First came the British vineyards – and great British wine. Then came the vineyard restaurants, shepherd’s huts and even full-blown vineyard hotels. Here are some of the UK’s best stays, tried and tested, from the ‘English champagne region’ of Sussex to the castaway magic of the Isles of Scilly

WORDS: SUSAN LOW, LES DUNN. PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

LLANERCH

Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

WHY IT’S GREAT

One of Wales’s oldest vineyards, Llanerch began making its Cariad (Welsh for ‘sweetheart’) wines in a shed behind the farmhouse back in the 1980s, here in a peaceful spot in the Vale of Glamorgan, a 20-minute drive from Cardiff. Bought by an entrepreneur with a goal to create an Australian-style wine hotel, Llanerch expanded and reopened in 2019. It’s a slick operation, but with down-to-earth Welsh hospitality to save it from pretentiousness.

TOUR & TASTING

Over a leisurely hour-long tour (April to October, £15pp) you stroll among the vines and get to try three of the five Cariad wines (a sparkling brut and a sparkling blush, dry and off-dry whites and a rosé).

The wines are actually made at the Three Choirs Vineyards in Gloucestershire, and while they aren’t going to challenge the best bottles from Burgundy any time soon, the sparkling blush is an enjoyable drop.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER?

In fine weather you can eat on the pretty garden terrace overlooking the vines. Inside it’s wood floors, comfortable banquettes and lots of greenery. Starters might include a heritage tomato salad with whipped goat’s cheese, followed by a slow-roasted shoulder of Welsh lamb with a sticky red onion jam. Puddings run the gamut of crowdpleasers: treacle tart, salted caramel cheesecake, lemon meringue posset…