There are launch parties, and then there are those evenings that feel like the culmination of something much bigger.
More than 70 friends, family and supporters gathered at the beautiful Mount Ephraim Gardens near Faversham on 10 September to celebrate the launch of Figgy’s Fizz, the first wine from Figgis Family Vineyard.
And after two years of planting, growing, picking, making and waiting, there was certainly plenty to raise a glass to.
The evening began, fittingly, among the vines, with guests touring Figgy’s Field and hearing more about the vineyard and the journey behind its very first vintage. Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for: the first official pour of Figgy’s Fizz 2025.
Food came courtesy of A Kentish Graze, while the glorious Mount Ephraim provided a suitably Kentish backdrop for a milestone that was both a celebration of a new local wine and an incredibly personal moment for the Figgis family.
Figgis Family Vineyard was established in 2024 by Sean and Steph Figgis and their son Alistair in memory of their son and brother Chris, known as Figgy, who died in 2022 aged just 18.
Chris had dreamed of working alongside his family on the land, and the vineyard has become a way of carrying that connection forward and creating something positive in his memory. It made the presence of so many of Chris’s friends at the launch particularly poignant.
And what has grown from that story is also a seriously exciting new addition to Kent’s wine scene.
Figgy’s Fizz 2025 is made exclusively from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in Figgy’s Field on the Mount Ephraim Estate. Fresh, fruit-forward and lightly sparkling, it is made using the Charmat method and comes in at 12.5% ABV.
Remarkably, the first vintage was produced from vines just 18 months old, a pretty extraordinary achievement in commercial winemaking. There are 4,000 bottles from the inaugural 2025 vintage, priced at £25 each.
The timing of the launch couldn’t have been better either.
Just days after everyone gathered to celebrate the fruits of the vineyard’s first harvest, the Figgis family were straight back into the vines for Harvest 2026. And this year things are getting even more interesting.
As well as fruit from Figgy’s Field destined for future sparkling wine, the team is harvesting the neighbouring Vicarage Field for the first time, with Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay set to be used for still red, rosé and white wines.
So while the first bottles of Figgy’s Fizz are only just making their way into glasses across Kent, the next chapter is already being picked from the vines.
There’s a charitable purpose running through the project too. For every bottle of Figgy’s Fizz sold, 50p will be donated to The Listening Place, which provides free, face-to-face support for people experiencing suicidal feelings.
For the Figgis family, the ambition is for the vineyard not only to produce excellent Kent wine, but to keep Chris’s memory alive, encourage conversations around mental health and create something that brings people together.
Judging by a launch party filled with more than 70 people who have supported the family and vineyard along the way, it is already doing exactly that.
Figgy’s Fizz 2025 is available now, priced at £25, from Figgis Family Vineyard and selected fine food retailers across Kent including Macknade wine Store, Myatt Farmshop, Mockbeggar Farmshop amoungst many more.
