Balfour Winery

"Balfour Winery Announces Record-Breaking 2024..." We are proud to share a remarkable year at Balfour Winery, with achievements that set a strong foundation for future growth: - 20% sales growth expected, driven by key listings with major retailers and a renewed focus on the on-trade. - Visitor numbers increased from 20,000 to 45,000, solidifying our position as England’s leading vineyard visitor destination. - Awarded Gold at the VisitEngland Beautiful South Awards, recognising our commitment to excellence. Looking ahead to 2025, we are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Board, under the leadership of our owner, Leslie Balfour-Lynn: Lee Hart, Group Operations Director Fergus Elias, Director of Wine Adam Williams, Commercial Director Rose Jones, Finance Director Leslie Balfour-Lynn commented, “The English wine industry is a challenging space, but by delivering exceptional visitor experiences and producing world-class wines, we have achieved extraordinary results. The new board brings a wealth of expertise to lead us into the next chapter, with ambitious growth targets and exciting new product launches in 2025.” We would like to thank our customers, visitors, and partners for their ongoing support, and we look forward to another successful year ahead. #BalfourWinery #EnglishWine #Leadership #Innovation https://lnkd.in/ei5Xs8xp

The wait is over. Leslie’s Reserve Red NV, one of the most innovative and approachable English sparkling wines, is back for the festive season. Crafted in the traditional Champagne method by our Director of Wine, Fergus Elias, this vibrant red fizz has become a sell-out favourite. With fewer than 1,000 bottles available, it’s the perfect choice for everything from festive feasts to relaxed evenings by the fire. As featured in this beautiful video created by Alannah Wood. Rich, elegant, and utterly unique, Leslie’s Reserve Red NV adds a touch of magic to every celebration. Available now – don’t miss the sparkle of the season. #EnglishWine #ChristmasDrinks #Vineyard

Last night, we were delighted to pick up the VisitEngland Beautiful South Tourism Awards Gold for Small Visitor Attraction of the Year! This is an incredible result for our team, and particular our Tourism Director Sarah Easton, Operations Director Lee Hart our fantastic front of house team, our Tour Guides, and everyone who helps makes Balfour one of, if not THE, best English Winery to visit! We now join the race for the national award. As we head into the festive season, our visitor centre remains open seven days a year for your winter strolls and last-minute gifts.

Available only from our winery this December, introducing our first ever Fortified Wine - the Balfour 45! Balfour 45, our inaugural fortified wine and an English first pioneered in Kent, is a highly limited release of exactly 100 bottles. Crafted from Gatehouse Pinot Noir 2020 and aged for three years in demi-johns, it combines Pinot Noir with grape spirit distilled by Anno Distillers using leftover grape skins from our own Hush Heath Estate, along with RCGM. This meticulous process balances dry fermentation with back-sweetening, resulting in a rich, warm, and uniquely English fortified wine that showcases innovation and sustainability in winemaking. Only 100 bottles available, so be sure to visit us soon...

Yesterday was truly special at the winery. We had the honour of welcoming 80 local members of the Marden Dementia 'Come & Sing Group' and their carers for a proper Christmas lunch, topped off with some amazing festive carols. Colleagues from across the winery joined in (with varying levels of musical talent...), and it felt like the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season. To our guests and the carers who give so much, thank you for allowing us to be part of your day. Hosting you was a privilege, and we’re already looking forward to the next time we can all come together like this. Here’s to the magic of Christmas and the power of community. 🎄

I’m blessed to have the beautiful Balfour Winery on my doorstep. Let Opulence - Bespoke Wine Experiences introduce you to this amazing venue. #corporatehospitality #englishwine

Thanks to SquareMeal for recognising our iconic Balfour Brut Rosé 2019 as one of their "Best English Sparkling Wines", describing it as : "Notes of sherbet on the nose and a more rounded fruity flavour on the palate, without being too sweet or overbearing. This one’s worth the price tag and was one of the best rosés we tried" Also featuring in the list is our superb value Tesco Finest English Sparkling Brut, made exclusively for the retailer and one of our most popular wines. Find the full selection, including some other stunning options from our fellow English Wineries, here https://lnkd.in/e27gpkY9

Our 20th consecutive (and longest ever) Harvest has come to an end*. A year which has challenged our partner growers and incredibly vineyard teams, but has yielded some exciting results over all. This will still be our 2nd largest vintage ever, and our Director of Wine Fergus Elias has given his thoughts on the quality - and ones to watch - below. A huge, huge thank you to our brilliant winery team, who have once more worked around the clock over a very prolonged period to bring it in. And to all our wonderful growers and vineyard teams for producing Vintage 2024. Here's to the next 20 years! *Minus our late ripening Albariño which is due even later this month! https://lnkd.in/eEMXctxH

Did you know, that at Balfour we also operate a network of ten superb country pubs and venues - alongside our winery, Cellar Door and restaurant? Our Cotswold home has just been awarded an AA Rosette for Culinary Excellence - an incredible achievement for our young team, and the first site in our group to achieve it. Huge congratulations to all our Balfour Hospitality colleagues - we know how highly deserved this is, and how much work went into achieving it.

Harvest Day 29: The weekend’s here, but the crew’s off duty – they’ve earned it! Reportedly recharging at a discotheque in London (where they find the energy, I don’t know). Meanwhile, today’s work is all about processing some special Pinot Noir from Brisenden family vineyards, including the standout ‘old block’ Pinot – one of the oldest Pinot plots in England (circa 1900, frozen to death and all). We’re making a limited red from this block, just a few hundred bottles. Yeast talk for the wine geeks: this year, I’m using a special concoction just for this block, veering from my usual protocol. With help from the Institut Oenologique de Champagne (IOC), we’ve chosen Smoozeberry as our main yeast – it enhances color, structure, and brings out deep berry aromas, a great match for this heritage Pinot. I’ve added a touch of Dynamix as well, another IOC yeast, which lends subtle spice and aromatic lift – perfect for the open-top ferment we’re doing here. The rest of the Pinot goes to the press for sparkling base. About 150 tonnes left to pick, aiming to finish by Friday. Cheers to the home stretch! Balfour Winery Emma Barlow