ABOUT RIDGEVIEW

OUR STORY

In 1995, Mike and Christine Roberts planted their first vines beneath the South Downs, determined to make world-class sparkling wine in Sussex. Thirty years on, their ambition still shapes everything we do: quality and sustainability, from grape to glass.

Our greatest joy is to share this with you, to celebrate life’s big milestones and those little moments in between.

From a visit to our vineyard to raising a Ridgeview toast, there is always a joyful reminder, that…

Roberts Family

FAMILY ROOTS

In 1995, Mike and Christine Roberts planted their first vines at Ditchling Common, on a conviction almost nobody shared. Mike, an accountant turned software entrepreneur who had gone back to college to learn winemaking, had spotted what others missed: the chalk beneath the South Downs is the same seam that runs under Champagne, a hundred kilometres south. So while the rest of the country planted German varieties, they planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and committed to the traditional method.

They were proved right, and quickly. Our first release won English Wine of the Year in 2000, and Ridgeview has since been poured at Buckingham Palace state banquets, at Downing Street and for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

But they built something larger than a winery. Ridgeview became the place new growers came for advice, and Mike gave it freely — a quietly paternal figure in an industry that scarcely existed when he began. He was awarded an MBE for services to English wine in 2011 and died in 2014. Christine was beside him for every year of it; asked once what mattered in the end, his answer was a single line: his wife.

Tamara Roberts
Simon Roberts

THE SECOND GENERATION

What Mike and Christine planted, their children took on.

Tamara Roberts joined in 2004, leaving a career in law and finance to help her father expand the estate. She became Chief Executive in 2013 and led Ridgeview for the next thirteen years — from around fifty thousand bottles a year to close to half a million, through the building of a new winery in 2020, the opening of the Rows & Vine restaurant, and our founding membership of Sustainable Wines GB. Beyond Ridgeview she served as a director of WineGB and as President of the IWSC, and she remains one of the most influential figures in the rise of English sparkling wine. She stepped down as Chief Executive in 2026 and continues to champion Ridgeview and the wider English wine category.

Her brother Simon Roberts became Head Winemaker in 2014, and leads our winemaking still. He grew up alongside these vines and learned them row by row, and has since brought Ridgeview an extraordinary run of international recognition — including IWSC International Winemaker of the Year in 2018, the first time that title had ever gone to an English producer. Every bottle we make is made under his direction.

Simon Roberts Director of Winemaking Ridgeview Wine Estate Sussex England

FROM GRAPE TO GLASS

As specialists in cool climate viticulture and sustainable winemaking, our philosophy remains today as it always has been: exceptional quality from vine to glass.

We use only the finest, perfectly balanced grapes, handpicked in bunches and gently pressed. From fermentation through to ageing, blending and bottling, Simon Roberts and our winemaking team combine traditional methods with contemporary expertise.

Delicately crafted, our wines are distinctive in their purity, elegance and complexity, with a memorable moment to be found in every glass.

A PASSION FOR GOOD BUSINESS

We are a purpose-driven business committed to making a positive impact on the world around us. From the health of our planet to our customers and community, we strive to make our business a force for good.

Our ambition to be at the forefront of sustainable and ethical practices for the English Wine Industry, means making every step of our production journey as efficient, ethical and ecologically positive as possible, from vine to glass. As founder members of Sustainable Wines GB, we are committed to driving continuous improvements for a better future for all.

 

Sustainable and Ethical Practices

OUR GRAPE GROWERS

Alongside hand-picked grapes from the heritage vines on our home estate in Sussex, we partner with premiere vineyards across Southern England to source superior fruit from some of the greatest growers around.

Dedicated to their land and the grapes they grow, each vineyard plays an important part in the Ridgeview story.

“Diversifying our grape sources from select vineyards is key to the quality of wine we produce. All have very different characteristics and contribute something special to our English sparkling wine.”

Simon Roberts, Head Winemaker

Our Journey in Time

OURVIEW WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Get to the heart of England’s finest sparkling wine with Ridgeview’s award-winning wine club, OurView. Ridgeview wine club membership unlocks a host of exclusive benefits – from generous member pricing and access to rare archive wines to secret wine club events and so much more. Step into a whole new world of celebration as an OurView wine club member.

Life is for celebrating

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