Sharpham Vineyard

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Formerly Sharpham Wine, Sandridge Barton, 'the Home of Sharpham Wine' is a renowned wine producer set within the South Devon AONB. Situated in a sheltered valley, with its vineyards on the banks of the river Dart, Sandridge has the perfect climate and location for growing ripe grapes and producing a diverse range of English wines. At their new winery visitor centre completed in 2022 they offer both guided and self-guided wine and cheese tastings as well as vineyard and winery tours. There is a small farm shop selling their range of wines, Sharpham Dairy cheeses and other local produce, and visitors can walk around woodland and vineyard trails or have lunch in the restaurant.

Sandridge Barton Wines may appear to be a new name on the rapidly-expanding UK wine scene, but the Devon-based vineyard and winery has four decades of history and winemaking knowledge and experience. The name Sandridge Barton marks a new era for the celebrated Dart Valley producer Sharpham Wine, which in 2022 moved across the river to a new state-of-the-art winery, visitor centre and café, nestled in a small valley adjacent to the 32 acre Sandridge Barton vineyard which has been producing grapes for Sharpham Wine for over a decade.

Sharpham is also very well known for its Devonshire cheeses. A mixture between herby hard cheeses and creamy summer cheeses, they have gathered awards nationwide and sell cheese all over the UK. This branch of the business now operates as Sharpham Dairy.

History[]

Philemon Pownoll, a Royal Navy officer used his huge rich earnings after capturing a Spanish treasure ship (the Hermione) in May 1762 to buy the Sharpham estate, a thousand year old farm consisting of five hundred acres. He then built a large house designed in 1770 by Sir Robert Taylor with gardens designed by Capability Brown, overlooking the fields and wooded slopes above the River Dart, two miles downstream of the ancient market town of Totnes.^[1][2]

The estate is now owned by the Sharpham Trust of which author, scholar and teacher Stephen Batchelor is coordinator. Sharpham Partnership is the trading name for the diversified activities run on the family estate. Situated on the banks of the River Dart near Totnes in South Devon, the vineyards, creamery and organic dairy farm have been producing wines and unpasteurised cheeses for over twenty years to local, national and international acclaim.

By producing their own Jersey cow’s milk on the farm and growing a range of carefully selected cool climate grapes varieties in the vineyard, they believe they are in control of production from start to finish. The results are individual, hand made wines and cheeses with a special character and flavour that relates to the unique position in the South Hams area of Devon.

Recent Success[]

In 2001, it was named the UK Red Wine producer of the year at the UK Vineyards Association Awards.^[3]

At the forefront of vine growing and wine making in the UK, Sharpham is widely recognised as producing some of England's most outstanding wines. They have been producing wine for nearly twenty five years. Traditional and new world techniques are used resulting in a range of distinctive and carefully balanced wines. The awards tally includes Regional, National and International medals.

References[]