Having recently been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise and named the first UK vineyard and winery to produce certified Net Zero wine, Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking is going from strength-to-strength. Denbies Vineyard Hotel remains something of a hidden gem, however, boasting spectacular views and its Wine Library Brasserie & Bar. Matthew Williams visits for a night among the vines.
Photos: Opening shot - Denbies; review shots - Matthew Williams
REVIEW: If you haven't been paying attention, you might have missed Denbies Wine Estate quietly building a one-stop experience empire across its sprawling 380 acres near Dorking.
On any given day of the week, you can visit this picturesque corner of the Surrey Hills National Landscape for a whole bunch of activities.
As well as the daily indoor and outdoor wine tasting tours, there are secret vineyard tours, brunch and bubbles, sparkling afternoon teas, live music on the lawn, food and wine matching, lunch in the Gallery restaurant… the list goes on.
And that's before you even think about shopping local at Village Greens Farm Shop, coffee cupping at Chimney Fire Coffee, beer sipping at Surrey Hills Brewery, practising yoga and more at SHP Health, browsing the ever-changing art gallery, hiring bikes at Just Pedal, taking part in Park Run or, new for 2025, distilling at the incoming Dorking Distillery.
Suffice to say, there's a whole lot to fit into a visit to Denbies. It truly is a grape escape – and all only an hour away from London.
A hotel among the vines
It’s just as well then that they launched Denbies Vineyard Hotel in 2019.
At the time, it was the very first vineyard hotel in the UK and, ever since, it has given visitors the opportunity to not only fully embrace everything on site but also to explore the beautiful surrounding Surrey Hills - with the likes of Box Hill, Leith Hill, Polesden Lacey and Dorking town centre all on the doorstep.
Denbies Wine Estate was founded in 1984 by local entrepreneur Adrian White and today it continues to be run by his son, Chris. The family’s ambitions have seen Denbies receive numerous awards in recent years, including the King’s Award for Enterprise in 2025, as well as various international trophies for their wines.
They were also named the first UK vineyard and winery to produce certified Net Zero wine last year and achieved B Corp certification, which underscores their dedication to sustainable practices and ethical business. Denbies Vineyard Hotel is itself carbon neutral and largely powered by solar panels.
Not bad for a former pig farm (note: the history of the estate is actually far more fascinating and complex than that, with royal connections dating back to Prince Albert in 1851 – but that’s for another day).
The earth has music for those who listen
Here, I have to admit, that Denbies is a place that is close to my heart. It was where my initial excursions into English wine took place; I visited James May’s Lego house build there in 2009; I got to enjoy a bottle of their Chalk Ridge Rose 2010, which was named the best rosé in the world; I watched Prince Charles wine tasting in the cellars in 2011; I’ve seen friends get married there; and I’ve enjoyed many, many walks just for the sheer thrill of the views. You get the picture – but Denbies has a habit of becoming part of your life once you’ve visited for the first time.
The panoramas at Denbies match any of the great wine regions in the world. But, day-to-day, lucky locals stroll through with their dogs, cyclists whizz in off the Leith Hill Greenway, wine trains full of eager tourists wind their way up through the vines, artists settle down at their easels capturing the scene and, all the while, swallows and swifts swoop overhead. It really is a community all in its own right.
The vineyard itself is a patchwork of grape varieties that are suited to cool-climate wine production, including Bacchus, Ortega, Reichensteiner and Rondo, as well as classic varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. As well as producing award-winning wines, which are all produced on site in the state-of-the-art winery, it means there is always something of interest happening.
The success of wine in the Surrey Hills should perhaps have been no surprise, as the chalk hills of the North Downs were connected to the Champagne area of France millions of years ago and so share the same geology and soil. Denbies, however, was leading the way with their attempts to prove the fact when few really believed that English wine was the future.
It’s a gloriously sunny day when we visit, so we stroll to the highest point of the vineyard where you can enjoy the panoramic views over Dorking and towards Box Hill.
At the top, you’ll find Radius, a sculptural seat that is part of the Surrey Hills Arts’ Inspiring Views project. An inscription reads “The Earth Has Music For Those Who Listen” and, looking out over Denbies, you hear it.
Wine and dine with a view
At the heart of this bustling estate, hidden away behind the chateau-style visitor centre with views straight into and over the 265 acres of vines, Denbies Vineyard Hotel has 17 well-appointed rooms spread across its 1850s farmhouse and adjacent two-storey annexe. It's also home to the Wine Library Brasserie & Bar.
During the day, the Wine Library Brasserie & Bar serves Food & Wine Matching sessions and Sparking Afternoon Teas before being transformed into an all-singing, all-dancing brasserie for the evening. While you’re there, do make sure to poke your head into the stylish Wine Library, which has a floor to ceiling wine wall displaying Denbies’ vintages dating back to 1993.
Following our walk, we settle down with a glass of Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2015 outdoors on the terrace, just as the sun begins to slink towards the horizon.
