Day-by-day estate-visit plans for Sussex: weekend, first-timer and deep-cellar editions.

Day-by-day plans

Chalk weekend from Brighton ★ 4.6

First visit, no car on day one2 days

Two days on the chalk seam under the South Downs, starting with the two Ditchling Common estates that open without an appointment and finishing at Washington.

  1. Day 1: Ditchling Common

    Morning
    Train to Hassocks and taxi up to Ridgeview Wine Estate on Fragbarrow Lane, open 11am to 4pm Thursday to Monday for drop in tastings. Mike and Christine Roberts planted the first vines here in 1995 and dug the underground cellars in 1999.
    Afternoon
    Walk or drive ten minutes to Court Garden at Court Gardens Farm, Ditchling, where the whole thing is grown, pressed and bottled on one south facing slope. Their tour ends in a tasting and the estate vermouth is sold nowhere else.
    Evening
    Back to Brighton for the South Lanes. Plateau on Bartholomews pours natural and organic wine until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and Ten Green Bottles on Jubilee Street runs evening masterclasses.

  2. Day 2: Washington and the Downs ridge

    Morning
    Drive west to Wiston Estate at North Farm, Washington, for the 11am tour and tasting. The Goring family have been at Wiston since 1743; the first vineyard went in on the chalk in 2006.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Chalk on the estate, then pick up the South Downs Way at Chanctonbury or drop down to Albourne Estate, whose tasting room opens 11am to 6pm at weekends from April to October.
    Evening
    Finish in Hove. Cases on Western Road runs to midnight Tuesday to Saturday, and Fourth and Church on Church Road pours sherries alongside its wine list.

Rother Wine Triangle from Rye ★ 4.5

Organic and low intervention drinkers2 days

The five estates of the Rother Wine Triangle, worked out of Rye. Certified organic at Oxney and Sedlescombe, biodynamic polyculture at Tillingham, new vines at Oastbrook.

  1. Day 1: Beckley and Peasmarsh

    Morning
    Start at Oxney Organic Estate on Hobbs Lane, Beckley, 35 acres certified by the Soil Association, where fining, filtration and SO2 are all kept to a minimum. Guided vineyard and winery tour, then a flight.
    Afternoon
    Fifteen minutes to Tillingham at Dew Farm, Peasmarsh, a 13th century mixed farm of 70 acres where vines sit alongside fruit trees, ancient woodland and livestock under a biodynamic regime.
    Evening
    Dinner in the Tillingham restaurant, which serves Friday to Sunday, and one of the eleven rooms on the farm. Otherwise back to Rye and Mermaid Street.

  2. Day 2: Winchelsea, Bodiam and Cripps Corner

    Morning
    Charles Palmer Vineyards on Wickham Rock Lane above Winchelsea, cellar door 11am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday, with the 1066 Country Walk running past the vines.
    Afternoon
    West to Oastbrook Estate at Park Farm Oast, Bodiam, planted from 2018 by America Brewer, then ten minutes on to Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard at Cripps Corner, growing organically since 1979.
    Evening
    Drop down to Hastings Old Town for fish landed on the Stade, with a bottle of Oxney or Sedlescombe from the day's buying.

Chichester and the western Downs ★ 4.3

Slower pace, staying on an estate2 days

Two days either side of Chichester, sleeping among the vines, with the Roman city, Pallant House and the Festival Theatre in between.

  1. Day 1: Halnaker and the city

    Morning
    Tinwood Estate at Tinwood Farm, Halnaker, a former salad farm Art Tucker put to vines from 2007 and now 65 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Tour with tasting, or sparkling afternoon tea.
    Afternoon
    Into Chichester for the cathedral and its detached medieval bell tower, Pallant House Gallery and the four shopping streets that run off the Market Cross.
    Evening
    Back out to one of the eight lodges on the Tinwood vineyard, or a matinee and dinner run at the Festival Theatre.

  2. Day 2: West Ashling and Petworth

    Morning
    Ashling Park Estate at West Ashling, open Thursday to Sunday all year except January, for the vineyard tour, the restaurant and the gin school.
    Afternoon
    North to Petworth for Petworth House and the antique dealers, with Roebuck Estates at Upperton Farm, Tillington, bookable in advance for The View tasting area above the vines.
    Evening
    Down to Pulborough and dinner at Kinsbrook, whose farmhouse restaurant opens seven days a week.

Harvest week in Sussex ★ 4.4

Returning visitors, late September to late October3 days

Three days in the Sussex picking window, when the estates sell places in the gang and the winery is the interesting room rather than the tasting bar.

  1. Day 1: Alfriston

    Morning
    Rathfinny Wine Estate above Alfriston runs harvest experiences Wednesday to Saturday from late September to late October, and hand picks every grape with pickers recruited locally.
    Afternoon
    Walk the vineyard trail down towards the Cuckmere, then the Cellar Door shop for a dosage tasting that shows what the sugar addition does to the finished style.
    Evening
    Dinner in the Flint Barns dining room on the estate, or into Alfriston for the cellar at Poco on the High Street.

  2. Day 2: Washington and Halnaker

    Morning
    A harvest picking day at Wiston Estate, Washington, where the fruit is pressed immediately after picking, extremely gently, and fermented in barrel and tank before bottling.
    Afternoon
    West to Tinwood Estate at Halnaker for its late September harvest experience, or the autumn dinner series that follows it in the first days of October.
    Evening
    Stay at the Pump House on the Wiston estate or in the Tinwood lodges, both inside the vineyard.

  3. Day 3: Rodmell and Ditchling

    Morning
    Walk in from Rodmell to Breaky Bottom, which picks deliberately late in the autumn to push ripeness. Collection is by appointment; there are no tours.
    Afternoon
    Ridgeview on Ditchling Common for the winter cellar tour that opens the 1999 underground cellar in November and December, with seasonal pairings and older vintages.
    Evening
    Brighton. Burnt Orange on Middle Street runs to 1am Thursday to Saturday and Stem in Hove pours low intervention bottles to a vinyl soundtrack.

Itineraries in Sussex, FAQ

When is the best time to visit Sussex for wine?

Peak wine-travel season in Sussex is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.

Do I need an appointment to taste at Sussex estates?

classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.

What hours do Sussex cellars and tasting rooms keep?

most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.

How does tipping work at Sussex tastings?

tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.

What is the one wine to try in Sussex?

Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Sussex rewards trust.

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