Bride Valley Vineyard

This vineyard is open by appointment only. Contact them directly to arrange a visit.

Vineyard tour & tasting by booking only. £25 per person.

Opening hours can change for private events - it's always worth checking the vineyard's website before you visit.

What's the vibe?

Set in the Bride Valley near Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, Bride Valley Vineyard has the feel of a working farm first and foremost, with wine firmly rooted in the landscape around it. Visits are low-key, focused, and shaped by the rhythm of the vineyard rather than a polished visitor centre experience.

Guided tours and tastings last around two hours, taking visitors through part of the 10-hectare estate before settling in for a tasting of the wines. Sessions are capped at 15 people, so advance booking is essential - tickets are available from the website from £25 per person. Children are welcome and attend free of charge.

Private tours and tastings can be arranged for groups wanting a more bespoke experience.

Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic and make an afternoon of it among the vines; wine can be purchased on the day to accompany it. Cheese pairings or picnic hampers are available on request.

On-site parking is available but limited; those visiting locally are encouraged to walk or cycle if possible. Well-behaved dogs are welcome on tours and in the tasting area, provided they remain on a lead throughout.

Bride Valley Vineyard is planted with classic sparkling wine varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier - across its 10-hectare site on chalk and limestone soils. The focus is on producing a small, tightly defined range of sparkling and still wines that reflect the site and vintage conditions.

The range includes the flagship Brut Reserve, Blanc de Blancs, Rosé Bella, and Dorset Crémant, alongside still Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Rosé. While the grapes are grown at Bride Valley, winemaking takes place off-site at a nearby winery, allowing the team to focus on vineyard work and fruit quality.

Bride Valley wines have received consistent recognition in national and international competitions across both sparkling and still categories. The vineyard follows sustainable farming principles and avoids synthetic inputs where possible. All wines are suitable for vegans.

Address: Bride Valley Vineyard, Litton Cheney, Dorset, DT2 9GE.

By car: The vineyard is located just south of the A35 between Bridport and Dorchester, with parking available on site. Approach directions vary depending on travel direction and are best checked before setting off.

By public transport: Dorchester South and Dorchester West are the nearest train stations, both around 9–10 miles away. Taxis are recommended. Local bus services run along the A35, but reaching the vineyard from bus stops requires a walk.

Book train tickets in advance via Trainline.

• Other Vineyards:
  • Furleigh Estate – Salwayash, Dorset
  • Langham Wine Estate – Crawthorne, Dorset
• Notable Restaurants:
  • The White Horse Inn, Litton Cheney – A traditional village pub known for local produce and Dorset ales.
  • The Ollerod, Beaminster – A long-established restaurant in a historic building, focused on seasonal cooking.
• Notable Hotels:
  • The Bridge House, Beaminster – A historic hotel and restaurant offering comfortable accommodation.
  • Graston Farm Cottages, Burton Bradstock – Self-catering cottages within easy reach of the vineyard.
• Notable Attractions:
  • Jurassic Coast – A UNESCO World Heritage coastline with dramatic cliffs and beaches.
  • Mapperton House and Gardens – A Jacobean manor with award-winning gardens near Beaminster.

Bride Valley was the life’s work of Steven Spurrier - though calling it a retirement project rather undersells it. Spurrier spent decades as one of the world’s most influential wine critics: founding L’Académie du Vin in Paris in 1973, opening a specialist wine shop on the Rue de la Madeleine, and eventually becoming consultant editor of Decanter magazine. But he’s best remembered for organising the 1976 Judgement of Paris.

That tasting - a blind comparison of California’s best wines against the finest from Bordeaux and Burgundy - ended with the Americans winning both categories. The French judges were mortified. The wine establishment was shaken. And the idea that great wine could only come from a handful of European appellations never quite recovered.

In 2009, at 68, Spurrier planted vines on his wife Bella’s farm in the Bride Valley. He’d had soil samples tested and found the chalk remarkably similar to Champagne. The result was a traditional-method English sparkling wine he was immensely proud of.

He also pulled off something that should, by rights, have been impossible. Crémant is an EU-protected designation, reserved for sparkling wines from specific French regions. But Spurrier applied for permission to use the term - and, seemingly on the strength of his reputation alone, the EU said yes. In 2018, Bride Valley released the UK’s first Crémant, under the protected name Dorset Crémant. No other British vineyard has the same right.

Spurrier died in 2021. The vineyard was sold in 2023 to local entrepreneurs Alasdair Warren and Mark Banham, who continue to make wine from the varieties he planted, on the land he chose.