Supplier Spotlight: Sandridge Barton Wines

We’re proud to have a network of fantastic, local suppliers around us in Devon, providing high-quality produce for our ever-changing menus. One such supplier is Sandridge Barton Wines, one of the earliest pioneers of the English wine industry, with a history stretching back over 40 years!

Beginning their wine-making journey on the Sharpham Estate in the 1980s, the team’s first Sharpham Wine quickly carved out its place in the industry, standing out from the more Germanic-style methods favoured by other English wine makers.

More than 40 years later, now based out of their vineyard in Stoke Gabriel near Totnes, the team at Sandridge Barton use a combination of modern and traditional techniques to produce a variety of delicious English wines, many of which we serve here at The Chagford Inn.

The team at Sandridge Barton uses a specialist sorting table to ensure that only the highest-quality fruit makes it into the press, and temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks allow for careful management of each fermentation, enabling all fruit to express its true character. They also employ the centuries-old method of maturing red wine in French oak barrels!

We love their constant dedication to sustainable viticulture, and it’s great to see (and taste!) the incredible quality of wines crafted on our own turf, in our cool climate and unique soil composition - a mixture of a sandy loam, volcanic tuff, and limestone.

We recently visited Sandridge Barton for one of our team enrichment days, stopping for a tasty breakfast on the way, and allowing staff to learn first-hand about the production process and history of the business.

We toured the vineyard and met some of their fantastic staff (all of whom were lovely and hugely enthusiastic about what they do!), before sitting down with Trade Accounts Manager, Laura Henderson for a wine tasting. She also chatted through Sandridge Barton’s processes, history and the story behind their ‘Don’t Feed The Ponies’ wine - an experimental range that raises 25p per bottle for Dartmoor Preservation Association.

Thank you to the whole crew at Sandridge Barton for supplying such delicious English wines, and for welcoming our team to your vineyard!