Sugrue South Downs is in our opinion the most exciting boutique producer of top quality sparkling wines in England! This small estate has in a very short time won many top awards in England, and in 2025 the winery’s flagship wine – The Trouble With Dreams – was crowned as one of the top 50 wines in the world and ‘Best in Show’ at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

The winery is based just outside Hayward’s Heath, which is about 20kms to the north of Brighton in East Sussex. Their estate-owned vineyards are based on the chalky soils of the South Down hills, which are the epicentre of great quality sparkling wines in southern England.

The company was established in 2006 when Dermot Sugrue – then head winemaker at Nyetimber – was approached by a monastic order of Catholic priests to plant a vineyard at Storrington Priory in West Sussex. Later that year, Dermot left Nyetimber to establish vines at Wiston Estate, where he worked as head winemaker until 2022. The first release of Dermot’s own wine, The Trouble With Dreams, from the 2009 vintage rapidly gained critical acclaim and cemented his reputation as one of England’s finest winemakers. The staggering quality of the subsequent vintages has rapidly earned Sugrue South Downs a cult-like following.

Dermot’s wife, Ana, manages the business side of the winery, while Dermot looks after the winemaking.