Corking places to go wine tasting in Bristol

Want to become a wine aficionado, discover the secrets of local Bristol vineyards, learn about pairing food with your favourite plonk or sip like a pro with friends in aid of wine education? We've put together a list of the best wine tastings in Bristol to keep you watered all year round. Bottom's up!

Aldwick Estate

Aldwick Estate is a 300 acre family-run farm located beneath the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills. They offer 90-minute tours of their 11 acres of grape vines, so you can discover the history behind the largest vineyard in Somerset, learn about English viticulture and see the grapes from which their wine will be made...and judge the produce for yourself by sampling a few! View their upcoming events

Image: Aldwick Estate vineyard

Hotel du Vin & Bistro

If you like your wine accompanied by some tasty morsels, it's worth keeping an eye on Bristol City Centre's Hotel du Vin for their special wining and dining events. However, any day of the week you can enjoy a meal accompanied by a glass or bottle of the finest wines from their extensive menu. 

Image: Hotel du Vin

Thornbury Castle

This striking 16th century pile, now a luxury hotel, has an award-winning restaurant, excellent wine selection, expert sommeliers and even its own vineyard in the Tudor gardens. Culinary, cocktail and wine tasting events take place throughout the year. Book yourself a place to learn about some corking wine in exquisite Tudor surroundings. See what's on.

Image: Thornbury Castle

Clifton Wine School

Clifton Wine School’s flagship course will turn you into an expert sommelier over eight weeks of masterclasses, which cover different regions of the wine world and feature over 50 wines. They also offer food and wine pairing events, including charcuterie, cheese and chocolate - a delicious and great way to meet fellow wine lovers, sip sip hooray! 

Yuup

Find food and drink experiences across the city, including weekly wine tasting and pairing events. Sample wine and cheese, indulge in a natural wine flight or enjoy a vegan meal matched with complimentary tipples. The line-up of experiences on Yuup changes every week, so you'll always find something new to try or explore. Browse experiences.

Limeburn Hill Vineyard

Limeburn Hill Vineyard is the only biodynamic vineyard in the South West of England. Perched on a sunny south-facing slope at Chew Magna, just outside Bristol, around 1800 vines have been hand-planted, producing six varieties of grapes. All are certified as organic and biodynamic, meaning the wines have no added sulphites, use no filtering or fining, have no additives, contain no use of animal products and are all fermented with wild yeast from the vineyard. The growing and winemaking both follow the principles of biodynamic agriculture, a holistic system that sees the farm as a living organism, improves the fertility of the soil without chemicals, and works with the energy of the sun and moon to encourage healthy growth.

To treat your tastebuds to some of their vino, they run vineyard tours, tasting events and workshops on various dates (check their website), or you can seek them out at local festivals.

Image: Limeburn Hill Vineyard

Averys

Averys Wine Merchants have had a shop in Bristol since 1793 - now approaching their 230th year of trading. Over the years the family has built its reputation as one of the UK’s most pioneering wine merchants, and shows no signs of slowing down with 5th generation Mimi Avery now at the helm. Wine tastings, wine-derful events and in-depth wine courses take place throughout the year - often in their historic vaulted cellars, for a unique quaffing experience.

Look out for collaborations with Bristol Film Festival, whose clever programming sees movies matched with Bristol settings. Browse the events and book your tickets online.

Wine Unearthed

Based at The Square Club in Clifton, Wine Unearthed run a variety of wine tasting days throughout the year, and are one of the longest-running in the city. Their wine tasting course includes 15 wines and a three-course meal.

Le Vignoble

Located in Finzels Reach, Le Vignoble is a fun and relaxed wine bar with over 60 different wines available by the glass from their self service enomatic machines, so you can sample several wines during your visit! Otherwise wines are also available by the glass and their team are always on hand to offer advice and tasting notes. They also do regular wine tasting events and even a wine-based quiz!

KASK

This cosy wine bar in Bedminster focuses on sustainable, organic, vegan, sometimes biodynamic, sometimes natural, but 'always mind-blowing' wine. As well as regular wine tasting and pairings with cheeses, you can also join their virtual wine tastings or order one of their DIY at-home wine tasting kits.

Image: KASK

Bristol and Bath Wine School

Bristol Wine School’s classes take place at gastropub, the Kensington Arms in Redland, and offer a fun intro to wine tasting, tips on pairing cheese with wine and advice on buying good ol’ grape juice. Wine pupils taste each wine 'blind' in order to focus on flavour before re-tasting it with a carefully chosen artisan cheese.

Cave

This wine bar, bottle shop and deli on Gloucester Road sells food and wine sourced from small-scale and sustainable producers. Their programme of wine tastings focuses on different regions and types, from Eastern European tipples to volcanic wine regions.

Dunleavy vineyard    

Bristol resident Ingrid Bates planted her vineyard in the Chew Valley back in 2008 and since 2012 has been creating and releasing Pinot noir rosé that has won countless awards and been recommended by some of the world’s top wine critics. Group visits are offered by appointment, where visitors can meet Ingrid, see the vines, taste a sample of the wine and take a peek at local artists’ studios.

Native Vine

With a focus on natural wines, as well as cider, beer and spirits, Native Vine has a shop in The Bristol Loaf in Bedminster, and runs regular tasting events there, as well as at The Bristol Loaf in Bristol Beacon, and at Two Belly in Clifton. Their aim is to focus on sustainable farming practices, lesser known grape varieties and small-scale producers so we can paint a bigger picture of what wine can be - you're guaranteed to try something new!

The Quadrant

You’ll find this characterful bar on Princess Victoria Street in Clifton, its arched windows full of punters sipping on fine wines by candlelight in the evenings always make it look incredibly inviting. As well as over 30 wines by the glass, they also offer their wine expertise to to wine novices or connoisseurs. Wine tasting groups take place in the cosy cellar, cater for between 10-30 people and can be tailored to suit.

Grape and Grind

These guys on Gloucester Road know a thing or two about grapes and host wine tasting evenings in the shop - a fun way to taste your way through eight wines. If you’re after a private tastings, they can also do that on request, either in your home or in the shop, just give them a call.

You might also like:

• Want to see how some of the city's finest local tipples are made? Discover more Brewery, Vineyard and Distillery Tours & Tastings in Bristol. 
• Hone your skills in a cookery class, learn everything from knife skills to Thai cuisine on these food and drink experiences.
• Bristol is a beer lover's paradise, with over 20 breweries in the city and surrounding countryside and many of them have tap rooms that you can visit. Find out more here: Bristol's Brewery Tap Rooms.
• For more beverage tasting experiences, check out The Cider Box for, well, cider! Or if gin's more your thing, 6 O'Clock Gin, Bristol Dry Gin and Psychopomp Gin all offer tipple tasting events and workshops. And keep an eye on Milk Thistle calendar for further gin tasting activities.

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