Why these 10 vineyards are putting the UK on the global stage
- Kate Hawkings
Published: September 10, 2026 at 4:28 PM
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Discover the best wine days out the UK has to offer
Wine tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global travel industry, and the UK is no exception. I’m very lucky that my job that takes me to wineries around the world, but closer to home I’m delighted to see a growing number of UK producers who welcome guests with tours, tastings and other experiences, and many offer overnight accommodation, too.
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Planning trips has never been easier – UK Vineyard Guide is a new app with interactive maps listing visitor activities at hundreds of vineyards across England and Wales.
Whether you’re a serious wine buff or just looking for a great day out, here are some of my favourites.
Hambledon
Hambledon is the UK’s oldest commercial vineyard, established in 1952 with the help of the Pol Roger champagne house, who recognised the chalk soils in this area of Hampshire were the same as those in Champagne. Now in the hands of the venerable Berry Bros. & Rudd wine company and Symington Family Estates, Hambledon continues to make award-winning sparkling wines.
In 2025, Hambledon opened a new visitor centre, beautifully built using traditional materials and techniques, with a tasting room, shop and a very impressive restaurant overlooking the vineyard. Special events are held throughout the year and include outdoor fire feasts, jazz sessions and even a monthly book club.
Oastbrook Estate
Once a farm growing hops for the beer industry, Oastbrook Estate in the dreamy Sussex countryside now has a 15-acre vineyard and produces very, very good still as well as sparkling wines, all made with an eye on quality, craftsmanship and sustainability. Vineyard tours and tastings, accompanied by local cheeses and other treats, are led by Oastbrook’s charismatic owners who also tend the vines and make the wine. They also organise bus tours of the Rother Valley which take in visits to other local wineries with lunch along the way.
Overnight guests can choose from the rustic, hobbity charm of the Round Door Vineyard Cottage, the sleeker but no less comfortable Scandi-style Waterside Lodge overlooking the river, or very well-appointed glamping bell tents.
Sandridge Barton
Sandridge Barton is one of the winners of our olive Travel&Taste Awards 2026, find the full list here
Sandridge Barton started life as Sharpham Wine, one of the earliest pioneers of the English wine industry more than 40 years ago. Now relocated to the other side of Devon’s bucolic Dart River, the 450-acre estate includes vineyards, orchards, a state-of-the-art winery, visitor centre and a Basque-influenced restaurant. There is also a year-round programme of music and DJ events, exhibitions and workshops. The wines are really good – don’t miss out on the ‘Don’t Feed the Ponies’ range of experimental cuvées.
Accommodation options are in the grand original Sandridge Barton House which sleeps 12, a recently converted farmhouse, and a secluded 19th century boathouse right on the river.
Blackbook Winery
Sergio Verrillo, who grew up in the USA as the son of Italian and Hungarian immigrants, worked as a sommelier in top London restaurants before training as a winemaker at Plumpton College in Sussex. He worked all over the world before returning to the UK and setting up Blackbook Winery with his wife Lynsey under an old railway arch in Battersea in 2018. He makes world-class wines, mainly from pinot noir and chardonnay grapes grown in some of the best vineyards in the UK, using indigenous yeasts and very little interference.
Sergio runs informative tastings at the winery every Saturday with infectious passion and entertaining flair. Be sure to taste his “Painter of Light” chardonnay, one of my favourite English wines.
London Cru
The brainchild of maverick wine merchant Cliff Roberson, London Cru is the UK’s first urban winery, housed in an old gin distillery in West Brompton. It opened in 2013 using grapes shipped from France but these days uses only English grapes to make their distinctive wines.
As well as introductory tours and tastings at the quirky winery, London Cru offer immersive, one-day courses which explain how wines are made and how best to taste them, and include blending your own bottle to take home at the end of the day.
Tillingham
Tillingham is one of the winners of our olive Travel&Taste Awards 2026, find the full list here
Tillingham is part of a mixed farm in Sussex that dates back to the 13th century and incorporates vineyards, fruit trees, livestock and ancient woodlands. Farmed bio-dynamically since 2017, Tillingham is known for its innovative natural wines made from a wide variety of grapes, with more of a focus on still than sparkling wines.
Their restaurant holds a Michelin Green star in recognition of its commitment to sustainable practices and uses produce from its own walled garden and surrounding farms, or choose a wood-fired pizza from their more casual barn kitchen. Accommodation is offered in 11 chic rooms in a converted hop barn, or in two luxury bell tents with private terraces and fire pits.
Wraxall Vineyard
The vineyard at Wraxall, just outside the vibrant, arty town of Bruton, was first planted in 1974 and now spans 11 acres in the unspoilt Somerset countryside. It’s a thriving estate making great wines – don’t miss their award-winning Bacchus Reserve – and visitors can book vineyard tours and tastings. Alternatively, just drop in for lunch or dinner at the lovely View restaurant, or larger groups can enjoy private dining in the canvas-clad Nook area with wonderful sunset views across the rolling hills. Keep your eye on their events diary for special steak, pizza and burger nights, sometimes with DJs.
There are also three gorgeous self-catering cottages and two cute shepherd's huts for overnight stays.
Dell Vineyard
Dynamic young husband-and-wife team Dan and Lucy Alford planted vines on Dan’s family farm in bucolic Monmouthshire in 2022 and are among an expanding community of Welsh producers giving English wineries a run for their money.
They are open every Saturday throughout the summer when visitors can enjoy their wines, as well as their very good gin made from pinot noir grape skins and local botanicals, right on the edge of the vineyard. Pop-up food trucks on the first Saturday of each month add to a festival feel, and guests are welcome to bring their own picnics on the other weekends. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, too.
Sugrue South Downs
Charismatic Irishman Dermot Sugrue is something of a legend in the English wine scene. He was head winemaker at Nyetimber in the early 2000s when the estate became known for its world-class sparkling wines, then went onto nearby Wiston Estate and gained similar acclaim. Now Dermot has his own estate at Sugrue South Downs, based in their Bee Tree Vineyard in East Sussex, where guests can choose from a range of tours, tastings and masterclasses, as well as monthly Sunday lunches cooked by well-known chefs.
‘The Trouble With Dreams’ is their most famous sparkling wine but my favourite is their crazily named ‘Bonkers Zombie Robot Alien Monsters From The Future Ate My Brain (Sur Lie)’, an extraordinary multi-vintage chardonnay aged in a solera system.
© Sarah Weal
Ryedale Vineyard
Not so long ago, making wine in Yorkshire was considered to be a triumph of hope over experience, but the warming climate means it's now a viable pursuit. Ryedale is one of the UK’s most northerly commercial vineyards, just half an hour from the centre of York, on a family farm which makes wine as well as cider from its heritage apple orchards.
Visitors can taste both on its award-winning tours along with local cheeses and cream teas, while special events include performances from traditional brass bands and morris dancers. There are two comfy rooms for overnight stays in the historic farmhouse with a generous full-English breakfast.
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Authors
Kate HawkingsWine Columnist
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