DENBIES WINE 

The History of Denbies

The story began in 1986 when the new owners of the Denbies estate, the White family, recognised the unique characteristics of the North Dow landscape. Its south facing slopes, chalky soil and warm micro-climate made it ideal for creating England’s largest vineyard. The impressive chateau-style winery was completed in 1993, the same year as our maiden wine, Surrey Gold, was released. Today, Denbies Surrey Gold continues to be the UK’s bestselling English wine. The scale of the Denbies site allows room for innovative and experimental viticulture and the opportunity to trial new styles of wine making.

The geology of the soil at our site – particularly through its chalk and flint content – lends a freshness and a minerality to many of the wine styles we make. The size of the site means that we have vines of a single variety growing in up to four separate parcels around the estate – and the difference in the flavours of the fruit from the different plots is significant. This is due to variation in soil type, altitude, slope aspect and slope gradient and consequently our wines express the range of different terroirs found across the estate.

There is an increasing demand for fine local produce including wines, food miles seem more important than ever and transparency of production is high on the agenda of many more consumers.  Denbies is very proud to clearly state that their wine is made only from single estate grown grapes, so the quality is controlled from the vine to the bottle.  All the wines undergo stringent testing by independent laboratories through the English Quality Wine Scheme equivalent of Appellation Controllee. Denbies vineyard and winery are open to the public and trade customers are welcome to meet the winemaker and tour the production area.  For the most part, Denbies food miles (25 miles to Hyde Park Corner) is a huge selling point for the smaller parcel production which is an important factor for our end consumers. However, with increased production Denbies is constantly striving to ensure that the benefits do not outweigh the commitment to sustainability and it is therefore become necessary to identify direct supply. Denbies does not currently export outside of the UK.

Meet the Growers

Oliver Whitfield – Vineyard Manager

Vineyard manager, Oliver Whitfield, joined Denbies in 2022 after a period of working in English and New Zealand vineyards and wineries. Olly has been in the wine industry since 2008 where he was offered the opportunity to live and work on Barkers Marque Vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand. During the initial season Olly also worked for Ager Sectus Winery in Marlborough.

After returning from New Zealand, Olly enrolled in the Wine Production FdSc at Plumpton College.

Following the acquisition of his Foundation degree, Olly became Assistant Vineyard Manager and Winemaker at Exton Park Vineyard, Hampshire and did a vintage for Marisco, Marlborough, New Zealand.  Along his path Olly found that the best wines were being produced exclusively from the best fruit. This led Olly to join Langham as the Vineyard manager and concentrate on producing the best fruit he could.

In 2022 Olly joined Denbies and has proceeded to bring in two of the largest harvests the vineyard has had.

Olly can be found walking the vineyard with his Jack Russell, Wilson.

Dave Fallon – Assistant Vineyard Manager

Dave has worked for 30 years on the estate. Originally training as a tree surgeon, he worked in conservation on the 1,140-acre Wimbledon common – one of London’s largest woodlands, before coming to Denbies in 1993 as a vineyard and winery hand. Dave oversees the day-to day management of the vineyard and is in charge of environmental best practice on the estate.

Dave is passionate about English grape growing and knows everything there is to know about the vines on the estate. His dedication knows no bounds and in April and May he can often be seen in the early hours of the morning protecting the vines from frost.

Meet the Winemakers

John Worontshak – Chief Wine Maker

Australian-born John is Denbies chief winemaker. He has been making wine for over 3 decades and has been based in the UK for the last 30 years. After stints at Campbells winery in Rutherglen and Saltram in the Barossa Valley, John travelled the world as one of the first ‘flying winemakers’. He has worked with Penfolds and Yalumba in Australia, Clos du Bois in Napa, Domaine Hugel in Alsace and Domaine Tim Marshall in Burgundy.

John has had a central role establishing the quality and reputation of English wines, winning countless awards for his wines, including the Gore-Browne trophy on five occasions. He is a non-executive director at Mexico’s Casa Madero winery, and a panel chairman for the International Wine Challenge.

Matthieu Elzinga

Matthieu joined Denbies in 2013 from his family’s winery in the Muscadet appellation in the Loire Valley, where he had been making wines since the age of 15. His wide-ranging experience includes vintages at prestigious estates in Margaux and Piedmonte, as well as numerous study tours to the Champagne region.

Before joining Denbies, Matthieu ran his family winery for 11 years, while also acting as chief winemaker. During his time in charge, the estate grew from 25 hectares to 210 hectares, and established a strong reputation as the producer of top-quality dry white wines from both traditional and unfamiliar grape varieties found in the Loire region.

Andy Kershaw – Cellar Master

Cellar Master, Andy Kershaw, has been with Denbies since late 2013, after a spell as Assistant Winemaker in Western Australia at Willow Bridge Estate. Andy’s winemaking career started in the Swartland of South Africa in the late 2000s at Dragonridge Wines, under the tutelage of Johan Simons. Travelling the world, Andy has also made wine with Delegats in New Zealand’s Marlborough and at the exclusive Tenuta di Arceno in Italy’s Chianti Classico DOCG, as well as at other estates in England.

Andy loves the youthfulness and energy of English winemaking and he recently created the Orange Solaris and Orange Vermouth to showcase the possibilities of the grapes that we grow at Denbies.

Consulting for a winery in South Africa, Andy and his wife have their own wine label, and live with their daughters in Dorking