OUR WINE TRAVEL BLOG
Discovering the ‘Historic Villages of Portugal’
There are ‘12 Historic Villages of Portugal’ and all but one are in Beira Interior - here we discover the beautiful Portuguese villages of Castelo Rodrigo and Marialva…
Exploring the hidden gems of Portugal’s Dão wine region
We get off the beaten track and visit Dão capital Viseu with its historic treasures, sample some of the best Dão wines in Portugal - and gastronomy - and enjoy what has to be one of the best gardens in Portugal!
2 days in the Minho region Portugal - Vinho Verde
As part of a tour of Portugal’s Vinho verde region, we ventured into the sub-region of ‘Basto’. Here we discovered the most amazing scenery, hospitality, history and of course, wines! We visited two very different wine and wine tourism estates and also spent time enjoying the amazing sights of the medieval city of Guimaraes.
Read all about our trip here…
Visit to Quinta das Arcas near Porto, Vinho Verde Portugal
Just 30 minutes drive north of Porto and you’re in Portugal’s wonderful Vinho Verde wine region, home to some of the world’s most beautiful vineyards and famous white wines! It’s also the location of top wine estate Quinta das Arcas - check out our visit here…
Wine tourism & innovation at Soalheiro, Vinho Verde Portugal
Portuguese wine tourism is a really exciting and fast-growing sector and is very popular in Vinho Verde. Read about our visit to Soalheiro in Vinho Verde’s ‘Monção and Melgaço’ wine region, the original Alvarinho vineyard in the region and featured in the 2022 World’s Best Vineyards to visit at number 16…..
Discovering Vinho Verde Alvarinho with Anselmo Mendes
Top of the places to visit in Portuguese Vinho Verde wine country, is the sub-region of Monção and Melgaço, where the white wine grape, Alvarinho, dominates. Read about our visit to this beautiful region and our visit to top winemaker, Anselmo Mendes and his new wine tourism destination, Quinta da Torre….
UPDATED - Visit to Wiston Estate, UK winery & restaurant
Wiston Estate, located in West Sussex, in the stunning South Downs National Park was voted ‘Winery of the year 2020, 2021 and 2022’ by WineGB and is celebrated for its award-winning English sparkling wines. Not just a winery, it’s a special place to visit for lovers of wine, food, nature and great hospitality - the perfect wine tourism experience…
UPDATED - UK wine tasting & tour at Sandridge Barton, Devon
Read about our wine tasting and tour at beautiful Sandridge Barton Estate - the new home of Sharpham Wine - in the Dart Valley, South Devon. This is a fabulous new English wine tourism destination - discover what you can enjoy at Sandridge Barton and in this lovely part of Devon….
2-3 days discovering Portugal’s Dao wine region
Portugueses Dão wines are some of the finest in Portugal but Dão is one of the least known of the Portuguese wine regions! In fact Dão is a beautiful, rural and very traditional part of Portugal and there is so much to discover….
UK wine tour & tasting at Oxney Organic Estate, E. Sussex
There may be a growing number of excellent English wine producers in Sussex, but you won’t find many organic ones. Oxney Organic Estate is the largest single-estate producer of organic English sparkling wine. Given the challenges to be certified organic, we were intrigued to find out more..
UK winery tour & wine tasting at Black Chalk Wines, Hampshire
Black Chalk Wines in Hampshire is a relative newcomer to the English wine scene, but they are winning rave reviews for their excellent sparkling wines. With one of the best vineyard locations in England, a brand new winery and two very exciting winemakers, Black Chalk is definitely worth exploring!
UK Kent vineyard tour at Balfour - Hush Heath Estate
A beautiful 400 acre estate; a winning sparkling rosé in the 2008 International Wine Challenge; a state-of-the-art winery and visitor centre, onsite shop and restaurant, apple orchards, award winning cider - and a masterclass in ‘Wine Tourism’…
UK Kent wine & cheese tasting at Gusbourne Estate
We were intrigued to visit Gusbourne Estate in Kent - simply because we had heard that their English sparkling wines are amongst the finest. We had read that Gusbourne is also a trailblazer in the UK for ‘sustainable winemaking’ - we just had to go and check it out for ourselves!
UK vineyard & winery tour at Hambledon, Hampshire
When you get the chance to visit the birthplace of English wine and home to England’s oldest commercial vineyard - and its got a reputation for top-class English sparkling wines - we didn’t hesitate!
UK winery tour & wine tasting at Hattingley Valley, Hampshire
The name Hattingley Valley Wines kept popping up to us as being synonymous with top-quality English sparkling wine - so we had to go and check it out for ourselves. We weren’t disappointed!
UK - Dorset vineyard tour at Langham Wine Estate
Langham Wine Estate was awarded the trophy for Sparking Wine Producer of the year at the ‘international’ IWSC 2020 - taking the trophy from 2019 winner, Veuve Cliquot! A good enough reason to visit? Absolutely & we weren’t disappointed!
UK vineyard & winery tour at Stanlake Park, Berks
Stanlake Park Wine Estate is one of the oldest English wine producers and the largest vineyard in Berkshire. It has a broad range of still as well as sparkling wines and you can tour the vineyards and the winery….
UK vineyard tour & wine tasting in Berkshire, at Winding Wood
We were intrigued to visit the boutique Winding Wood vineyard in West Berkshire - to try its English sparkling wines but also to learn more about how the vineyards came to be and plans for the future..