Sample the best of British food and wine in Sussex

It is not necessary to cross the Channel to visit vineyards and taste fine wines as some of the best are being produced in Sussex, the centre of England’s wine country. Now with a climate and growing conditions that echo those of the Loire, Champagne and much of Germany, the Sussex vineyards produce award-winning white wines of exceptional taste and sophistication, that frequently win honours and medals even in France!

The village of Cuckfield is conveniently close to many of the county’s best vineyards and here Ockenden Manor, a delightful Elizabethan country house hotel full of character, comfort and quiet luxury, provides the perfect base from which to embark on a tasting tour.

Visiting the wineries is a pleasure in itself, but this is added to by virtue of the fact that they are located in some of England’s most beautiful countryside. They are also close to any number of charming market towns and villages and also the country’s most talked about seaside resort, Brighton.

Cuckfield is one of the prettiest villages in England and Ockenden Manor, set in nine acres of beautifully maintained grounds with views over the South Downs, has 22 suites and rooms and its Michelin starred restaurant is one of only two in Sussex.

Some of the well-established vineyards within easy reach of the hotel include Bookers at Bolney, a few minutes in the car or a two mile, well signed country walk away from the hotel. A short drive away is the interestingly named Breaky Bottom, situated in a beautiful fold of the Downs at Rodmell near historic Lewes, and Ridgeview at Ditchling, whose wines are stocked by Ockenden.

A little further away are other vineyards as well as the English Wine Centre at Alfriston where a whole range of wines including most of those produced in Sussex are available for tasting and purchase. The county’s vineyards are best known for the production of classy white and/or sparkling wines, many of which are more than a match for those produced by their European counterparts.

Ockenden Manor is a few minutes drive off the main A.23 London - Brighton road. Brighton is 10 miles south of the hotel and Gatwick Airport is 12 miles north. Dinner bed and breakfast at the hotel costs from £101 per person.

For further information visit Hshotels.co.uk.