Raimes is a boutique, single-estate producer of English sparkling wine, rooted in a fifth-generation family farm you wouldn’t stumble across unless you knew where to look. The family farm stretches from the water meadows of the River Itchen, where protected ecosystems thrive along the riverbanks, up to the grassy, rolling hills of the South Downs near Winchester. Here, fields of wheat and barley share the landscape with a herd of traditional pedigree horned Hereford cattle. On the south-facing slopes, 19,000 vines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grow in chalk soils that share the same geological seam as the finest vineyards of Champagne.
Augusta Raimes, who runs the estate, is the fifth generation of her family to farm this land. The first 13,000 vines were planted in 2011, with a further 6,000 added in 2021. Together with her parents, Robert and Brenda, sister Georgia and her husband Roy, and the next generation – Isabel, Hugo, Oliver, Jasmine and Hebe – Augusta has built something rare: a consistent, authentic family-grower operation devoted to the vineyards, with a focus on precision and expression. The wines are made in the traditional method and spend extended time ageing on lees, developing a complexity that belies the estate’s youth.
For Augusta, being a wine grower is much more than farming. It’s expressive – guiding grapes from vine to bottle, shaped by soil, weather and instinct. ‘Growing wine teaches patience and resilience’ she says. ‘Each season has its rhythm. You can be guided by measurements, but ultimately you have to trust your instincts.’ Opening the first bottle of a vintage brings a flood of emotion: the memories of frost and rain, of pruning and harvest, and the satisfaction of seeing the year’s work captured in the glass.
The chalk substratum beneath the vineyard lends a distinctive minerality that helps achieve a delicate balance of ripeness, acidity and aroma. England’s cooler climate allows that chalk signature to shine through, with the longer growing season helping grapes ripen slowly and develop layered flavour into autumn. Grapes are handpicked, selecting only the best fruit, and pressed gently within hours. The resulting wines – precise, refined and fresh – are blended solely from grapes grown by the Raimes family.
Sharing a vintage and seeing people enjoy the wine, tasting the character of the land in every sip, is one of Augusta’s greatest joys. Raimes wines are a rare find – confident, deeply rooted in community, and shaped by a family who have tended this Hampshire soil for generations.
