Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Richard Balfour-Lynn, co-founder of Balfour Winery in Kent.

Following an education at Westminster School and the City of London Business School, Richard set up his first business at 24 years old – his early business interests ranged from Irish linen and lace to medical diagnostic centres and air conditioning companies, all with varying degrees of success and failure.

In his late 20s, he began developing high end residential properties across Central London and later progressed into commercial property ranging from office buildings and shopping centres to leisure centres and hotels. During this time he was involved in the running of brands such as Malmaison, Hotel du Vin, DeVere, Liberty and Searcy’s.

In 2002, Richard and his wife Leslie decided to plant a vineyard in Kent for fun, and eight years later built their first winery on the Hush Heath Estate near Staplehurst in Kent. But, with the huge success of their first wine, Balfour Brut Rosé, what began as a passion project soon became a family business.

Today, Richard and Leslie offer an exceptional guest experience across 400 acres of pristine Kent countryside and within their winery and 200-seater tasting room. They also run the “Hush Heath Hospitality” group comprising a growing number of pubs with boutique hotel rooms across London, Kent and Sussex.

You can find out more about Balfour Winery by following @balfourwinery on Instagram or visit balfourwinery.com.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.

Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Johnny Stanford, chef patron of Tern Restaurant in Worthing.

Manchester born and bred, Johnny began his career working with Paul Kitching at his acclaimed restaurant Juniper in Altrincham, before heading to Cumbria, then Edinburgh and finally settling in Sussex in 2012.

Johnny worked as sous chef at the Michelin starred restaurant Matt Gillan @ The Pass before taking the reins as head chef at Pascere in Brighton and then heading up the 3 AA rosettes restaurant AG’s at Alexander House.

Last year, Johnny became the proud owner and Head Chef of Tern, a fine dining restaurant situated at the end of Worthing’s Art Deco Pier. Here he creates captivating menus using British produce in the peak of its seasonality, offers an England-only wine list and some of THE most breathtaking views of the South Coast.

We talk about the logistical challenges of running a restaurant at the end of a 300-metre long pier (if you follow Johnny or Tern then you’ll know they had their biggest yet this week when Worthing Pier unexpectedly closed for repair work), his strangest food and English wine pairings and the reason why he believes in British food and drink producers so much.

I loved this chat with Johnny and hope you enjoy it too - you can show him and the rest of the Tern team some love by following @johnntstanfordchef and @Ternrestaurant on Instagram and look out for news of their latest English winemaker dinners at ternrestaurant.co.uk.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.

Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Mary Bridges, head winemaker and vineyard visionary at Gusbourne.

Mary grew up near Inverness in Scotland in a farming family, where her love of the land developed from an early age, along with an instinct for the flavour alchemy created by good wine.

She started her career in hospitality and quickly became enthused with the wine aspect, so sought to further her passion and knowledge at Plumpton College, all the way down south in Sussex.

Before joining Gusbourne, Mary spent time abroad working with renowned wine producers in the South of France and California but returned to the UK to explore the fast-growing opportunities on this side of the Atlantic.

She joined the winemaking team at Gusbourne in 2018 and has spent the last six years working closely with former Head Winemaker and previous guest on this podcast, Charlie Holland, to create some of the brand’s most exceptional vintages.

Mary was promoted to oenologist in 2020, before being appointed Head Winemaker in September 2023, when she was somewhat thrown into the deep-end overseeing what has been Gusbourne’s largest harvest to date.

We talk about the new generation of English winemakers coming through the ranks, what Mary has learned during her eight years at Gusbourne and what the future has in store for one of England's most renowned wine brands.

You can follow Mary on Instagram @maero_b and Gusbourne @Gusbourne_wine.

With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.