Wolstonbury - South Downs Sparkling Wine & Creative Studio
Tucked into the chalk hillside of Wolstonbury Hill, deep in the heart of the South Downs National Park, Wolstonbury is one of England's quietly distinctive small producers. Part vineyard, part artist studio, it is the working home of Ivan and Charlotte, a couple whose dual passions for vines and visual art have shaped a brand that fuses winemaking, design and a deep reverence for the surrounding landscape.
The winery's tagline, "The Toast of the South Downs," neatly captures its ambition. Rather than chasing volume, Wolstonbury makes tiny, terroir-led parcels of sparkling wine from a hand-planted vineyard established in 2015, alongside a curated collection of limited-edition framed art prints born from the same creative practice. Everything is sold directly through its online cellar, and the vineyard itself is no longer open to casual visitors, a deliberate decision that lets Ivan and Charlotte focus on craft rather than footfall.
The Wolstonbury Story
Wolstonbury is, in many ways, a husband-and-wife enterprise built around a single, very specific place. The farm sits at the foot of Wolstonbury Hill, a striking chalk landmark near the village of Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex. According to the couple, the hill is more than just scenery; it is the backbone of a lifestyle, reminding them to go out and be immersed in the nature that surrounds them. That philosophy underpins every product they release.
Ivan and Charlotte planted the vineyard themselves in 2015, choosing to put their roots quite literally into the chalk soil of the South Downs. The same white, mineral-rich geology that runs under Champagne and the best of England's south coast runs under their vines too, and they have built their winemaking programme around expressing that chalkiness in bottle. As working artists and designers, the pair also run a studio from the farm, looking straight out at the hill that gives the project its name. The art prints and the wine share a single creative heartbeat.
The Vineyard & Terroir
The Wolstonbury vineyard occupies a small parcel of the family farm, tucked into chalk soil on the lower slopes beneath the hill. The site benefits from the typical South Downs combination of free-draining chalk bedrock, mild maritime climate and generous sunshine hours, conditions that have made Sussex and Hampshire two of the most exciting regions for English sparkling wine over the last two decades.
Because the vineyard was hand-planted, row spacing, orientation and variety selection were all chosen with care, and yields are kept deliberately low. The fruit that emerges carries the bright, taut acidity that chalk soils are prized for, giving the wines a mineral edge and a nervy freshness that suits traditional-method sparkling production. There is no visitor centre, no on-site shop and no cellar door; the only route to the bottles is via the Wolstonbury online cellar.
The Wines: CHALK '21
Wolstonbury's flagship, and at present its only commercially released wine, is CHALK 2021 SPARKLING. The name is not a marketing flourish; it is a literal description. The wine is made from fruit grown on the chalk soils of Wolstonbury Hill, and every aspect of the winemaking has been tuned to express that geology in glass.
The house tasting note paints CHALK '21 as a perfect celebration sparkling wine, fusing wild pear, red apple and soft peach with a subtle lemon note in a deeply refreshing, dry, cheeky fizz. On the palate, the producers describe crisp yet delicate bubbles of lemon sherbet: the kind of bright, linear mousse that English fizz drinkers now expect from top Sussex producers, paired here with a softer, fruit-forward aromatic profile.
CHALK '21 is sold in the Current Cellar collection at £156.00 per bottle. As is common with very small English producers, allocations are extremely limited, and the current release is sold out. Subscribers to the Wolstonbury Wine Club are typically given priority access to new vintages, which is one of the key reasons the couple set the scheme up in the first place.
Tasting Notes at a Glance
- Style: Traditional-method dry sparkling wine
- Aromatics: Wild pear, red apple, soft peach, subtle lemon
- Palate: Crisp, delicate bubbles; lemon sherbet freshness
- Finish: Dry, mineral, refreshing
- Origin: Wolstonbury Hill, South Downs (chalk soil)
The Wine Club
For anyone who wants reliable access to small-release bottles like CHALK '21, Wolstonbury runs a flexible Wine Club subscription direct from cellar door to front door. It is built around two simple choices: how many bottles you want in each case, and how often you'd like them delivered.
Membership benefits include:
- Generous discounts on wine.
- 15% off all purchases made online.
- Exclusive invitations to wine and art events at Wolstonbury.
- A simple, easy-to-manage subscription; cancel or amend at any time.
- Guaranteed stock of limited-quantity vintages, with subscriber numbers deliberately capped.
Shipping runs on a calendar rhythm: your first case goes out immediately, and subsequent cases are dispatched at the beginning of March, June, September and December for the three-monthly tier, or in June and December for the bi-annual option. A membership also works as a one-off gift, since you can purchase a single subscription term to take advantage of the discounts and event access without committing long term.
Art & Prints from the Studio
The wine is only half of what Ivan and Charlotte make. As artists and designers working from the studio overlooking Wolstonbury Hill, they also produce a small collection of framed prints inspired by the same landscape that feeds their vines. The art is sold through the same online shop, organised into the Framed Prints collection and the Abstract Prints collection, with most pieces priced at £109.99.
Current Framed Print Collection
- Bee Sketch - £109.99
- Chalk Lines I - £109.99
- Chalk Lines II - £109.99
- Chalk Lines III - £109.99
- Following the Sun - £109.99
The titles give a strong sense of the subject matter: chalk geology, vineyard rhythm, pollinators, and the slow movement of sun across the downs. Several pieces also appear in the Gallery as unframed or alternative-format editions, and the same artworks reappear as gift-friendly options in the seasonal gifts collection.
