Wine tasting in Devon at Lympstone Manor Estate Vineyard

Wine tasting in Devon – touring a vineyard, learning about how wine is made, and tasting wine – has become an increasingly popular activity for locals and visitors alike. The growing number of vineyards in Devon producing quality still and sparkling Devon wines means that there are now more opportunities than ever for wine lovers to taste and learn at the source. Many vineyards offer regular tours followed by wine tastings and some offer opportunities to enjoy wines with foods, served either informally or in cafés or restaurants attached to the winery.

If you are looking for a truly elevated wine tasting experience in Devon, Lympstone Manor Estate is the only English or Welsh vineyard offering wine tours with dining in its own Michelin-star restaurant, as well as in the more informal Pool House Restaurant. This provides an opportunity to learn about growing grapes on the single-estate vineyard, discover how the wines are produced, and afterwards enjoy a wonderful Michelin-star lunch accompanied by the delicious Lympstone Manor Estate Wines as well as other wines from Lympstone Manor’s extensive and carefully curated wine list.

At Lympstone Manor Estate, Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay are cultivated. These three classic varietals, also cultivated in Champagne, are the cornerstone of the cuvée or blend that is used to produce its premium Lympstone Manor Estate Classic Cuvée sparkling wine, each varietal contributing to the structure, elegance and finesse of the finished wine.

These three varietals, as cultivated in Lympstone Manor Estate’s well-exposed single-estate vineyard sited on clay soil that overlayers the deep East Devon pebble bed, are also capable of producing outstanding still wines. In the best summers, such as the 2020 vintage, Lympstone Manor Estate were able to produce an outstanding and award-winning red wine – Lympstone Manor Estate Triassic Pinot Noir – that was deemed so good that it won the Best English Red Wine award at the prestigious International Wine Challenge. Such are the vagaries of climate and weather that this is not always possible; in those years, Lympstone Manor Estate is still able to produce a beautifully balanced, pale and dry provençal style rosé called Isabeau Rosé. The Chardonnay grape, one of the most challenging varietals to cultivate, adds structure, creamy fruit and elegance to Lympstone Manor Estate sparkling wines, and, again in the best years only, has the potential to produce outstanding barrel-fermented still white wine, the not-yet-released Edwards Chardonnay.

These are exciting days and there are plans for more new wines to emerge to add to the Lympstone Manor Estate range, a demonstration of how versatile these classic grape varietals can be when grown in the best vineyard sites in Devon.

Elsewhere in Devon, hybrid varieties are cultivated alongside the classic Vitis vinifera varietals. These too can produce good results. Look out for wines produced from Seyval Blanc, Madeleine Angevine, and the aromatic Sieggerebe for whites and Rondo and Phoenix for reds.

Visiting vineyards and enjoying wine tasting in Devon is an unparalleled experience that awaken all of the senses due to the beautiful landscapes that Devon has to offer. Lympstone Manor offers vineyard tours with wine tasting and Michelin-star lunch every Wednesday.