Five Welsh Vineyards You Need to Know About

Are you a wine connoisseur? If so, you’ll already know there are 30 blossoming vineyards across Wales, helping put the country on the map as a nation brimming with successful wine producers.

So to celebrate St David’s Day, we’ve picked five of Wales’ best vineyards to visit or buy delicious wine from

Words: Natasha Lovell-Smith

Gwinllan Conwy

Colin and Charlotte Bennett turned Gwinllan Conwy into a three-acre working vineyard in 2012. Ten years on and with over 3000 vines, Gwinllan Conwy has received over 15 national and international awards, including a silver medal for the 2018 Solaris in the Wine GB Awards 2019. Gwinllan Conwy’s success is underpinned by the microclimate of North Wales, which pairs resemblance to the climate of New Zealand, thanks to its proximity to the sea which means its experiences mild winters allowing the vines to develop earlier.

White Castle Vineyard

White Castle Vineyard, run by Robb and Nicola Merchant, is a five-acre, gently sloping, south facing field with over 4000 vines nestled between Abergavenny and Monmouth. White Castle Vineyard made history as the first Welsh vineyard to win gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2021. Made from Pinot Noir Précoce vintage 2018, White Castle’s Pinot Noir Reserve beat the likes of wine producing legends France, Argentina and New Zealand.

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Llanerch Vineyard

Llanerch opened Wales’ only vineyard hotel in 2019. Nestled in the quiet countryside and surrounded by woodland and vines, the unique hotel boasts an award-winning restaurant, wine tasting and vineyard tours all aiming to offer visitors the very best ‘wine escape’.

In just three years, owner Ryan Davies, who has worked in vineyards in New Zealand and Australia, has turned Llanerch into the largest commercial vineyard in Wales. In the coming weeks, Llanerch is set to open a brand-new Tasting Lodge and rooftop bar, overlooking the vineyard and the rolling hillsides.

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Hebron Vineyard

Hebron Vineyard is a family run, organic vineyard based in Carmarthenshire. Moving back to the UK after nine years converting an established vineyard into an award-winning low intervention organic vineyard in Andalucia, Spain, Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt wanted to do the same in West Wales.

With hard work and determination, Hebron’s first release was in 2019. The sister wine of the 2018 vintage is a superlative sparkling white wine named ‘Silver Lining’. Wine Master David Darlow noted the 2018 sparkling wine was “exceptional quality”.

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Velfrey Vineyard

Established in 2016, Velfrey Vineyard occupies a three-acre south facing slope in the Lampeter Vale in the South Pembrokeshire countryside. With over 4,000 vines, and renowned for its production of sparkling wines, the family-run vineyard will launch a 2019 Cuvée Reserve Sparkling Brut – a vintage traditional method sparkling brut wine, made from Seyval Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes – at the upcoming Welsh Wine Week 2022.

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For more information, go to https://welshwineweek.co.uk/