Gifting
The Gifting range at Wolstonbury is built around two ideas: make a CHALK '21 bottle easy to give, and let buyers pair wine with art.
Wolstonbury E-Gift Card
The Wolstonbury E-Gift Card is the most flexible option. Available from £25.00, it is delivered to the recipient immediately by email and can be redeemed against anything in the shop, from wine and art prints to a Wine Club membership. It is an easy fit for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings or housewarmings, particularly for someone who already loves English sparkling.
Gift Bundles
Within the Gifting collection, the prints sit alongside the e-gift card as ready-to-post presents. Each of the framed prints (£109.99) is gift-appropriate out of the box, and the Bee Sketch, Chalk Lines I - III and Following the Sun prints all work equally well as standalone gifts or as part of a larger hamper built around a bottle of CHALK '21.
Visiting Wolstonbury
One thing to be aware of before planning a trip: the vineyard is no longer open to visitors. Wolstonbury does not respond to enquiries about visiting or hosting events on site. There are no guided tours, tastings or open days; the experience of Wolstonbury is the bottle (and, optionally, the print) arriving at your door.
This is unusual among English vineyards but consistent with Wolstonbury's identity as a tiny, design-led operation. The brand positions itself less as a destination winery and more as a creative studio that also happens to make fizz. The wine is sold, the art is sold, but the place itself remains private.
Delivery & Ordering
Wolstonbury ships from its farm in West Sussex via DPD. Key terms are as follows:
- Wine orders: dispatched within 3 working days of purchase.
- Homewares, art, hampers and gift purchases: dispatched within 10 working days.
- E-Gift Cards: delivered to the recipient immediately by email.
- Free delivery on UK orders of £75 or more.
- Standard UK delivery: £7.00 on orders under £75.
- No weekend or Bank Holiday dispatches; orders placed on a Friday are sent on Monday.
- British Isles, Scottish Highlands and Isles deliveries may take a day or two longer.
- For deliveries outside the UK, including Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and BFPO addresses, customers are asked to email hello@wolstonbury.co to arrange a quote.
All wine deliveries require a signature from someone over 18, and couriers may ask for ID if the recipient appears under 25. Returns are accepted at Wolstonbury's cost, provided the original packaging (including the cardboard inserts) is retained; return requests are also handled through hello@wolstonbury.co.
Behind the Brand
The framing is consistent across the brand: Wolstonbury is run by Ivan and Charlotte, a creative partnership working from the family farm on New Way Lane. They describe themselves not as career winemakers but as artists and designers who happen to farm vines, and that dual identity shapes every customer touchpoint, from the minimalist storefront to the curated cross-selling of wine and art.
The farm's address is given as the registered business address: Wolstonbury, Wolstonbury Farm, New Way Lane, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, BN6 9BB. The brand is active on Instagram at @wolstonbury.co, where new vintages, prints and behind-the-vineyard imagery are shared.
Why Wolstonbury Stands Out
English sparkling wine is now a crowded category, but Wolstonbury carves out a clear niche by deliberately staying small. Three things distinguish it from the bigger Sussex houses:
- Hyper-local sourcing. Every bottle is made from a single, hand-planted site on the chalk slopes of Wolstonbury Hill.
- Design-led identity. The wines are sold alongside original framed prints created in the same studio, giving the brand a clear aesthetic point of view.
- Allocation-only releases. Rather than chasing volume, the couple caps Wine Club subscriber numbers to guarantee access to limited vintages.
For drinkers who like the idea of buying sparkling wine direct from a two-person operation on the South Downs, and who appreciate pairing that bottle with a piece of art from the same hands, Wolstonbury offers one of the more distinctive propositions on the English wine map.
FAQs
Where is Wolstonbury vineyard?
Wolstonbury is at Wolstonbury Farm, New Way Lane, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, BN6 9BB, on the lower slopes of Wolstonbury Hill within the South Downs National Park.
Can I visit the vineyard?
No. The vineyard is no longer open to visitors, and the team does not respond to enquiries about visiting or hosting events on site. The only way to experience Wolstonbury is through its online shop.
How much is CHALK '21?
CHALK 2021 SPARKLING is sold in the Current Cellar at £156.00 per bottle. The current release is sold out, but future vintages are released via the Wine Club.
How does the Wine Club work?
You choose a case size and a delivery frequency (three-monthly, with shipments in March, June, September and December, or bi-annual, in June and December). Members get 15% off all online purchases, priority access to limited vintages and invitations to Wolstonbury events. Membership can be cancelled or amended at any time and is also available as a one-off gift.
How much is delivery?
UK delivery is free on orders over £75, and £7.00 otherwise. Wine is typically dispatched within three working days; art, prints and gifts within ten. E-Gift Cards are delivered instantly by email.
How do I contact Wolstonbury?
By email at hello@wolstonbury.co. The brand's registered address is Wolstonbury Farm, New Way Lane, Hurstpierpoint, BN6 9BB.
Final Thoughts
Wolstonbury is the kind of small English winery that rewards people who like to know exactly where their bottle comes from. A hand-planted chalk-soil vineyard, a single flagship cuvée, a tightly capped Wine Club, and a parallel practice in framed art prints: everything is connected, and everything is small on purpose. From a quiet corner of the South Downs, Ivan and Charlotte are quietly putting their own stamp on English sparkling.