Tour and tasting at Silverhand
A glass of sparkling wine, then a tour of a 600-acre organic vineyard on the North Downs and a tasting of two still and two sparkling wines. About an hour and a half.
Good to know Friday to Sunday, all year.
Kent Wine Tours / Vineyards / Silverhand
Vineyard guide · Luddesdown
Visiting Silverhand Estate
Silverhand is a 900-acre organic estate in the Kent Downs near Gravesend, and Silver Reign, its sparkling wine, is what most people know it for. The tours take you round the vines in a vintage Land Rover. The cellar door and wine bar open every day, and late on Fridays and Saturdays.
Seasonal note: Walking tours and vineyard picnics run in summer only. Land Rover tours and the cellar door carry on through the year.
Silverhand at a glance
| Founded | Earliest vintage released 2018 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Silver Reign Charmat-method sparkling wine and the limited KYNG 2018 Blanc de Noirs |
| Grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, plus Solaris for still wine |
| Open | Daily, 11am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 10pm |
| Booking | Book tours, tastings and evening events, the cellar door bar takes walk-ins |
| Tours from | £20 guided tasting, Land Rover tour £45 |
| Food | Cheese and charcuterie boards at the cellar door |
| Dogs | Not on tours, on short leads at the guided tasting and some events |
| Children | 12 and over on vineyard and winery tours, tastings 18 and over |
| By train | Sole Street (just over a mile), or Ebbsfleet International with a £50 pick-up |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
About Silverhand
The estate covers 900 acres at Luddesdown, in the Kent Downs National Landscape south of Gravesend, and more than 600 of them are planted with vines. Silverhand calls this the largest single organic vineyard in the UK. The name comes from King Ludd, a legendary first-century king who, the story goes, lost his hand in battle and was given one made of silver.
The vines grow on chalk and flint, and they are the three classic sparkling wine grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Everything is farmed organically. Jacob and Romney sheep graze between the rows, rare-breed English Longhorn cattle are used on the pastures, and a conservation team looks after the woodland and chalk grassland. Also on the estate is Luddesdown Court, a Grade I listed manor house with features from the Norman Conquest onwards, which opens for monthly tours.
Silverhand says it was the first vineyard in the UK to become carbon negative without carbon offsetting, and it became a certified B Corp in 2026. Silver Reign was its first release. The flagship now is KYNG 2018, a 100% Pinot Noir sparkling wine aged five years on the lees and sold in a wooden box designed by Lord Norman Foster.
The wines
Sparkling wine is the point here. Silver Reign Brut NV is made by the Charmat method from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, and Silver Reign Rosé from Pinot Noir alone. The traditional method wines are Classic Brut NV, aged two years on the lees, and Blanc de Blancs 2018. Try a Silver Reign next to the Classic Brut if you can, to taste what the two methods do. KYNG 2018 sits at the top, a Blanc de Noirs made only in exceptional years, with a first release of 50 bottles. The certified organic still wines are a Chardonnay, a dry unoaked Solaris, a Bacchus and a still rosé. All of them, sparkling and still, are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Silverhand
The cellar door and wine bar need no booking. From 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays there are cheese and charcuterie boards, from £25.99 for two, and wine flights, and those evenings need a £5 per person deposit. In summer the estate adds a walking tour, the Vineyard Safari and picnics in the vines. Dated events this winter include Cork and Carve from 29 to 31 October 2026 and a wine and oyster evening from 3 to 5 December 2026. The winery is closed to visitors at harvest, when the tours include a virtual winery tour instead. The estate’s pub, The Lion in Luddesdown, was closed for refurbishment as of October 2026. There are accessible routes to the vines and winery.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard and Winery Tour A ride through the vineyard in a vintage Land Rover, a walk among the vines, a tour of the winery and a guided tasting of five wines. At harvest a virtual tour replaces the winery visit. | £45 per person | About 1 hour 45 minutes | Friday to Sunday, with extra Saturday departures May to September |
| Guided Tasting A tutored tasting of five wines in the cellar door, with an introduction to tasting technique and the estate’s history. Over-18s only. | £20 per person | 45 to 60 minutes | Daily, on the hour from 1pm to 5pm |
| Luddesdown Court History Tour A guided tour of the Grade I listed manor house on the estate, with tea, coffee and a pastry. There is no step-free route. | £35 per person | 1 hour 30 minutes | First Sunday of the month, 10.30am |
| The Art of Pairing: Cheese A guided pairing of artisan English cheeses with three or five Silverhand wines at the cellar door. | £30 or £45 per person | About 2.5 hours | Last Thursday of the month, 7pm to 9.30pm |
Book these on the Silverhand website.
Give a visit as a present
Where to stay
The Leather Bottle
A pub with rooms in Cobham village, built in 1629 and mentioned by Dickens in The Pickwick Papers.
The Farm House
A pub and restaurant on West Malling High Street. Its four bedrooms each have a theme and are a few steps from the bar.
Holiday cottages around Maidstone
Maidstone and nearby villages such as Loose and Marden, central for Mereworth, Yotes Court and Silverhand.
Prices are often the same either way, so compare the booking site with booking direct.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Food and wine
Wine and oyster evenings
Evenings pairing Silverhand wines with oysters at the estate.
Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 December · Book ahead
Buy Silverhand wines
1 bottle in stock with our wine partners this week. Prices are for a single 75cl bottle.
Sparkling
Silverhand Classic Brut
A Chardonnay-led traditional-method blend with two years on lees, ripe peach, citrus and a little brioche.
£29.99at WinebuyersBuy
Getting there
Sole Street, on the line from London Victoria, is the nearest station. It is a little over a mile from the estate as the crow flies, but the way there is along country lanes. The other option is the estate’s pick-up and drop-off from Ebbsfleet International, which has high-speed trains from St Pancras. It costs £50 and has to be booked by phone at least a week ahead. By car, the estate is on Luddesdown Road, a short drive from the A2 and M2 near Gravesend, at postcode DA13 0XE, with accessible parking close to the main entrance.
Make a day of it
Silverhand sits in the Kent Downs between Gravesend and Rochester. Rochester has its castle and cathedral, and the village of Cobham, with its Dickens connections, is close by. Meopham Valley Vineyard is the nearest other vineyard. Most of Kent’s other well-known vineyards are further south, around Maidstone, Ashford and the Weald, so we would save those for another day.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Kent directory. Our other Kent vineyard guides: Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Balfour, Westwell, Warehorne, Domaine Evremond, Chartham, Yotes Court.
Questions people ask
Is Silverhand Estate the largest vineyard in the UK?
Silverhand says it has the largest single organic vineyard in the UK, with more than 600 acres of vines on a 900-acre estate.
Can you just turn up at Silverhand Estate?
Yes, for the cellar door and wine bar, which open every day. Tours, tastings and the Friday and Saturday cheese and wine evenings should be booked ahead.
Are dogs allowed at Silverhand Estate?
Dogs are not allowed on the vineyard and winery tours or at the cheese and wine evenings. Dogs on short leads are welcome at the guided tasting and some cellar door events, and assistance dogs are welcome throughout.