D’Urberville Vineyard was established in 2011, on part of old Poundbury Farm by Colin Hawkins. His grandfather was acquainted with famous Dorset author Thomas Hardy, hence the name D’Urberville Vineyard.

It had always been a fancy of Colin's to own a vineyard, and in 2011 this idea became a reality. The south-facing vineyard was planted in a field on the farm which he had always earmarked for the vineyard.  It is a five acre,  south facing, chalky,  sloped field, geologically similar to the terrior of vineyards found throughout the Champagne region of France. The classic champagne grape varieties of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay form the backbone of our vineyard which contains over 5,000 vines.  The Bacchus grape variety planted as a new addition in 2014 with the intention of making some still white Bacchus wine in the years to come. 

 The first harvest was in 2014 and the Traditional Method of barrel fermentation followed by two years ageing in the bottle was used to produce this fantastic Award Winning first release of D'Urberville English Sparking Wine.

In time, we are hoping to be able to offer vineyard tours and tastings, so if this is something you would be interested in, please do get in touch. 

D’Urberville Vineyard has just been awarded a Gold Medal at the Independent English Wine Awards 2021 and a Silver Medal at the South West Independent Wine Association Awards 2018.  These awards are a fantastic accolade for us in our early years of production!