Workshop
Wreath making workshop
Make a wreath from natural materials in a group of up to ten, followed by a glass of sparkling wine and a cheese and charcuterie platter.
Saturday 28 November 2026 · 10am to 12.30pm · £65 a head · Book ahead
Kent Wine Tours / Vineyards / Yotes Court
Vineyard guide · Mereworth
Visiting Yotes Court Vineyard
Most of the 75 acres at Yotes Court, between Mereworth and West Peckham, grow grapes for Chapel Down. About 10 acres go into the estate’s own single-varietal still and sparkling wines, and those are what you taste here. From spring to autumn you can walk into the Wine Barn or book a tour. In winter the Tasting Room opens on Fridays and Saturdays.
Seasonal note: The cellar door wine barn and lawn close for the winter after 1 November and reopen in April 2027. Until 19 December the tasting room opens on Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 5pm, and the shop from Monday to Thursday, 12pm to 5pm.
Yotes Court at a glance
| Founded | Planted 2016, first own-label wines released 2021 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Single-varietal, single-vintage still wines, including Bacchus, Pinot Meunier rosé and the red grape Divico |
| Awards | WineGB Awards 2021 gold and Newcomer Trophy for ’Best Turned Out’ Pinot Meunier rosé |
| Grapes | Bacchus, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Divico |
| Open | Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 5.30pm, 1 April to 1 November; Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 5pm, 2 November to 19 December |
| Booking | Walk-ins welcome at the Wine Barn and Tasting Room, book tours, tastings and events online |
| Tours from | £27.50 |
| Food | Light bites and nibbles at the cellar door, with light lunches on some booked tastings |
| Dogs | Welcome on leads in the Wine Barn, on the Paddock Lawn and on the 11.30am tour and wine flight, not on guided tastings or garden tours |
| Children | Welcome in the Wine Barn and on the lawn, free on the 11.30am tour and wine flight, not on guided tastings |
| By train | Tonbridge, a short taxi ride, or West Malling, Wateringbury and Yalding with a pre-booked taxi |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
About Yotes Court
Yotes Court itself is a Grade I listed 17th-century manor house between West Peckham and Mereworth, and the vineyard is on the old soft and top fruit farm to the west of it. When Susannah Ricci took the place on, the house was tired, the garden overgrown and the fruit farm needed money spent on it. Stephen Skelton MW advised on the planting and rates it the best site he has planted. The first vines went in during 2016, about 60 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grown for Chapel Down’s traditional method sparkling wines.
In 2018 she added 10 acres for wines under the Yotes Court name. Bacchus and Pinot Blanc went on the highest point, an old apricot orchard 140 metres above sea level, and Pinot Gris and the disease-resistant red grape Divico followed in 2019. The slope faces south towards Bidborough Ridge. Its soils drain well and are full of Kentish ragstone, with greensand at the top and heavier clay further down. Tony Purdie, the vineyard manager, came over from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand in 2016, and in August 2020 Yotes Court was one of the first producers accredited by Sustainable Wines of Great Britain. There’s no winery on site, so the wine is made by Defined Wine near Canterbury.
The first own-label wines came out in 2021, four still wines from 2020. Every one won a medal at that year’s WineGB Awards, and the Pinot Meunier rosé ’Best Turned Out’ took a gold and the Newcomer Trophy. The names come from the owner’s love of National Hunt racing. Yotes Court joined the Wine Garden of England group in 2024 as its ninth member, and Tom Stuart-Smith has redesigned the 20-acre garden around the house.
