MOUNT VINEYARD SHOREHAM: A VISITOR REVIEW.
I recently made my third visit to Mount Vineyard. It is a vineyard that I always recommend to friends, in part because of the location – close to Sevenoaks and accessible by train from London. But also because the service is invariably fab and I’ve never had a bad day out at Mount. In fact, I always leave feeling much more jolly than when I arrived…I wonder why.
Mount is the type of place you plan to visit for an hour or two and end up staying for much longer, getting tucked into wine or nibbling on a few small plates. It’s a great venue to meet friends, celebrate an occasion or go on a romantic date.
Far more than just a few vines and a tasting room, there’s a state of the art restaurant space and plenty of other nooks around the grounds. Mount Vineyard also host wine tasting and various events too. One thing I really love about Mount is that it is open all year, perfect for an out of season vineyard top up.
You can find out more about my recent visit to Mount below. This blog post should give you an idea of what to expect from visiting and dining at Mount.
About Mount Vineyard Shoreham
Mount Vineyard is a small wine producing estate in Shoreham, close to Sevenoaks in Kent. It was founded by a married couple – Simon and Sarah Greenwood in 2016 and remains as a family owned business.
What’s really lovely is that many of the same staff, including the General Manager have worked at Mount since it was set up – I think this consistency of staff shows. Mount Vineyard seems to have gone from strength to strength over the years – there are eight varieties of grape grown and multiple event and hospitality spaces.
What to expect when you visit Mount Vineyard
Mount Vineyard is a bit of an escape in the Kent countryside. As you approach, it feels a little like entering an exclusive country club. The driveway leads you through the vines, to the central visitor area. Here you’ll find the spacious Courtyard Restaurant with a retractable roof, making it ideal for all seasons in the UK.
More recently additional spaces have been added around the grounds. The Ten Acres shop (offering Mount’s wine to take home) and The Horsebox (selling hot drinks) – both of which can be enjoyed all year round. When the weather is fine, you can sit out in the Pond Garden, under The Wine Tipi or attend a wine tasting held on The Oak Terrace. There are also event spaces you can hire out for large groups.
The vineyard is surrounded by the countryside of the Kent downs. Whilst Shoreham itself is a quiet village with a pretty church and pub.
A visit to Mount Vineyard makes a great day out – whether for a wine tasting, or a bite to eat. Just remember to make a reservation. It is pretty darn popular!
The restaurant
Most visitors to Mount will grab a table at the ever-popular restaurant, especially if visiting out of summer. This is my third visit over the course of about seven years, and the architecture of the restaurant still feels modern and chic – a great space with an informal ambience. Made more so by the fact that children and dogs are welcome.
What I really love about the menu at Mount, is that your meal can be as elaborate or paired back as you like. Choose from a range of small plates – ideal if you just want a few picky bits and a glass of wine or two. Alternatively, you can settle in for a three course experience – appetizers including flat breads or sharing platters, stone baked pizza for main, then a sumptuous pudding afterwards. Paired with wine – naturally.
We opted for a selection of small plates between three people – spending something in the region of £60-£75. Whilst one of our group opted for a pizza. The small plates were attractively presented and satisfying, yet there were none that stood out as total taste sensations. The pizza however, was a delight – resulting in a little bit of food envy on our table.
Where things fell down a little for me, was the wine list. As Mount Vineyard produces only a small range of their own wine, they also serve international wines in the restaurant. I found the wine list a little bit plain. A few of the offerings felt quite overpriced, indeed even Mount Vineyard’s own bottles command a 30% premium to drink in the restaurant compared to the retail price.
At times you could forget you’re in an English vineyard – it would be great to have a few reminders. For example, I would love to see some other English wines on the menu, perhaps from nearby vineyards or other counties – I think this would make things a bit more interesting for diners. For non-wine drinkers, there’s a super selection of cocktails as well as a few draft and bottles beers or ciders, including a few British ones.
The wine
Mount Vineyard keeps their range of wine quite simple – there are only five available. Three still wines and two sparkling. If you do a wine tasting, I expect you’d get to sample the majority of the Mount Vineyard wines, if not all of them.
When I visited on a cold Autumn day – the Mount Vineyard still red wine was calling me. Named ‘Cellar Key’ the wine is a punchy blend of Rondo and Regent grapes. Jewel like in colour, so much so that it tinted the glass a rich purple, long after I’d finished my wine. It is a juicy, ripe and rich red wine similar to Shiraz – a great accompaniment to a meal. If a little on the expensive side for what it is.
Do note – the prices to drink Mount Vineyard wines in the restaurant are significantly higher than if you purchase in the shop. For example, the white is £35 in the restaurant versus £22 in the shop. Whilst the red is £32 in the restaurant and also £22 in the shop.
How to get to Mount Vineyard Shoreham
One of the main attractions of Shoreham Vineyard is the fact that it is extremely accessible by public transport. As one of the only vineyards on a direct line from London, where you don’t require a taxi, it is popular with day-trippers from the city. Either take a direct service from Blackfriars (stopping at stations in South East London) or from London Victoria (changing at Swanley.)
If you’re coming from elsewhere in Kent, you may have to change at Sevenoaks and travel a few short stops to Shoreham to get to Mount.
Just keep an eye on train times as services aren’t super regular. It’s easy to get carried away at Mount and turn into a pumpkin.
For hikers – you may be interested in the Otford and Shoreham circular walk. Mount Vineyard sits very helpfully on this route. I’ll be writing more about this soon!
Find out more and book
You can find out about the latest events at Mount Vineyard, book a wine tasting or reserve a table for lunch on the Mount Vineyard website.
Wine tasting is £35pp and takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Where to next?
A few of my favourite things
Looking for a gift for yourself or a wine lover in your life? Here are a few of my favourite English Wine things.
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