The Winemaker Who Found Freedom in English Wine | Platinum Magazine, August 2026
Cara-Lee Dely is the head winemaker at Bolney Wine Estate in Haywards Heath – but her wine story began not in a vineyard but on aeroplanes.
Cara-Lee’s father was an aviation photographer in South Africa, known for shooting aircraft from other aircraft. Inspired by his exploits, flying defined her early life - she was training for her pilot’s licence and imagining a future in helicopters and search and rescue.
Then, tragically, everything changed. Cara-Lee’s father was lost in a plane crash. For four days, Cara-Lee was the point of contact while the aircraft was missing, until her father was found dead at the crash site.
“My story always starts there,” Cara-Lee says, “because it’s part of who I am today.”
Wine wasn’t her plan – but it found her all the same. A chance visit to a South African estate called Packwood Wines (her mother’s maiden name) changed everything. What started as curiosity became a career, focused on the science, the creativity and the pace of harvest. From Packwood, Cara-Lee trained at leading South African wineries before moving to England, where she now oversees winemaking and operations at Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex.
“I want a life with passion and adventure,” she says. “Where I can work hard but still go home and do the things I love.”
Work-life balance is something she actively builds. Cara-Lee and her mother travel together, often choosing experiences most people wouldn’t consider. Recently they went husky sledding in Svalbard, navigating glaciers in minus 30 degrees and spotting polar bears and Arctic foxes. Next up for the dynamic duo is a 10k run in Maranello, starting at the Ferrari factory.
“It’s about time together,” she says. “If we finish it, great. If we don’t, it doesn’t matter.”
I’ve spent time in South Africa myself, and it’s one of the few regions that consistently over-delivers and offers some of the best quality-to-price wine in the world. It’s well worth exploring – but first, make sure to sample some of Cara-Lee’s fabulous English wines from Bolney.
Bolney Classic Cuvée NV (Sainsbury £35)
The flagship, made in the traditional method, Chardonnay-led, with around 18 months on lees, it delivers everything you want from English sparkling; precision, freshness, balance. It’s available for around £35 in a category where prices often push well beyond £40 or £50. This is not a “save for best” bottle.
Speaking of which, sparkling wine still has a perception problem. Too many people are waiting for the right moment.
Don’t. The moment is when you open it. That first pop of the cork, that first glass poured - that’s the occasion.
There’s also a quiet shift happening in how we’re serving these wines. The traditional flute is starting to fall out of favour. It looks beautiful, but it doesn’t do the wine many favours. Those narrow glasses restrict aromatics and close everything down. Instead, we’re seeing a move towards a wider, tulip-shaped or even white wine glass. Something with a bit of room. You keep the energy of the bubbles, but you actually get the aromas (the citrus, the brioche, the orchard fruit) which is where the real character sits.
Chardonnay 2022 (£30)
Made from Essex fruit, Bolney’s chard sits at around 12% alcohol, with orange blossom, bright apples and apricot with a subtle touch of oak and a nice texture. I love the fact they source the grapes from the best place in England for still Chardonnay – my home county of Essex!
Cara-Lee recommends pairing this with grilled fish, summer salads, or minted lamb with sweet potato. Relaxed, unfussy, and to enjoy with friends.
Serve Chardonnay in the biggest wine glass you have - we want the wine to open up in the glass and take it out of the fridge fifteen minutes before you want to pour a glass.
Lychgate Rosé 2023 (£16)
Bolney’s English Rosé is stocked in Sainsbury’s and Tesco – this wine has been a passion project for Cara-Lee over the past few years. It’s one for summer, with Provencal vibes, turning up pale pink in its gorgeous bottle. This wine is fresh and lightly textured, with notes of rhubarb and grapefruit. It’s the kind of wine you open for lunch, in the garden, with friends dropping by. And yes, if you want to add ice on a hot day, add ice. Or my top tip so as not to dilute the wine is to use frozen grapes instead of ice cubes. Cheers!
Elizabeth Hawthorthwaite for Platinum Magazine, August 2026
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