Food & Drink

Sussex Wineries is a collaboration of inspiring wine estates responsible for producing some of the most innovative and diverse wine styles in the UK today. Featuring award-winning East Sussex producers Bluebell Vineyard Estates, Oxney Organic, Rathfinny Estate, Ridgeview, Sussex Wineries promotes the high-quality sparkling and still wines from across the county.

Sussex Wineries encourages everyone to discover our wines, cellar doors and tasting rooms, winery cafés, vineyard accommodation, wine tours and experiences. 

Visit Sussex Wineries Website

Plumpton College farms over 2500 acres of land and the outstanding estate has grown to become one of the leading centres for land-based education in the UK.

Established in 1926, Plumpton has developed and built a curriculum and business support framework across the south-east, with now over 3500 students and 2500 businesses across its four centres (Plumpton, Stanmer, Netherfield and Flimwell). 

The College has an excellent reputation for delivering vocational skills training and education for the land-based sector and rurally located businesses. It works with employers and businesses to develop programmes to ensure new entrants develop the right skills, knowledge and attributes to enhance the performance of their business.
 
With the rate of the population growth increasing all of the time, it is vital that we find ways to produce food in adequate quantities and sustainably. Plumpton has an excellent range of courses that inspire and give students the necessary skills and knowledge they need to succeed. 

Wine

Whilst agriculture is a flagship curriculum and the most specialist of its kind across the south-east, Plumpton is renowned for being the UK’s centre for excellence in wine; providing vital access to first-class education, training and research. Students benefit from excellent links with wine producers and distilleries, including visits to the world’s key marketplaces in wine which help kick-start careers in this competitive industry. Plumpton College also provides industry training for vineyards and wineries through its WineSkills extension programme. 

Food

If you're passionate about food, Plumpton has excellent facilities at all of its centres. Whether you are already in the industry or hoping to master a new skill Plumpton has a range of food skills courses to suit. Food industry students have access to an onsite Dairy Processing Unit where they pasteurise milk and produce various cheeses, yogurts and ice cream,  and butchery students have a fantastic off-site butchery school in Robertsbridge.
 

East Sussex has a rich fishing heritage. Our close-knit fishing communities possess the skills and knowledge in the ways of the sea acquired over many generations. Small boats land fish daily from the shallow, high-salinity waters of the East Sussex shoreline, rich in minerals washed down from the Wealden soil, ensuring the freshest fish and seafood of the highest quality is available within hours of being caught.

Commercial fishing fleets operate along the entire coastline in East Sussex with the main fishing fleets of Eastbourne, Hastings, Newhaven and Rye. 

Low Impact

Fishing activity is mostly undertaken by beach boats setting nets from the low water mark out to 6 miles offshore. This style of fishing is known as ‘low-impact’ as it has a very little effect on the seabed or marine habitat.  Most local boats land daily and catch are sold to the public via fish stalls or taken to Rye, Hastings or Brighton markets. 

The fishing fleets rely on seasonal fisheries native to the area and catch fish depending on what quota is available. The fleets work closely with local authorities to enable consumers and the community to benefit from sustainably caught fish and shellfish. Campaigns such as Hastings Fish helps to support a 1,000-year-old fishing industry and promote local, sustainable species to the public.

There are lots of pubs and restaurants serving up fresh fish and seafood dishes around the county, if you’re a seafood lover you’ll love what East Sussex has to offer. 

Whether you are a grower, manufacturer, co-operative, retailer or caterer, we can help you at each stage of your growth journey. If you are starting up or trading, or thinking about restructuring or passing on your family business, we can help you to grow your food and drink enterprise. 

Many businesses in this sector operate from one or more premises. Whether factories, offices, retail units or mixed-use our commercial property, we can help find the right space. 

Looking ahead

There are different needs between mass market producers and small specialist producers. Large producers face ongoing demand from supermarkets and their customers to provide high volumes of high quality, low-cost produce. These producers have to utilise science and technological methods and skills to reduce waste, develop energy efficient production systems, and minimise the use of pesticides. 

Ethical consumerism is generating market opportunities for specialist producers, but this will necessitate effective leadership and management skills to implement and maximise these avenues. 

Innovation

We can help businesses to access cutting-edge academic research partnerships, and a skills pipeline as this sector is likely to become more focused on science and technology due to the pressures of climate change, environmental regulation, food security and demographics, as precision agriculture and sustainable intensification is implemented. Knowledge of the sciences and application of ICT, mainly technical and engineering skills, are therefore likely to be key future demands.