Bolney Estate and Chapel Down increase capacity

Bolney Estate Sussex visitor centre is to increase in capacity by 120%, while Chapel Down is to build a new 26 acre, 9 million bottle wine making facility.

Chapel Down’s new winery will be a business park in Highland Court Farm in Canterbury, Kent, and will span 26 acres when complete, costing £20-30 million. It is unknown at this stage if they will keep their winery experience in Tenterden.

Bolney has made its first move since being purchased by Freixenet Copestick in January 2022. It has announced expanding its hospitality space to include two new tour rooms, a refreshed dining offering and a new lounge area, all of which will increase capacity by 120%. Freixenet Copestick owns Bolney Estate and is itself owned by the Henkell Freixenet Group, the largest specialist sparkling wine company by revenue with sales of of £1.1 billion in 2022. Some of the brands include Champagne Alfred Gratien, Gratien & Meyer Crémant, Segura Viudas Cava, Gloria Ferrer Californian Sparkling and Schloss Johannisberg Riesling. Some of these will be available to purchase at the Bolney Estate cellar door.