A tipsy marathon on the North Downs

Chris Carter visits Denbies Wine Estate, an award-winning English vineyard that hosts a particularly challenging marathon.

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Denbies' estate, set in the rolling Surrey downs
(Image credit: Credit: SFL Travel / Alamy Stock Photo)

The English wine-grape harvest is under way. Last Saturday, I popped down to Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey, to see how they were getting on. Cold-climate varieties (this still being England, despite the sizzling summer suggesting otherwise), including Mller-Thurgau, ortega and the red-skinned dornfelder, looked good enough to eat. There were even varieties you would associate more with fine Loires and Champagnes tucked away among the 265 acres under vine, such as sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.