Starting with Westwell near Charing and heading east.
1Westwell Wines
Charing
A family winery with a name for experimental wines, pet nats and amphora wines among them, and for its Ortega. It was Best Small Cellar Door at the first WineGB Cellar Door Awards in 2026.
Visiting: Open Friday to Sunday only. The cellar door, bar and shop usually keep Friday 12pm to 5pm (later on food truck evenings), Saturday 11am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 4pm, but the hours shift with the seasons, so check before travelling. The cellar door takes drop-in visitors, while tours and picnics are booked online. The tour and tasting, £28, is a vineyard tour from February to October and a winery tour in November and December. If you want more detail, the in-depth tour and technical tasting is £70, on set Saturdays at 12.30pm. Food means cheese and charcuterie plates rather than a full menu, plus a food truck on Friday evenings from 4pm to 9pm. Dogs on a lead are welcome in the vines and the tasting room, though not in the winery. Charing station, one stop from Ashford, is a mile away.
Our full guide Vineyard website Book a tour Buy the Ortega, £21
2Domaine Evremond
Chilham, near Canterbury
Taittinger, the Champagne house, created this English estate in 2015. Its first wine, Classic Cuvée Edition I, came out in 2025, and Edition II has followed.
Visiting: The cellar door opens Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6.30pm from April to September and 11am to 5.30pm from October to March, and the shop from 10.30am. Without a booking you can still taste Edition I on the terrace or in the cellar door, on a first-come basis. Booked visits are a 45-minute Classic Cuvée tasting of Editions I and II at £25, a tasting with a tour of the domaine at £60, and a three-course Flavours of Kent lunch at £140, with a glass matched to each course. In autumn there are cheese and charcuterie sharing boards, £100 for a board and a bottle. Children and dogs on leads are welcome on the terrace but not on tours and tastings. Chilham station is a 30-minute walk.
Our full guide Vineyard website Buy the Classic Cuvée, £46.99
3Simpsons’ Wine Estate
Barham, near Canterbury
Simpsons’ was founded in 2012 on North Downs chalk by a couple who also make wine in the south of France. There is a helter-skelter in the tasting room.
Visiting: Every visit is booked in advance. The 90-minute guided tasting, £25, runs through the week, and the vineyard and winery tour with a tasting, £45, on Saturdays and some Friday afternoons. Adults only, and no dogs apart from assistance dogs. Canterbury West, where the high-speed trains from London St Pancras stop, is a short taxi ride away.
Vineyard website
4Barnsole Vineyard
Staple, near Canterbury
Barnsole is a family vineyard, first planted in 1993.
Visiting: Open Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm, plus bank holidays. The drop-in tasting is free and needs no appointment. A one-hour tour with a tasting is £20 a head, booked by phone or email, and Kentish cheese boards or charcuterie and cheese boards are £18 each if you order in advance. Children and dogs are welcome; picnics are not. Ring before setting out in poor weather. Outside those hours, visits are by appointment.
Vineyard website
5Elham Valley Vineyard
Breach, Barham, near Canterbury
Established in 1985, Elham Valley was one of the first vineyards in this part of Kent. It has around 2,000 vines, with 500 Solaris planted in 2024, and is run by the Fifth Trust, a charity that gives work experience to adults with learning disabilities. Defined Wine makes the wine less than five miles away.
Visiting: There is no regular tour. A garden walkway runs through the vines instead, free to walk with no booking needed, and wine is sold on site. The café opens Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. The garden centre keeps Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. The occasional events in the vines are listed on the trust’s site, and they sell out.
Vineyard website
6Terlingham Vineyard
Hawkinge, near Folkestone
A small vineyard in the hills above Folkestone, looking out over the Channel. It makes sustainably farmed wine and gin, and the Leaf Hotels Group now owns it.
Visiting: Vineyard walks and tastings in the Tasting Barn run every Friday and Saturday, in sessions from 11am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm, and are pre-booked. It is £40 a head for six wines, or £65 with cheese, and other dates can be arranged by email. There is bed and breakfast at the winery. From 13 November to 20 December the vineyard shop shuts on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, because the vineyard is at the Folkestone Harbour Arm Christmas market.
Vineyard website
7Chartham Vineyard
Chartham, near Canterbury
Three miles out of Canterbury in the Stour Valley, the family at Chartham make still and sparkling wines, and run a wine shop with an art gallery.
Visiting: Saturday is the day to go. The cellar door shop opens from 10.30am to 5pm, selling wine by the glass or bottle, and the gallery is free. From February to December there are guided tours and tastings at 11am and 2pm, £25 a head and booked ahead, split into about 45 minutes in the vines and 45 minutes tasting. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, and you can picnic in the courtyard. Chartham station is about 50 metres away, six minutes from Canterbury West.
Our full guide Vineyard website Buy the Blanc de Blancs, £29.95
8Brabourne Vineyard
East Brabourne, near Ashford
Court Lodge, at the foot of the North Downs, is where this small vineyard makes its sparkling and still wines and a vermouth.
Visiting: Tours and tastings are by appointment and last just over an hour. You start with a glass of fizz on a walk through the vines and finish with more wines in the tasting room. It is £20 a head until the end of 2026 and £30 in 2027, non-drinkers go free, and a cheese platter can be pre-ordered for £10 a head. Outdoor tables can be booked free at weekends from May to September. Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome. There is a holiday cottage on the estate, Fig Cottage, to rent.
Vineyard website
9Nine Oaks Vineyard
Hothfield, near Ashford
On Church Lane in Hothfield, the family at Nine Oaks make still wines and a traditional method sparkling wine.
Visiting: Group tours run on set dates, mostly summer Saturdays, and have to be booked. Allow an hour and a half to two hours: one of the founders walks you round the vines, then you taste at least three estate wines. Private tours for 2 to 30 people can be arranged on request, from £300 with lunch and local transport. No dogs except assistance dogs. Ashford International is about ten minutes away by car.
Vineyard website
10Brenley Wine
Boughton-under-Blean, near Faversham
A small-batch producer on Brenley Farm, among fruit and hop gardens, whose first wine, a Bacchus, was released in 2020; it now also makes a rosé, a red and a sparkling wine.
Visiting: Two-hour vineyard tours with a tasting in the Grain Store and a cheese platter cost £25 and run on set dates (Easter, May Day, midsummer, July and August bank holiday weekends), plus a Hallowine evening in late October. Tickets must be booked online and wine can be bought after the tasting.
Vineyard website
Wildshark Vineyard
Harrietsham, near Maidstone
Out in the countryside below the North Downs, Wildshark makes still and sparkling wines and gin, and has a shop, a tasting room and a lake house.
Visiting: Book guided vineyard tours through its website, on their own or with a barbecue or a picnic; the lake house can also be booked for a private picnic. On the terrace, the shop and tasting room sell the wines and gins alongside local produce, and it is worth checking current opening times on its website before you go. Seasonal food evenings, such as fondue nights before Christmas, are booked ahead too.
Vineyard website