The wines
Every wine is a single grape from a single vintage, all grown on the estate, and all vegan. Try ’The Favourite’, a red from Divico, if you want something most English vineyards don’t make. The other still wines are ’On the Nod’ Bacchus, ’Hands and Heels’ Pinot Blanc, ’Loose Rein’ Pinot Gris, ’Two Beat Trot’ Chardonnay, ’Best Turned Out’ Pinot Meunier rosé and ’Starter’s Orders’ Pinot Noir. On the sparkling side there is ’LiveLoveLaugh’, an early-release Pinot Gris, the rosé ’Let’s Dance’, the ’Annie Power’ Cuvée, and a Blanc de Blancs and a Blanc de Noirs. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Yotes Court
In season, from 1 April to 1 November, the Wine Barn and Paddock Lawn serve wine by the glass, flights and local nibbles, and you can just walk in. Indoor tables can be booked but outdoor ones can’t. Tours, guided tastings, garden tours and events are all booked online, and you can also book a picnic in the vines. From 2 November to 19 December the Tasting Room opens on Fridays and Saturdays, and on other weekdays the shop is open for wine, gift boxes and hampers. The vineyard is closed on bank holiday Mondays. Dogs on leads are welcome at vineyard picnics, and assistance dogs can go anywhere. Children are welcome at picnics too. The wines are vegan, the nibbles at the cellar door include vegan and vegetarian options, and most other dietary needs can be met with 24 hours’ notice. For non-drinkers there is Roughway Farm apple juice and other soft drinks. The head gardener leads tours of the 20-acre garden once a month on Fridays from April to September, at £40.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard Tour, Guided Tasting and Light Lunch The visit most people book. A tour of the vineyard and a guided tasting in the Tasting Room, then a light lunch with a glass of sparkling wine. If you have the time, it’s the one we’d choose. | £48.50 per person | 2 hours or more | Wednesday to Sunday at 11.30am, April to October |
| Vineyard Tour and Guided Tasting A walk through the vines, then a guided tasting in the Tasting Room. No under-18s or dogs. | £32 per person | 1.5 hours | April to October: Wednesday at 11.30am, Thursday and Friday at 11.30am and 1.30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 1.30pm |
| Vineyard Tour and Self-Guided Wine Flight A morning tour of the vineyard, then a flight to taste at your own pace with a tasting guide. Of the booked visits, it’s the only one that takes both children and dogs. | £27.50 per person, under-18s free with an adult | 1.5 hours | Wednesday to Sunday at 11.30am, April to October |
| Self-Guided Wine Flight Just turn up. You get a flight of Yotes Court wines and a tasting guide, and you can sit in the Wine Barn or out on the Paddock Lawn. | £16 per person | As long as you like | Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 5pm, April to October |
| In From The Cold: winter Tasting Room Wine by the glass or bottle, tasting flights and light nibbles, indoors and looking out over the vineyard. Walk in if you like. Well-behaved children are welcome, and so are dogs on leads. | Pay as you go | Drop in, or book a table from 12pm to 4pm | Fridays and Saturdays, 12pm to 5pm, 2 November to 19 December 2026 |
| Sparkle and Sprigs wreath-making workshop Make a festive wreath from vineyard and garden materials, with all the equipment provided, then have a glass of sparkling wine and a cheese and charcuterie platter in the Tasting Room. Only 10 places, and most of it is outdoors, so wrap up. | £65 per person | 10am to about 12.30pm | Saturday 28 November 2026 |
Book these on the Yotes Court website.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Buy Yotes Court wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
Getting there
Tonbridge station is about 32 minutes from London Bridge and has a taxi rank, and from there it’s a short ride. West Malling, Wateringbury and Yalding are nearer, but there are no taxis waiting, so pre-book one. Book the return well ahead too. Buses stop at Mereworth School, about a 20-minute walk from the entrance. Drivers should use ME18 5JT or what3words circle.racing.finger and come in by Seven Mile Lane, Mereworth Road, Forge Lane and Stan Lane. Swanton Road is narrow and best avoided. The entrance you want is on Stan Lane, not the Manor House entrance on Mereworth Road. Go past the spotty barn and through the white gate, then follow the signs to the Cellar Door. There’s plenty of parking. On foot, come in from Stan Lane or along the bridleway on the north side of the vineyard.
Make a day of it
The vineyard sits in farmland just outside Mereworth, a few minutes from West Peckham and less than an hour from London. It publishes its own guide to local walks. To stay over, it suggests The Nutplat Retreat, vintage glamping at Roughway about an hour’s country walk away, or Orchard Pods, a farm B&B at Offham with four en-suite pods.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Kent directory. Our other Kent vineyard guides: Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Balfour, Westwell, Warehorne, Silverhand, Domaine Evremond, Chartham.
Questions people ask
Is Yotes Court open in winter?
Until 19 December, yes. From 2 November the Tasting Room opens on Fridays and Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm for wine by the glass or bottle, flights and nibbles. Tours and tastings run from April to October.
Is Yotes Court dog friendly?
Mostly. Well-behaved dogs on leads can go in the Wine Barn, on the Paddock Lawn, to vineyard picnics, on the 11.30am tour and wine flight, and into the winter Tasting Room. Apart from assistance dogs, they can’t join guided tastings or garden tours.
Can you take children?
Yes. Under-18s go free on the 11.30am tour and wine flight with an adult, and children are welcome in the Wine Barn, on the lawn and at picnics. Guided tastings are for over-18s only.