There was a time when enjoying vineyard tours meant heading to France, Italy or California. Now, some of the most exciting wine experiences are much closer to home. Britain’s vineyards have firmly found their place on the wine map, producing exceptional sparkling wines in some of the country’s most beautiful corners.
Autumn is arguably the best time to visit. The vines turn shades of gold and copper, harvest is in full swing, and estates across the country open their vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms to visitors.
Think wine tastings, long leisurely lunches, countryside walks and a behind-the-scenes look at how some of Britain’s best bottles are made. At some vineyards, you can even stay among the vines and turn vineyard tours into a weekend away.
From celebrated wine estates to intimate family-run vineyards, Emma Harrison rounds up 20 of the best vineyard tours worth booking this harvest season.
Rathfinny Estate, East Sussex
Sussex has become England’s answer to Champagne, and Rathfinny is one of the estates that has helped put it firmly on the wine map. Spread across 600 acres of the South Downs near Alfriston, its vines follow the chalky contours of the hills, creating one of the country’s most impressive vineyard landscapes.
The Harvest Tour takes visitors from vineyard to winery, with a hands-on dosage trial followed by a tasting of four wines, offering an insight into the estate as harvest gets underway.
Tinwood Estate, West Sussex
From grape to glass, Tinwood’s 90-minute tour takes visitors through the vineyard and winery, exploring its flinty, chalky soils and the traditional method behind its Sussex sparkling wines.
The tour ends with three estate wines to taste, while harvest in September brings the chance to spend a morning hand-picking grapes for the 2026 vintage, followed by a rustic lunch and more wine.
Eight wooden lodges overlooking the vines make it easy to turn the visit into a weekend, with private terraces, jacuzzi baths and a communal barrel sauna for post-tasting downtime.
https://www.tinwoodestate.com
Liba Vineyard, Wiltshire
Part vineyard, part woodland retreat, Liba is a new biodynamic estate where the first 4,000 vines are heading into harvest this autumn. Planted by hand in 2023, they are expected to produce the estate’s first small-batch wine in spring 2027.
For now, the experience is as much about staying among the vines as tasting them, with three secluded glamping pods tucked into the woodland, complete with hot tubs and firepits. Think crisp autumn mornings among the vines, hot tubs under the trees and a front-row seat for the first chapter of Liba’s wine story.
Wraxall Vineyard, Somerset
Nearly half a century of vines has made Wraxall one of Somerset’s oldest vineyards, its rows climbing the hills outside Bruton. Their vineyard tours take visitors through the vines and winery before a guided tasting of its still and sparkling English wines.
From 25th to 27th September, the estate celebrates harvest with live music, firepit cooking and long tables overlooking the vines, alongside vineyard tours and tastings. For those reluctant to leave, three cottages and two shepherd’s huts offer the chance to sleep among the vines and wake up to Somerset countryside.
https://wraxallvineyard.co.uk
Two Beacons Vineyard, Herefordshire
With harvest approaching, Two Beacons Vineyard offers a chance to see one of Herefordshire’s newer wine estates at work. More than 16,000 vines now cover the hillside, where grapes are harvested by hand.
Its 90-minute vineyard tours weave through the vines with tastings of sparkling Rosé Pinot Noir, Bacchus and Pinot Noir Précoce, plus a snack board and views towards the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Beacons.
There’s also the chance to compare vintages and see how the changing seasons shape the wines, with dogs welcome along for the walk.
https://twobeaconsvineyard.com
Black Dog Hill Vineyard, West Sussex
Beneath the slopes of Ditchling Beacon, Black Dog Hill is a tiny family-run vineyard producing English sparkling wine from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with winemaker Dermot Sugrue.
Private vineyard tours offer a closer and a more exclusive look at the vines and the story behind the bottles, with harvest lending the experience an extra sense of theatre in autumn.
There is also a small cellar door in Ditchling village, perfect for extending the visit beyond the vineyard.
https://blackdoghillvineyard.com
Harrow and Hope, Buckinghamshire
Small in stature, but serious about its wines, Harrow & Hope makes traditional-method sparkling wine from a single vineyard above the River Thames near Marlow.
Its two-hour tour follows the grapes from the flint and clay-rich vineyard into the winery, before a tasting of three estate sparkling wines. With harvest approaching, it offers an intimate look at the work behind the bottle, from the soil beneath the vines to the finished fizz.
www.harrowandhope.com
Three Choirs Vineyards, Gloucestershire
One of England’s oldest vineyards, Three Choirs planted its first vines in 1973 and now spans 75 acres of Gloucestershire countryside. Its guided vineyard tours take in the vines and winery before a tasting of five wines with a cheeseboard.
Harvest, which typically runs from September into October, brings the estate into its busiest period, with grapes hand-picked before being pressed on the same day.
https://www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk
Burnt House Vineyard, Suffolk
Family farming and winemaking come together at Burnt House, where a guided walk through the vines reveals the story behind its still and sparkling English wines.
The 90-minute tour finishes with three estate wines in the tasting room overlooking the vineyard, with the option to add a board of Suffolk cheeses, charcuterie and antipasti. As harvest approaches, it offers a closer look at a working vineyard at one of the busiest points in its calendar.
https://www.burnthousevineyard.co.uk
Black Chalk – Hampshire
A visit to Black Chalk takes you from the vines into the winery before finishing with a tasting of its English sparkling wines. The 30-acre estate sits alongside the River Test, making for a particularly pretty setting, while harvest brings the vineyard into its busiest season as grapes are picked and rushed to the winery for pressing.
