English sparkling wine producer Bailey Hills Estates to open visitor centre and winery at Bishop’s Stortford vineyard

A husband and wife team are looking forward to adding some extra sparkle to Bishop’s Stortford by opening the doors to their own vineyard.

Dylan and Eloise Ford were inspired to enter the growing industry of English sparkling wine while holidaying in France.

They have turned their dream into reality in the form of their Bailey Hills Estates brand, based in a picturesque setting close to their countryside home at Wickham Hall.

The vines were planted soon after they moved in seven years ago and the finishing touches are now being put on a visitor centre and a winery, with the latter meaning their premium products can be produced onsite in the very near future.

And they are hoping to welcome their first guests to sample their wines in the stunning surroundings by early September.

“The journey’s been very exciting, very long and there’s been a lot of patience involved,” said Eloise.

“To go from dreaming about it, when we were sat in vineyards in Provence, to now... this is exactly what we imagined.

“We’ve got this stunning architectural building right in front of the grapes and we’re really proud to be bringing it to Stortford.”

Dylan grew up in the town, attending Northgate Primary School and The Bishop’s Stortford High School, and is a builder by trade. Eloise, who hails from Ware but went to Bishop’s Stortford College for sixth form, trains recruitment consultants.

The couple, who have been married for 13 years, have three children. Eight-year-old Edy and Henry, 10, both go to Northgate while eldest George, 12, attends Hockerill Anglo-European College.

Both Dylan and Eloise, who also run an Airbnb property close to their home, are keeping up their day jobs while putting in the hours with their new business.

They bought Bailey Hills in 2018 and soon got to work hand-planting 5,280 vines across four acres, a task which took four people a fortnight to complete. They have always liked the idea of having a vineyard and decided the countryside at Wickham Hall was the ideal spot, having also considered a site in Sawbridgeworth.

The couple did their due diligence and Dylan embarked on a course in vineyard management and wine making at Plumpton College in East Sussex. They plan to have a full-time wine maker working for them, but he wanted to know all about the process.

At the vineyard they are growing three classic Champagne grapes for English sparkling wine: pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay.

The climate now in this part of the country is very similar to what it was in Champagne around 30 years ago, and English sparkling wines are creating a real buzz in the industry.

Bailey Hills Estates has crafted a sparkling rosé and a classic cuvée, with plans to produce a blanc de blancs in the future. It uses a traditional method which sees the wines have a second fermentation in the bottle.

The aim is to produce between 8,000 and 10,000 bottles a year, with the wines produced from the 2021 and 2022 harvests ready to be sold at the official launch.

Those first wines were produced at Chilford Hall, near Cambridge, while the 2023 and 2024 batches were made by Defined Wine in Kent.

By building their own winery, Dylan and Eloise will be able to produce their Bailey Hills Estates wines in-house as well as making wines for other local vineyards.

The visitor centre, which is nearing completion, will include a bar, terraces and tasting room while a function room will be used to host events. Tours and tastings will be held along with pop-up events such as supper clubs.

“It’s been a long journey, but an enjoyable journey,” said Dylan.

“It’s bringing something nice to Stortford. You get a lot of people saying Stortford’s changing, but it’s changing for the better as well. I do love Stortford and always have done.”

It has been a learning curve for the couple, with canopy management being very important to keep diseases like powdery mildew and downy mildew on the vines down.

They have been delighted to be welcomed into the English sparkling wine industry and made some great friends and contacts, with other producers more than happy to pass on their expertise and give advice.

Creating jobs for local people is important to Dylan and Eloise while sustainability is another key consideration, with the installation of solar panels just one of the ways they are making the business as green as possible.

“We really want everyone to feel proud and excited just like we are about it,” said Eloise.

“I honestly cannot wait to open the doors and welcome everyone in. It’s adding some extra sparkle into Stortford.”

To keep up to date ahead of the official opening, sign up for the Bailey Hills Estate newsletter at https://baileyhills.co.uk and follow @BaileyHillsWine on social media.