Budburst at The Weyborne Estate, West Sussex

Budburst at Weyborne Estate marks one of the most important moments in the English wine growing season — the point where the vineyard fully awakens after winter dormancy. It’s the beginning of the growing cycle for English sparkling wine, when the first green shoots emerge and the vineyard starts its quiet transformation towards harvest.

I recently visited the estate at exactly that moment. The vines were just beginning to push through, with soft green growth appearing across the rows and that unmistakable feeling that the season has properly turned. There’s something incredibly exciting about budburst in English viticulture — it’s subtle, but it sets everything in motion.

We were hosted by Managing Director Benjamin Abric, with rare access to Blackdown Park, the historic manor house set within the estate grounds. The setting felt almost cinematic: wisteria in full bloom, sweeping across the building, and Blackdown House sitting in the spring sunshine in a way that genuinely felt like stepping into Downton Abbey.

It was one of those English countryside wine experiences where history, landscape, and winemaking are completely intertwined.

We were also given an exclusive first tasting of new and emerging wines from Weyborne Estate — including base wines and upcoming releases still in development. Tasting wines at this stage is fascinating; you’re not just tasting the final product, but the direction the estate is moving in.

I especially loved their new rosé base wine — fresh, precise, and full of potential. It’s exciting to see how English rosé wine is evolving alongside the growth of English sparkling wine as a category.

What to pair with Weyborne Estate English sparkling wines:

If you’re enjoying their wines at home, keep food pairings seasonal, simple, and fresh: Crab on toast with lemon Asparagus with butter and sea salt. Smoked salmon with crème fraîche

These pairings work so well because they complement the acidity, elegance, and structure of English sparkling wine without overpowering it.

Budburst is only the beginning of the vineyard year, but it’s one of the most meaningful stages in English wine production. It’s a reminder that every bottle of English sparkling wine starts here — quietly, slowly, and with the promise of everything still to come.

Elizabeth Hawthorthwaite