried; the evening tends to end with guests drifting the short distance to on-site glamping rather than driving home. Following the sold-out May 2026 event, the next Wild Table is scheduled for 18 to 20 September 2026, and will include the first public tastings of Tey Brook's exclusive sparkling wine. Tickets and further information are handled through Browning Bros.
Stay at Tey Brook: Browning Bros Cabins
For those who want to linger longer than an evening, the farm's accommodation is run through Browning Bros and centres on three dog-friendly cabins at the edge of the lake. Mornings are still, evenings glow, and the woodland walk from the front door takes you straight into the heart of the farm.
- Kingfisher's Nest sleeps two and is dog-friendly, with a private hot tub, sauna and lake views from the bath. Prices start from £270 per night. It is described by the family as a romantic cabin for two.
- Water Lily Lodge sleeps two to six and is dog-friendly, with a hot tub and spacious open-plan living. Prices start from £240 per night. It is positioned as the option for families, groups of friends or anyone who simply wants more space.
- Little Wren sleeps two and is dog-friendly, a tiny lakeside cabin designed for a slow, simple escape. Prices start from £130 per night.
New places to stay are coming to Tey Brook Orchard in 2026, suggesting the accommodation offer will continue to grow alongside the wine.
Visiting Tey Brook Farm
Tey Brook Farm is at Brook Road, Colchester, Essex, CO6 1JE. The estate's stated opening hours are 9am to 6pm. The most direct way to make contact is by email at info@teybrookfarm.co.uk. The farm is also active on Instagram, where the family shares updates from the vineyard, the orchard and the wider farm.
Because the wines are not yet on general release, the most rewarding ways to engage with Tey Brook in 2026 are attending The Wild Table, booking one of the lakeside cabins through Browning Bros, signing up to the wine waiting list, or simply keeping an eye on the Farm Journal, where Meg and Georgie publish honest, detailed updates on each stage of the journey from vine to bottle.
Why Tey Brook matters to English wine
It is easy, looking at a polished bottle on a shelf, to forget that every English wine starts as a farmer's experiment. Tey Brook is a useful reminder. A family farm that has chosen to convert to organic and then biodynamic production, to plant 15 acres on a hillside in Essex, to learn the language of pruning and yield estimation and APPA licensing from scratch, and to do all of that while running a wedding business, a sculpture trail and three holiday cabins, is doing the slow, unglamorous work that the English wine category ultimately rests on.
The 2025 harvest, in which 28 tonnes were brought in across Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Noir and PIWI hybrids and shared between Offbeat Wines, Hamstreet Wines, Flint Vineyard, Renegade Urban Winery and Veenow Wines, is a clear step change from the nervous 3.5 tonnes of 2024. The first Tey Brook-labelled bottles, due in 2026, will be small in volume but rich in provenance. The wines themselves are almost here.