The Vineyard at Lympstone Manor Hotel
When Michael first visited Lympstone Manor, he was not only inspired by the potential to transform a dilapidated mansion into what has become a luxury country house hotel and highly acclaimed Lympstone Manor, he was equally excited at the prospect of planting a vineyard in Devon on the southwest-facing parkland overlooking the beautiful Exe estuary.
“Most of the great vineyards of Europe are all located near rivers, the Médoc châteaux of Bordeaux on the Gironde, wine estates along the Rhône, Loire, and Rhine rivers, the great port vineyards of the Douro. So why not the Exe estuary? Our climate is mild and the success of other local vineyards has convinced me that it will be possible to produce outstanding wines here.”
Michael’s dream is to produce high-quality English sparkling wine utilising the varietals of Champagne: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Vineyards, like dreams, take time to be transformed into reality, time for roots to penetrate deep down and become established, time for grapes to ripen, for wines to be made, for secondary fermentation, and for the complexity to develop that only comes from lengthy maturation on the lees in the bottle.
You can now view and purchase the Lympstone Manor Estate wine to enjoy at home.
Each Wednesday between May and September we run Vineyard tours for our resident guests and special lunch packages for our non-residents.
Find out more about our Vineyard tours here.
“The vine likes to see the water”
MICHAEL CAINES MBE
Triassic Pinot Noir
English Award Winning Wine
Lympstone Manor’s Triassic Pinot Noir 2020 has won gold at this year’s International Wine Challenge.
In its 39th year, the International Wine Challenge is accepted as the world’s most rigorous, impartial, and influential wine competition.
Judges comments on the Triassic, which was awarded 95 points out of 100 were, ‘A historic moment. A real Pinot Noir Trophy for England, and what a beauty! All the cool, bright-eyed scent of cherry blossom and rose, mingling with pink apple and strawberry fruit and slightest chew of red plum skins.’
Our Triassic Pinot Noir has won Bronze in the International Wine and Spirit Competition to add to its recently awarded gold in the International Wine Challenge.
The rigorous IWSC judges award wines from across the world and five still English red wines were awarded bronze medal status.
