You’ve stayed at French châteaux for wine tastings in celebrated cellars, you’ve had farm-to-table food with low-intervention pairings in Portland and been served sushi with your Chardonnay while at an estate in Stellenbosch. And in 2024 – at last – there are UK wine stays that mean a flight abroad isn’t necessary. Of our 900 vineyards, more than 200 are open to the public and Wines of Great Britain‘s figures suggest visitor numbers to British vineyards and wineries are currently rising almost 20% year-on-year.
As Britain’s vineyards mature – England’s oldest, Hambledon, was established in 1952 – they have more to offer visitors, both in terms of wine and experiences. Big names such as Chapel Down in Kent and Camel Valley in Cornwall are longstanding masters of tutored tastings and high-end vineyard lunch packages but without on-site accommodation you’ll be at the mercy of local taxi services. At the other end of the scale, some newer vineyards hope their overnight stays will be as much of a money spinner as their wines, which can mean the breakfast is fantastic but the wine in your glass less so.
Winemaking is at the category’s core but not all of us feel the need to go near any actual grapes. UK wine stays might be built around an enthusiastic sommelier who makes the wine pairings as memorable as the menu or a wood-fired hot tub that overlooks tidy rows of Pinot Noir vines. Indeed, specialist experiences at hotels can be more enlightening to the drinker who’s done their fair share of vineyard visits already. These seven special UK wine stays will each feed your passion for oenology, be it the growing, pairing, innovating or simply the drinking.
Seven special UK wine stays
Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens
West Sussex
Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens in West Sussex has had quite the makeover since its current owners took over in 2016, always with the express intention of turning into a wine-lover’s dream destination. There’s a sister vineyard in South Africa that provides the wines for the tutored tastings but this year sees the first release of their own sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Guests are invited to help with the grape harvest each August but you may well prefer to simply wander the Grade I Listed woodland gardens before your stay in the 19th-century Italianate mansion.
Best for: botanical beauty
leonardsleegardens.co.uk
From £320 per night
The Grain Silo
Tuffon Hall Vineyard, Essex
Managed by the Crowther family for a century and counting, this farm in the north-eastern corner of Essex added grapes to their harvest schedule in 2011. While Tuffon Hall Vineyard produces an excellent Provence-style Pinot Noir rosé, a wonderful USP of the estate itself is a two-berth converted grain silo that stands proudly on a strip that separates two fields of vines. Guests are treated to private sunset views over the Pinot Noir, stargazing from the mezzanine bedroom and a wood-fired hot tub, all for glamping prices.
Best for: off-grid grapes
canopyandstars.co.uk/britain/england/essex/tuffon-hall-vineyard/the-grain-silo
From £140 per night
The Vineyard
Berkshire
A self-declared ‘temple of Californian Wine’ (and owned by Croydon-born engineer-turned-vintner Sir Peter Michael), this slick hotel in Berkshire is about as close to a ‘Disneyland of wine’ as the UK is likely to tolerate. The rooms are named after iconic wines; the wallpaper is cork; the glass floors in the front lobby reveal Californian favourites in the cellar below. If this level of conspicuous devotion is off-putting, know that you won’t care once your nose is buried in the wine list: the hotel’s collection contains 30,000 bottles with more than 100 available by the glass. Their restaurant should be commended for offering both a plant-based tasting menu and a non-alcoholic drinks pairing, and during the summer, a more casual menu is served in a well-appointed outdoor bell tent.
Best for: rare finds and old vintages
the-vineyard.co.uk
From £295 per night
Lympstone Manor
Devon
Michael Caines MBE is a Michelin-starred chef who’s also genuinely into winemaking, so a stay at his magnificent 18th-century hotel Lympstone Manor in Exmouth is the obvious choice for those who appreciate fine food as well as fine wine. Regular wine dinners see Caines create dishes to match the estate’s own bottles (including the Classic Cuvée, Triassic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) and tours of the vineyard can be followed by a private tasting of your choice that’s led by their sommelier. The Bridgerton-worthy rooms offer spectacular views over the estuary and the manor’s pristine gardens.
Best for: world-class cuisine
lympstonemanor.co.uk
From £495 per night
The Fife Arms
Aberdeenshire
Up in mountainous central Scotland, The Fife Arms is a 19th-century hunting lodge turned luxury hotel where the traditional exterior belies its modern sense of fun. The Cairngorms’ climate isn’t up to grape growing but its mountains (or, more accurately, its bens) provide the inspiration for a tutored wine tasting during which the sommelier demonstrates the diverse climates of the Alps through the wines created within them. The Swiss white Heida, for instance, which is floral on the nose with stone fruits and minerals, pairs beautifully with the restaurant’s signature raw Orkney scallop, buttermilk, cucumber and peas. The cellar has a sizeable collection that can lead you through fine-wine verticals or unusual bottles from small producers depending on your mood. Add atmospheric open fires and elegant four-poster beds and you’ll feel you’ve discovered wine-fuelled Narnia.
Best for: wintry weekends
thefifearms.com
From £324 per night
Tillingham
East Sussex
The obvious choice for the pet-nat enthusiast, Tillingham farms organically and biodynamically and ages its natural wines in Georgian clay vessels known as qvevri. It’s a set up that even the most discerning lover of modern wines would drool over, especially when they’re poured a cloudy glass of the vineyard’s own Pinot Noir/Chardonnay rosé on draft. Enjoy an inventive and vegetable-forward meal at Garden, their Michelin Green Star restaurant, before a peaceful overnight in one of the 11 chic, TV-free double rooms. No children under ten are allowed in the bars or accommodation, although they may join for lunch – there’s a pizza barn for more casual visits and on Sundays the restaurant serves roast dinners.
Best for: natural-wine expertise
tillingham.com
From £155 per night
Wraxall Vineyard
Somerset
A young, family-owned vineyard in Somerset with an eye on sustainability, Wraxall is a wonderful choice for bigger groups thanks to the laidback approach and traditional cottage accommodation (the largest sleeps eight but all three buildings can be booked in combination on request). Tastings of their Pinot Noir rosé, Bacchus and ‘Somerset sparkling’ wines are available at the bar, The View, which is perched above the vines and enjoys spectacular sunsets. Regular events include ‘Session Sundays on the Vines’, featuring local musicians and street food.
Best for: wine with a soundtrack
wraxallvineyard.co.uk
Two-berth cottage from £125 per night
