What came first, the wine or the vineyard? Did you fall in love with a wine and head for its source or did you visit a vineyard and find treasure that stayed with you? I have some personal examples of both and we’ve tried to reflect that on our website, with the Directory and Wine Shop that link together. An exciting Special Report on English Wine has just been produced by Tom Hewson and published by Tim Atkin, with wines scoring 88 points or more rated ‘worth tracking down’. We thought we’d take that literally and use the report to inspire some recommendations to visit. It was notable when r ..read more

It may sound a wee bit daunting, but have you ever thought about spending time at a vineyard on your own?  Maybe it’s a gorgeous sunny day, your friends or family are all busy, and you just fancy a glass of delicious wine and some peace amongst the vines. It’s not like visiting a pub or a restaurant on your own where you can feel a bit like a Billy no-mates and you have to spend your time pretending that your mobile phone is the most interesting piece of equipment in the world.  Vineyards are warm, welcoming places with loads of scope for entertainment. There is a variety of activiti ..read more

I’m sure that most of you are wine lovers out there, but have you ever enjoyed a vineyard visit? If you’ve not had the pleasure of spending quality time in a glorious vineyard in the UK, this summer is a perfect time to start. Most vineyards that are open to visitors only do it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, to encourage you to taste and hopefully love and buy their wines and secondly, to tell their own story and the story of their vines. What to Expect from your Vineyard Visit There are a variety of things to do at our beautiful vineyards as well as fabulous wine. Take your pick! Tours and ..read more

Or… How I visited 8 Kent Vineyards in a Weekend! It was so lovely to get to to visit some vineyards recently, even more so after so long stuck at home. The purpose of the trip was to check up on changes at some vineyards I’ve been to before as well as to catch up with some that were new to me, all to make sure that they are accurately represented on Wine Cellar Door. With vineyards offering wide open spaces and something of more interest than simply a park, we see them as great places to visit this year. While 8 vineyards in a weekend is more than most people will want to undertake, the way my ..read more

It was so lovely to get to to visit some vineyards recently, even more so after so long stuck at home. The purpose of the trip was to check up on changes at some vineyards I’ve been to before as well as to catch up with some others, all to make sure that they are accurately represented on Wine Cellar Door. With vineyards offering wide open spaces and something of more interest than simply a park, we see them as great places to visit this year. While 8 vineyards in a weekend is more than most people will want to undertake, the way my weekend panned out, with a mixture of planning and serendipit ..read more

As well as world-class sparkling wine, the UK also produces wonderful still white wines from a variety of grapes. They are mostly lesser known than the likes of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but nonetheless very drinkable. Most of these grapes thrive in our cooler climate. This is a short guide to the characteristics of some of these white wine grapes and the wines that they produce, to help you choose a bottle or two that you think you might enjoy this summer. Bacchus Named after the Roman God of Wine, the Bacchus grape is a relative newcomer, first developed in Germany in the 1930s. It is ..read more

Biodynamics is an ecological, holistic and ethical approach to farming, and is increasingly used in the world of wine production. The concept was founded by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s in order to assist a group of farmers concerned about the future of agriculture. Is Biodynamics the same as Organics? Biodynamics has much in common with organic agriculture. Additionally, it observes the rhythms and cycles of the earth, sun, moon, stars and planets and nurtures the way that the environment and wider cosmos influence the growth and development of plants and animals. A biodyn ..read more

So what would happen if you got a group of young architects to design buildings to house wineries and tasting rooms and cellar door shops – coming to the topic in a whole fresh way? Thanks to being invited to help with assessments of just such a student project, I’ve had a peek into the future, with influences from great buildings of the past. The Project Each year students on the Master of Architecture course at Kingston School of Art have to complete a studio project on a particular theme, designing a scheme for a real site. This year the theme was visitor facilities for English Vineyards; t ..read more

So what would happen if you got a group of young architects to design buildings to house wineries and tasting rooms and cellar door shops – coming to the topic in a whole fresh way? Thanks to being invited to help with assessments of just such a student project, I’ve had a peek into the future, with influences from great buildings of the past. The Project Each year students on the Master of Architecture course at Kingston School of Art have to complete a project on a particular theme, designing a scheme for a real site. This year the theme was visitor facilities for English Vineyards, three re ..read more

Come summer, the British do their best to recreate that classic holiday feeling by eating outdoors – perhaps more this year than ever before. And what could be a better option than one of our glorious vineyards, surrounded by rolling hills and leafy vines? We’ll take a look at some vineyards where you can dine al fresco in the warm summer sunshine…or even those rainy days. Graze boxes, picnics, cheese and charcuterie platters, even pizza ovens, our vineyards have them all! The West Country The Vine House Kitchen at Polgoon Vineyard near Penzance has a delicious menu consisting of the likes of ..read more