NYETIMBER

In 1988, as Lea & Sandeman was founded, the vines were being planted here in West Sussex. Few vineyards in England are better placed to exploit the similarity between the soils of the South Downs and those of the Champagne region in France than Nyetimber in West Sussex. But it took a couple from Chicago - Stuart and Sandy Moss - to bring the dream to life when they bought Nyetimber Manor in 1986. Vineyards followed from 1988 onwards, and the first vintage released was the 1992.

Nyetimber is now owned by Eric Heerema who already owned a vineyard in West Sussex when he bought Nyetimber in 2006 and had identified more land for planting. All were amalgamated into Nyetimber which now comprises some 350 acres, all planted to Chardonnay and the Pinots Noir and Meunier, making it at the time the biggest vineyard in England, and the first to use only these three Champagne varieties

Eric's greatest act was probably the hiring of married couple Cherie Spriggs and Brad Greatrex in 2007, who are both winemakers, with Cherie taking the 'head winemaker' role. The couple, who had tasted a bottle given to them by Cherie's parents and recognised the potential, have, as the Nytimber website puts it 'been integral to building Nyetimber into a sparkling wine producer that rivals the best in the world'.