English winery on sale for £6.75m

The 24-hectare Kingscote Wine Estate in West Sussex has been put up for sale for the second time in just over four years for a guide price of £6.75 million.

Image: Savills

The winery, which is planted with just over 24 hectares of vines, was sold to Mark Dixon of Provence and English wine group MDCV UK in May 2017. According to estate agent Savills, which previously sold the estate and is also its current agent, the guide price in 2017 was around £3.25m.

Dixon, the founder of serviced office business Regus and owner of Château De Berne wine estate in Provence, also controls organic vineyard Sedlescombe in East Sussex. He also recently told Wine Spectator that he owns a site in Luddesdown (Kent), and intends to plant 1,000 acres (404.7 hectares) to produce around 4 to 5 million bottles per year.

the drinks business has contacted MDCV UK for comment on the sale.

Kingscote boasts grape varieties including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier, Bacchus, Pinot Blanc, Solaris and Regent. The site was initially planted in stages in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Further extensive planting was carried out in 2017. The estate also includes a two-acre (0.81 hectare) apple orchard, planted in 2011, which is used to produce cider.

Image: Savills

The winery, which is equipped to make both still and sparkling wine, contains all the necessary apparatus to produce and bottle wine on site.

The sale also includes a timber-framed 15th century barn, which has been converted into a visitor centre and has views over the vineyard and the nearby Bluebell Railway. A Grade II listed five-bedroom farmhouse, a two-bedroom coach house, and other farm buildings are also included as part of the purchase.

As well as the vineyard and orchard, the estate comprises 9.09 hectares of woodland, 0.85 hectares of lakes and 23.47 hectares of pasture land. The whole estate totals 61.5ha and lies within The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Kingscote was last put up for sale in January 2016 after the sudden death of its former owner and founder of the winery, Christen Monge. It originally formed part of the 1,000 acre (404.7 hectare) Gravetye Estate, which was once owned by the famous English horticulturalist William Robinson.

Image: Savills

Commenting on the property, Chris Spofforth of Savills, told Surrey Live: “Kingscote is a well-established commercial vineyard with all the facilities on site to undertake wine production from the vine to the shop.

“The current owners have more than doubled the amount of vines on the estate over the last couple of years and worked hard to build up the brand, resulting in a significant trading opportunity for the new owners.”

Kingscote currently produces a still Chardonnay, rosé (Bacchus and Regent) and an oaked and un-oaked Bacchus. Its sparkling wines include a sparkling rosé (Bacchus, Meunier, Chardonnay and Regent) Blanc de Noirs (Pinot Noir), Sparkling Brut (Bacchus, Meunier and Chardonnay) and Blanc de Blancs, as well as a sparkling cider.