Speciality Food September 2025

The operation centres around the barn, oast house, restaurant and vineyard, with vines planted in 2017, and the gates flung open to the public in 2019...just a fewmonths before Covid struck. Late summer/early autumn 2024 will be an exciting time for Tierney, who has beenwaiting patiently for seven years, for the estate’s vineyard to come to full fruition, having relied until now (as all vineyards do) on bottling wines blended using grapes fromother wineries in order to kickstart production. “Last year was the tipping point for the vineyard,” he says. “Each vine produces a bit of fruit each year until it matures at eight years. We are at year seven, so we’ve had to buy some wine in, but this year is the first year we’ve been able to use our own grapes - it’s 50 tonnes fromTillingham, and 20 tonnes bought in. I’mhoping that for the 2024 vintage it will be all Tillingham’s wine.” As the climate evolves, withmilder weather experienced especially in the East, Southeast andWestern parts of the UK, vineyards are becoming commonplace, with the industry here having been utterly transformed fromwhat used to be thought of as a novelty, hobbyist endeavour, to big business. Some of France’s top-flight makers have even started investing in English plots. To farmers with shops thinking about diversifying into winemaking, Tierney jokes “it’s a great way to turn a big fortune into a small one”. He adds, though, that with proper planning, “The demographic ismoremixed than I could ever have imagined really,” she says. “It’s definitely ‘Insta- friendly’ which has helped, and we’re finding younger people are becoming more interested inwine, and they’re looking for more sustainable restaurants.” Head of wine, Tierney Beames, adds, “Covid, and Brexit created the perfect storm for people seeking an experience. The thing about not being able to travel so easily post-Covid was that it created a real spike in Englishwine tourism. When people were allowed tomove again freely, but travel was restricted to the UK, it was an interesting shift.” At the time of writing, Tillingham farmhas a small shop selling its own wines, and homemade pickles and saucesmade using produce from the kitchen garden, with a larger farmshop due to open imminently, enhancing an already strong offering. “We’ll be selling our own lamb and lots more,” reveals Nikki. “We’ve got big ambitions, and we’re super excited.” The TillinghamEstate is owned by Lord and Lady Davenport, who were impressed, in 2017, by Tierney’s vision to develop part of their land into a biodynamic vineyard. “There wasn’t much on the land other than derelict buildings,” explains Nikki, “and in themiddle there was an old Dutch Barn. In the original plans that was going to be removed, but a designer came in and worked with themand actually convinced them to keep it, whichwas definitely the right idea.” 42 @specialityfood T he most joyful thing about Britain’s farm shops is their diversity. Like fingerprints, no two are the same. While you know exactly what you’re going to find in identikit multiples, as you step over the threshold of a farm shop or food hall, the magic is in the discovery. Of home-rearedmeat. The freshest vegetables, recently plucked from the ground, still dusty with soil. Cakes baked on site. Local produce, carefully chosen from small independents. Some farm shops are rustic ‘side of the road’ jobs. Away to generate extra profit from surplus milk, eggs or fruits. At the other end of the scale, are huge, multi-purpose operations, skillfully combining growing and rearing with retail, on-site dining, family attractions, and somuchmore. The Covid pandemic proved to bolster the popularity of the farm shop experience. As, often, the only port of call at the time for essentials, they were introduced to a whole new audience of shoppers –many of whomhave stayed loyal, continuing to champion what’s ‘on their doorstep’. Bucolic Tillingham is part of a new- gen wave of farm shops appealing to this younger crowd, according to marketingmanager Nikki Cochrane, who says the estate, and what it has to offer (from shopping, to its own wine and vineyard tours, and dining) has exploded in popularity amongst the 25 to 35-year-old crowd, who, she’s told, have more often than not been lured to East Sussex by Instagramor TikTok content. knowing you’re in it for the long haul, producing wine could prove lucrative in the future. “You’ve got to think about what the climate is going to be like in 20 years. Plan for that rather than the now. That’s something people are realising and being caught out at themoment. The climate is changingmore rapidly than anyone ever expected.” It’s also “very important”, more important than soil quality, to consider your site and location, he adds. “It does need to be well exposed and ventilated. If you’ve got a damp site you’re going to struggle. England is famously wet, and humidity in As part of our series chatting with the people behind bold and exciting farm shop, deli and food hall projects, we head to Tillingham in East Sussex DARINGTODIVERSIFY: ‘WE’RE ATTRACTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SHOPPERS’