Gusbourne
Romney Marsh
Gusbourne Estate takes its name from its erstwhile owner in 1410, John de Goosebourne, whose coat of arms depicting three geese and a dry bourne still hangs from the beams in the Norman church of Appledore village. Over the centuries, the spelling (and pronunciation) of the estate name changed to “Gusbourne”.
In 2004, when our founder Andrew Weeber planted the first vines on Gusbourne Estate’s coastal escarpment in Kent, in the far South Eastern corner of England, he had a clear vision and a single goal: to create English Sparkling Wines that would stand up alongside the very finest offerings from across the globe. We’ve had our sights set on perfection ever since.
Focusing on just the classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, we believe that the only way to ensure the quality of our grapes is to grow them ourselves. That’s why the grapes used in our winemaking are sourced solely from Gusbourne vineyards.
Our vineyards are blessed with a very special terroir: our Wealden clay-loam soils combined with an exceptionally warm and dry maritime climate enables us to be the first to harvest in England, whilst our proximity to the sea provides a distinctive salty tang to the wines.
These privileged growing conditions allow us to make wines that are exclusively vintage, which is very unusual in England. Each vintage is a unique expression of each growing season, and presents an authentic reflection of a time and place.
Our vines are tended with great care and attention to the environment, using only organic fertilisers, and over half of the vines planted are Burgundian (rather than Champagne) clones. This means that we produce lower yields (brought lower still by green harvests every year), but the resultant fruit is riper and has significantly more flavour, making our grapes ideal for the production of fine wines.
Our Traditional Method Sparkling winemaking is a slow and measured process. We have an uncompromising quest for quality and a fastidious approach to detail. We follow strict, self-imposed parameters (for example at pressing the free run and tail are separated and only the first pressing used) to maintain our exacting standards and keep intervention to an absolute minimum to ensure the best expression of our wines each and every year.
Gusbourne is the only three-time winner of the International Wine & Spirits Challenge English Wine Producer of the Year – having won the award in 2013, 2015 and 2017. We are the proud recipients of over 200 awards at international competition. We were awarded 23 gold medals and 8 trophies in 2019 alone.
Today, we supply leading restaurants in the UK and abroad such as The Fat Duck, Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, L’Enclume, AOC, and The Clove Club. We have exclusive sparkling wine listings at Whatley Manor, The Langham and The Corinthia Hotels, as well as Mandarin Oriental, Chatham Bars Inn, The Umstead, The Park Hotel Vitznau, Fearrington House, Grosvenor House, The Fontenay, The Athenaeum, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Hotel, Moor Hall and Northcote. We are the official English Sparkling Wine supplier of the Goodwood Estate, and our wines can be enjoyed onboard the Belmond British Pullman and Cunard cruise ships. The wines can be found at esteemed retailers including Berry Bros. & Rudd, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Fenwick and Fortnum & Mason as well as many independent, specialist wine merchants, including Hedonism, Lea & Sandeman and Jeroboam’s in London and many more across the UK. Our wines are also served in the Royal Households.
