Ridgeview Wine Estate is strengthening its presence in its Sussex heartland via a collaboration with luxury hotel South Lodge, where a brand-new vineyard has recently produced its first harvest.
Ridgeview has garnered column inches of late as it battled a period of uncertainty while looking for a new buyer for its Ditchling-based operations.
However, with that buyer now in place and spring around the corner, now felt like the right time to speak to its operations director, Matt Gayler, about the new Sussex partnership.
The partnership centres on a 6ha vineyard of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes planted within the grounds of South Lodge, with Ridgeview providing winemaking expertise and long-term guidance as the vines mature.
The initiative seems like an intuitive move for the winery, which brings together two Sussex brands connected by shared philosophies centred around hospitality, sustainability and local provenance.
“This felt like a natural partnership given our longstanding relationship with Exclusive Collection hotels, and our shared values around sustainability and people-first culture,” Gayler said.
“It builds on an already strong connection and strengthens both sides by creating something meaningful and lasting.”
The first grapes from South Lodge’s vineyard were harvested in 2025, marking an important milestone for the project. While yields were intentionally small in this inaugural vintage, early signs from the fruit have been promising.
“The first harvest at South Lodge took place in 2025 which brought great growing conditions, and the fruit showed amazing promise and early complexity. Being the vineyard’s first crop, the yield was small – so I imagine Danny Pecorelli, David Connell and the team will be reserving it for something special,” Gayler said.
Although the first vintage will likely remain limited and symbolic, the long-term aim is to build a distinctive vineyard identity that can be integrated into the wider guest experience at South Lodge – and to facilitate those connections to the wider public.
That experience has already begun to take shape. At the end of last year, the hotel hosted an event celebrating the inaugural harvest, allowing guests to pick grapes from the vineyard while also sampling a vinotherapy spa treatment developed using ingredients derived from the vines.
As the English wine industry matures, such rural hospitality partnerships will continue to play key roles. In Ridgeview’s case, the Sussex location offers a solid foundation from which to build consumer connections that feed back into retail demand.
“It’s really important for English wine to be part of every experience where it naturally fits. At Ridgeview, our philosophy is that life is for celebrating, and we align closely with brands and spaces that champion that – from big life moments to the everyday wins,” Gayler said.
Ridgeview Wine Estate is based at the foot of the South Downs near Ditchling in Sussex, where the Roberts family founded the estate in 1995. Today, the producer works with around 34ha of estate-owned vineyards, alongside fruit sourced from a wider network of growers across Sussex and neighbouring counties. Planted largely on chalk and clay soils, the vineyards are dedicated primarily to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier which form the backbone of Ridgeview’s traditional-method English sparkling wines.
