Wine tasting room in Surrey Hills vineyard gets green light

A Surrey Hills winery has received planning permission to build a new wine tasting room.

The Tanhurst Estate, on the southern slopes of Leith Hill, began growing wine in 2020 as part of a move away from hay and dairy farming.

One of the owners told a Mole Valley District Council planning meeting that the wine tasting was necessary “to convince customers that our wine … is worth the money they pay for it. English wine“.

The committee members agreed unanimously. Local Democracy Service.

Colin Grimes told the meeting that the property had been in his wife’s family since 1826, but that in order to continue to use it for agricultural purposes, “we needed to find an alternative and economically viable way to manage the land.”

The southern slopes of the country are ideal for growing wine, as the berries can absorb as much sunlight as possible and the hilly terrain also ensures water drainage.

He said: “We are a small business and therefore rely on selling directly to the customer, and that requires interaction at the point of sale.”

“We need to use these barns for wine tastings and other events to convince customers that our wine is entirely made locally, is available and is worth the money they pay for English wine – once they see the time, passion and effort that goes into making it.”

The plans for Birketts Farm in Tanhurst Lane, Abinger, envisage the conversion of existing barns and their use for Wine tasting and the associated sales as well as for the organization of events and as a café.