Our wine of choice was awarded a silver medal (with a score of 90 out of 100) in the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards, and there is something about sipping a glass of wine that was grown and produced only metres away from your table that makes it all the more magical.
The bar and brasseries are open to the public and, as well as a wide selection of Denbies wines by the glass and bottle, there’s a comprehensive cocktails list, beers, gins and international red wines (as well as Denbies’ own Redlands). You can even book a cabana for a group hideaway.
Seasonal flavours and sights
As the temperature drops, we head indoors for our meal with the last of the sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and bathing everything in a gorgeous golden glow.
There’s a row of Denbies wines behind us, the tables are well spaced and placed to take advantage of the views, and the service is friendly and attentive.
The menu is short and seasonal but with enough variety to keep even the most picky eater happy – the varied dishes also offer plenty of scope to explore all the different wines that are on offer.
We choose to keep things simple and order a bottle of Denbies’ Pinot Gris 2023, which is only made in the best of years. It proves to be a perfect accompaniment for our meal, bursting with its palate of nectarines and almonds.
To start, we opt for the Wild Mushroom Arancini with tomato and artichoke salad, garlic and lemon aioli and the Smoked Mackerel Rillette with chive emulsion, sourdough crouton and cucumber salsa.
As hoped, the arancini is a delicious contrast of textures with its golden coating breaking open to reveal a rich and creamy risotto interior.
Meanwhile, piling the smoked mackerel rillette onto the sourdough crouton followed by a sip of the glorious white and a peek at the vineyard view, you can easily imagine yourself transported to some riverside chateau in the Loire Valley. Idyllic.
Onto the mains and I could have eaten a bowlful of the mushroom and garlic cream sauce that tied together my pan-roasted chicken main. Seriously enjoyable and homely cooking.
Sylviane’s pan-seared salmon fillet with green beans, sorrel, samphire buttered potatoes and hollandaise is a tasty little number – simple but full of flavour.
There’s nothing overly flamboyant going on here but it’s all good, solid and well-priced eating to be enjoyed in a relaxed and stylish environment with views that are hard to beat. It’s an extremely well put together package.
I finish with the burnt Basque cheesecake with berry compote, which hits the spot, while Sylviane cleans up the cheese selection.
We finish our meal with another stroll among the vines as dusk settles into its well-rehearsed routine. Time at Denbies moves at its own pace and we suspect those swifts and swallows may have transformed into bats by the time we return to the hotel.
The stillness of a night in a vineyard
Then it’s up to our room in the perfect peace of The Brokes annexe. With Denbies such a hive of activity during the day, it takes a bit of getting used to it in the stillness of the night but it makes for a very restful sleep. The bed is extremely comfortable, the bathroom is well looked after, there’s a fridge, coffee machine, TV and there’s art on the walls - but the real art it out the windows. Do we really have to leave?
Breakfast takes place back in the Wine Library Brasserie & Bar, with the fresh morning air and sunshine among the vines proving to be a perfect start to the day. There’s a small continental offering, as well as a selection of juices, including Denbies’ grape juice, and a top-quality cooked breakfast. The full English goes down a treat, and is swiftly followed by another walk. When in Denbies…
All that is left to say is: if you’ve been thinking about booking Denbies Vineyard Hotel for the night, then do it. There really is nothing quite like a walk among the vines as the sun sets and then waking up to the same vineyard view to make you feel like you're on holiday - even if you're only a few miles from home.
- Denbies Vineyard Hotel at Denbies Wine Estate, Bradley Lane, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6AA. For more information, visit their website.
- Share your favourite Surrey hotels, pubs and restaurants with us on social media at @visitsurrey and @foodchatmatt
What we ate
Starters
Wild Mushroom Arancini with tomato and artichoke salad, garlic and lemon aioli, £10.95
Smoked Mackerel Rillette with chive emulsion, sourdough crouton and cucumber salsa, £11.45
Mains
Pan roasted chicken with pomme gratin, honey glazed carrots, tenderstem broccoli, mushroom and garlic cream sauce, £21.95
Pan seared salmon fillet with green beans, sorrel, samphire buttered potatoes and hollandaise, £22.50
Desserts
Burnt Basque cheesecake with berry compote, £9.25
Cheese selection, £14.95
Drinks
Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2015, £13.50 a glass
Pinot Gris 2023, £38 a bottle
Book your stay
Staying at Denbies Vineyard Hotel starts at £175 (room only) for a classic double room with en-suite bathroom. There are then various options to enhance your stay including bed and breakfast; dinner and breakfast; and packages including the Surrey Hills Wine Retreat, which includes food and wine matching as well as bed and breakfast and dinner. Find out more at www.denbies.co.uk/accommodation.
While you’re there
- Box Hill - 0.9 miles
- Dorking – 1.5 miles
- Polesden Lacey – 3.6 miles
- Vineyards of the Surrey Hills – across Surrey
