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By Marc Millon
Wine tourism is a growing trend in the short break holiday market here in the UK. Today’s wine lovers are seeking not just opportunities to taste good and great wine, they are searching for experiences that include visiting wine estates to taste, learn and enjoy directly at the source.
Wine tourism is something that has long been available to wine lovers and explorers touring the wine country of France, Germany, Italy, California, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. But it is only in recent years that wine lovers in the UK have been able to experience this at the growing number of English and Welsh wine estates that now have the facilities to host visitors.
How, then, to plan the perfect wine experience? It depends on many factors, such as the occasion, whether you are looking for an afternoon or evening event, or whether you would like to plan a full vineyard holiday.
Many wine estates offer vineyard visits followed by a wine tasting. In such instances, you will see where the grapes are grown, learn about the situation of the vineyard, its exposure and soil composition, as well as about the grape varieties cultivated. Afterwards, you might then visit the wine production cellar to learn about how the wines are made. Or else you might have the opportunity to taste the range of wines, sometimes with the option to have either light drinking snacks or even a full meal.
A Lympstone Manor Estate vineyard visit, for example, includes a tour of the single-estate vineyard that lies below Lympstone Manor itself, on sloping parkland leading down to the Exe Estuary. This is followed by a detailed explanation of the winemaking processes that take place at Lympstone Manor Estate’s partner Lyme Bay Winery. A glass of Lympstone Manor Estate Classic Cuvee will be served before either a Michelin-star lunch in the Lympstone Manor Restaurant or in the more informal Lympstone Manor Pool House Restaurant.
For wine lovers who are seeking to plan a vineyard holiday, the best bet is to stay in the heart of the wine country in order to be able to visit one or more wine estates over the course of a leisurely and enjoyable few days.
At Lympstone Manor, visitors can stay in the 2-Michelin Key luxury country house hotel or in a Luxury Shepherd Hut situated at the foot of the Lympstone Manor Estate vineyard. This provides the opportunity to learn not only about the award-winning wines that Lympstone Manor Estate is now producing, it also gives a base from which to visit other leading wine estates within easy reach, including partner Lyme Bay Winery, Sandridge Barton, Swanaford, Pebblebed and others.
The Lympstone Manor Estate range of wines, as well as other local Devon wines, can then be enjoyed over sumptuous dinner or lunch in the Lympstone Manor Restaurant, while wine lovers can further enjoy and learn about wines from around the world with the guidance of the expert sommelier team who look after Lympstone Manor’s 600-bin wine list.
Wine tourism is an ever-growing sector of the holiday market that fulfils the desire for people to have an enjoyable learning experience while indulging in great food and wine. Lympstone Manor and Lympstone Manor Estate provide the perfect opportunity for vineyard visits and wine vineyard holidays alike.
