Few winemakers command the reverence afforded to Dermot Sugrue—an Irish-born visionary whose name now echoes through the cellars of critics, collectors and, indeed, King Charles III himself. Often described as the finest winemaker in England, Sugrue has carved out a place at the pinnacle of modern sparkling wine through relentless craft, intellectual rigor and an unwavering belief in the land beneath his feet.
Dermot Sugrue
His Sussex winery, a converted tractor shed nestled into the folds of the South Downs, is far removed from the polished image often associated with luxury wines. Yet this is precisely where the magic happens.
The Sugrue family’s vineyard is based in Sussex.
Here, alongside his wife and winemaking partner Ana, Sugrue coaxes extraordinary elegance from England’s increasingly dynamic terroir. It is physical work, boots caked in soil, hoses wrangled by hand but the results are wines that critics describe as tense, electric, profoundly mineral, and unmistakably English.
Sugrue South Downs is run by husband-and-wife duo Dermot and Ana Sugrue.
The breakthrough came with The Trouble With Dreams, a cuvée first produced in 2009, whose magnum release recently won Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards, an unprecedented honor for an English sparkling wine. It caught the attention of the world, and reinforced the faith of notable admirers, from veteran critic Hugh Johnson to King Charles III, who personally selects Sugrue’s wines for state banquets.
Investors Hugh Bonneville and Robin Hutson at Sugrue’s launch
Sugrue South Downs, now fully independent, has become a beacon of originality. Labels such as Bonkers, Zodo, and his new Crouch Valley Pinot Noir challenge both convention and expectation, revealing a winemaker unafraid of edges, austerity, and bold stylistic decisions. The wines are not designed for the masses; they are crafted for those who seek nuance, energy, and narrative.
Sugrue wines reflect the originality and ambition behind each bottle.
As the English wine industry matures, Sugrue stands as one of its defining architects, a farmer-philosopher whose bottles reflect not only chalk and climate, but ambition, resilience and a touch of mischief. For those wishing to taste the future of English wine, the queue begins just behind His Majesty.