For those who want to make a weekend of it beyond the vineyard tours, four Scandinavian-style treehouses perch six metres above the vines, with king-size beds, woodburners and outdoor baths. Private wine tastings can even be arranged in the comfort of your treehouse.
Gusbourne, Kent
Harvest is the moment to see Gusbourne at its most atmospheric, as hand-picked grapes make their way from the Kentish vines to the winery. Its Harvest Estate Tour gets close to the action, with the chance to taste grapes straight from the vine and, depending on the timing, juice fresh from the press.
There’s a guided tasting of Gusbourne’s wines, followed by a three-course lunch with pairings at their fantastic restaurant – The Nest, making for a suitably indulgent way to spend a day in the vineyard.
Nyetimber, West Sussex
Some of England’s oldest vines can be found at Nyetimber, where limited Open Day Vineyard Tours offer a chance to wander through the historic West Sussex vineyards before tasting four of its sparkling wines in the 15th-century Medieval Barn.
For harvest, the 1086 Harvest Dining Experience offers something even more indulgent, with a four-course dinner paired with Nyetimber wines and views across the South Downs, celebrating the culmination of the vintage in suitably elegant surroundings.
The Grange, Hampshire
Four siblings, 52,000 vines and a handsome Hampshire estate: The Grange is a family affair from vineyard to bottle. Small-group vineyard tours led by the team take visitors through the vines and into the 2022 winery, before a tasting in the bright, airy tasting room.
Beyond the vineyard, the wider estate has some seriously elegant places to stay, from an eight-bedroom Georgian farmhouse to a secluded Victorian clock tower, adding a little country-house glamour to the wine experience.
https://www.thegrangewine.co.uk
Denbies, Surrey
There is something rather special about seeing the Surrey Hills turn into wine country, with rows of vines stretching across Denbies’ estate.
Autumn is a particularly good time to visit, when the Secret Vineyard Trail follows the story of harvest through the vines, while the Harvest Tour & Dinner adds a vineyard train ride, a look inside the winery and cellars, and a three-course seasonal dinner overlooking the estate.
There’s also a 17-room Vineyard Hotel on site, so you can wake up among the vines rather than simply passing through on one of their intriguing vineyard tours.
Stanlake Park Wine Estate, Berkshire
Forget waiting until the end of the tour for a tasting. At Stanlake Park, the wine comes with you, with six different pours accompanying the journey from vineyard to winery, fermentation room, barrel cellar, fizz room and bottling line.
The relaxed vineyard tours offer a behind-the-scenes look at how English wine is made, with autumn bringing the excitement of harvest to the estate. Afterwards, there’s the wine bar and garden to linger in, or two boutique lodges overlooking the vines if you fancy staying a little longer.
www.stanlakepark.com
Hambledon, Hampshire
A pioneer of English sparkling wine since 1952, Hambledon has history running through its chalky South Downs estate. Normally, their vineyard tours takes in the historic vines, gravity-fed winery and deep underground cellars before a tasting of three sparkling wines.
In September, the tour focuses on the vineyard as harvest gets underway, before October brings a dedicated Harvest Tasting, with four wines and the chance to taste grape juice fresh from the press as the new vintage gets underway.
https://hambledonvineyard.co.uk
Chapel Down, Kent
Vines, a working winery and The Swan restaurant all come together at Chapel Down’s Tenterden estate. Its guided tour follows the life of the vine, from Kent’s maritime climate through to winemaking, before a tasting of five signature wines.
Harvest brings its own atmosphere, with winery activity in full swing, while The Swan provides a natural place to follow the tasting with lunch and a glass or two more.
White Castle Vineyard, Monmouthshire
What if you could help pick the grapes that become your own bottle of Welsh wine? At White Castle Vineyard, the Adopt a Vine experience brings visitors back at harvest to hand-pick grapes from their adopted vine, alongside their guided vineyard tours and tastings.
Set among the rolling hills of Monmouthshire, the family-run estate offers a wonderfully hands-on way to experience Welsh wine at its most seasonal.
https://whitecastlevineyard.com
Sandridge Barton, Devon
Wine country feels rather different in Devon, where Sandridge Barton sits among the rolling countryside above the River Dart. Its Vineyard Safari tours run until the end of September, but the Guided Tasting continues through harvest and throughout the year, offering a closer look at the winemaking process followed by three wines and local Devon cheeses.
For an autumn visit, it is a chance to see the estate at one of its busiest moments, when the year’s grapes are finally making their way from vine to winery.
https://shop.sandridgebarton.com
Albury Vineyard, Surrey
There is something particularly alluring about visiting a vineyard at harvest time. This autumn, Albury Vineyard is extending its usual tour season with a special date on 3 October, inviting guests to discover the vines and the craft behind its organic English sparkling wines.
The celebrations continue on 10 October with a delicious Harvest Lunch, pairing Albury’s wines with an elegant menu of seasonal, locally sourced produce. A refined and unhurried way to enjoy the English countryside as the season turns.
https://www.alburyvineyard.com/
Whether you’re after a hands-on harvest experience, a leisurely tasting or simply a beautiful day in the countryside, these vineyard tours offer a closer look at the people, places and craft behind Britain’s growing wine scene. And, of course with harvest bringing the vineyards to life, there’s arguably no better time to go!
Photo Credit: Provided by each vineyard
