11 of the best vineyard stays in Britain

Times

2 days ago

The reputation of British wine has followed a similar trajectory to that of British food: once an international joke, it is now celebrated at home and abroad. British sparkling wines beat their better-known rivals in blind tastings and global warming is prompting champagne houses to buy up the remaining chunks of southeast England that haven't already been converted into vineyards.
The steep rise in wine quality has been matched by a huge growth in wine tourism — often embedded in landscapes so lush you might be forgiven for thinking you'd woken up in Napa Valley, not the home counties. Some have simple B&Bs offering little more than a vineyard tour and tasting (check timings before you book) while others have luxury hotels with a Michelin-starred restaurant. Wherever you spend the night, all have the same benefit: there's no argument about whose turn it is to be the designated driver for the evening. We'll toast to that.
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££ | Best for a weekend of grapes, gardens and golf
When the neglected gardens of Leonardslee House, a grade II listed Italianate pile near Horsham, were restored to their former glory in 2019, England's first pinotage vines had been planted among rhododendrons and azaleas a year previously. South Africa's emblematic grape goes into the Leonardslee Brut Rosé, one of three sparkling wines that have been making waves in the English wine world since the first release in 2024 and available to try in a sparkling wine masterclass. Staying in one of Leonardslee's ten floral-themed guest rooms, each showcasing a different British designer such as Nina Campbell or Christopher Farr, comes with a discount on green fees at the 9 and 18-hole courses of Mannings Heath Golf Club nearby, or spend your time wandering among the garden's seven lakes and admiring the contemporary sculptures while keeping an eye out for deer and wallabies, which were introduced on the estate in 1889. Either way, you'll need to work up an appetite for the 20-course tasting menu at the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant Interlude.
• Discover our full guide to wine holidays
£ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for English wine tourism done on a grand scale
Denbies is one of the easiest vineyards to visit on a day trip from London (50 minutes from Waterloo) but to get the most out of England's largest wine estate, stay the night. The location at the foot of the rolling Surrey Hills is magical as the early morning mist lifts over the vines while there are 380 acres to explore. The Secret Vineyard Trail gives hotel guests access to areas usually off-limits to the public; there's also a Vineyard Train Tour for the less energetic, and indoor tastings if it's raining. The 17-room Denbies Vineyard Hotel is housed in a 19th-century farmhouse, converted with all mod cons; guests can dine in one of three restaurants with a pre-meal wine tasting, or book a private supper in a cabana in the garden.
£ | Best for a romantic weekend away
Gloucestershire might be best known as cider country but it's also home to one of England's oldest commercial vineyards. Three Choirs was planted as an experiment in 1973 and the original half-acre of vines now extends across 75 acres, just south of the Malvern Hills, ripe for long walks. The vineyards produce 12 white, red, rosé and sparkling wines, which can be sampled either on an afternoon self-guided wine tasting and vineyard walk, or with a member of the winemaking team to offer expert analysis; order a bottle of your favourite with a tapas supper in the Brasserie afterwards. The 11 guest rooms are designed with couples in mind; three glass-walled, wooden-framed vineyard lodges are set among the vines while the eight 'vineyard view' rooms come with a south-facing patio overlooking the valley. Whichever you book, there is sparkling wine and handmade chocolates on arrival, and peace and privacy throughout your stay.
£ | Best for a sense of seclusion and an ultra-local ethos
England isn't the only UK winemaking country: Wales produces award-winning vintages, too, including the still and sparkling white and sparkling blush made on the seven-acre Jabajak estate. The former droving farm sits on the edge of the Bluestone Mountains in the west of the principality, close to the coastal paths and beaches of Pembrokeshire National Park. Cellar door tastings take place in the evening, followed by a dinner of local produce in the relaxed restaurant; what can't be grown in the kitchen garden is foraged from the surrounding countryside or supplied by local fishmongers and farmers and turned into the likes of pan-fried venison with wild blackberry jus. Eight individually decorated guest rooms (think four-poster beds and freestanding tubs) include three suites; get to know your fellow guests with drinks by the pond or on the patio.
• The UK's best Michelin starred restaurants with rooms££ | POOL | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for a luxury hotel stay of grapes and gastronomy
The Exeter-born chef Michel Caines has form in the West Country, winning two Michelin stars during his 21-year tenure at Gidleigh Park on Dartmoor. He opened his own hotel in this sun-drenched spot overlooking the Exe Estuary in 2017, where a Michelin-starred tasting menu can be paired with the trio of wines that Caines produces in his 10.8-acre vineyard. Roasted pigeon with celeriac and truffle purée partnered by a glass of Triassic Pinot Noir would be an excellent match. Lighter meals are served in the Pool House restaurant next to the hotel's outdoor swimming pool, while vineyard tours end with either lunch or afternoon tea. Sumptuously appointed guest rooms match the classical style of the Georgian house or, for something marginally more rustic, there are six shepherd's huts. The hotel has a tennis court and croquet lawn, or get out on the water with paddleboarding and kayaking or a cruise along the River Exe.
£ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for a Welsh wine weekend close to Cardiff
Sipping a glass of off-dry Cariad Poplar on the terrace at Llanerch, it's hard to believe that Cardiff city centre is only a half-hour drive down the M4. Rows of vines surround the original 19th-century farmhouse and modern 36-room hotel, while sheep drift across the green fields of the Vale of Glamorgan beyond like balls of cotton wool. Wine tastings offer the opportunity to try three of the Cariad wines made from grapes grown in the 6.5-acre vineyard, while Roots restaurant serves plates of local Welsh lamb and steak, as well as afternoon tea and Sunday roasts. Guest rooms range from huge suites to compact doubles; some are wheelchair accessible, and a couple are dog friendly.
£ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for quirky accommodation
Accidental winemakers David and Lexa Bailey bought the vineyard next door when they were concerned the land would become a caravan park. Instead of camper vans, three sensitively converted, light-filled cottages sleep two, four or eight guests at Wraxall, with a minimum two-night stay — no hardship when foodie Bruton and historic Glastonbury are on the doorstep. Couples and solo travellers could also consider the fully insulated shepherd's huts, complete with fitted kitchens, launching late summer 2025. Tours and tastings can be followed by a lunch of seasonal local ingredients in the View, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and huge terrace pointed towards the Somerset Levels; there are Thursday steak nights, Friday pizza nights and food trucks on a Sunday, with, of course, pairings of Wraxall's four still and sparkling wines.
wraxallvineyard.co.uk
• Read our full guide to Somerset
££ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for sparkling sundowners in an outdoor tub
The accommodation at this sparkling-wine specialist brings new meaning to the concept of pergola training. Guests stay in one of four treehouses suspended 6m off the ground overlooking the rows of vineyards stretching down to the banks of the River Test, with only badgers, birds and deer for company. Each light-filled treehouse is built using sustainable techniques and materials and furnished in a cosy version of Scandi chic — wood-burning stoves, wishbone chairs, snazzy bathrooms and kitchens — with the star attraction being an oversized zinc bathtub outside. The treehouse owner Wild Escapes works closely with the Black Chalk vineyard, with guests given a breakfast hamper of local produce and a bottle of Black Chalk Classic wine; there's more eating and drinking with vineyard tours and tastings that end with a lunch of cheese, charcuterie and smoked fish. When you've had your fill of vines, there are footpaths through the woodland, or go kingfisher spotting in theLongstock Park Water Garden.
wildescapes.com
££ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for an active rural retreat among the vines
Imagine Center Parcs for oenophiles and you'll get the picture at Tinwood. The estate is dog-friendly, the South Downs are all around and mountain bike hire is free; try cycling to the cathedral city of Chichester if you're feeling especially athletic. Once back in your luxury lodge, give your muscles a soak in the two-person whirlpool bath before catching the sunset over the vines from your private deck. Feeling sociable? There's a communal barrel sauna hidden by trees and evening yoga among the vines. Vineyard tours, meanwhile, end with a tutored tasting of three glasses of Tinwood's award-winning sparkling wine. Seasonal small plates and Sunday roasts are served for lunch in the on-site Vineyard Kitchen, breakfast arrives in a hamper and there are decent pubs within cycling distance for supper. The Anglesey Arms, on the edge of the Goodwood Estate, serves classy comfort food.
tinwoodestate.com
£ | DOG-FRIENDLY | Best for sparkling wines and stunning walks
There are few nicer places to take a break from walking the South Downs Way than the Flint Barns, but the Rathfinny estate is much more than a bed and breakfast to park your rucksack for the night. The comfortably homely accommodation — ten double and family rooms feature iron bedsteads covered in thick blankets and even thicker mattresses — feels almost at odds with the sophistication of Rathfinny's sparkling wine, made from chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes hand-harvested in Sussex on the same chalky slopes found over the Channel in Champagne. Breakfast and supper are served in the Flint Barns, there are smart lunches in the Michelin-rated Tasting Room and small plates in alfresco wine bar the Hut with its view over wildflower-strewn vines to the sea sparkling through the trees beyond.
rathfinnyestate.com
£ | Best for feeling part of the family in a 16th-century farmhouse
England has what viticulturalists call a marginal climate for wine production and nowhere is more marginal than North Yorkshire, home to the UK's most northerly vineyard, Ryedale. Still, Yorkshire folk are nothing if not bloody-minded (a compliment round here) and Jon and Michelle Fletcher are proud to make wine as artisanally as possible, with every aspect of production, from pruning to labelling, carried out by hand. Their son and wine manager Jack conducts tours with generous tastings and, though, there's no restaurant, there are two snug village pubs a mile or so away — the Jolly Farmers at Leavening and the Blacksmiths Arms at Westow — while the nearby market town of Malton announces itself as 'Yorkshire's food capital' on its welcome sign; try some sushi tacos at Forty Six. Be warned, though, that after a full Yorkshire breakfast served in the Ryedale farmhouse following a good night's sleep in one of the two en suite bedrooms upstairs, you may not need to eat for the rest of the day.
ryedalevineyards.co.uk
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