Pop…… glug, glug, glug…….ahhhhhhhhhhhh… Adventures in Yorkshire Wine Tourism

Experiences are much more important to me then things nowadays. I feel like I'm in a place surrounded by people of a similar mindset, and certainly the last year or so has impacted upon that sense of spending quality time, trying new things, and living life to its fullest. As a person who certainly enjoys #wine but is definitely not in any way, shape or form a connoisseur, the opportunity of a #vineyard #tour and convenient on-site camping in the UK, when we can't venture much further, was too good an opportunity to miss. Buyagift are offering some fantastic gift packages at the moment, the diversity really speaks to this new emerging #experience seeking consumer. It's also a great way for smaller, less well-known organisations to gain some visibility. Within the vineyard tour and lunch package, there were a wide variety of different UK vineyard locations to choose from, and I was actually surprised about the prevalence of the UK wine tourism industry (there are around 600 vineyards in the UK did you know?).

As a lover of food and drink (yeah, I just LOVE the wine!), #gastronomy as a feature of #tourism has always been something that is appealed to me and has also been a subject of personal research interest. However, I probably fall in line with the majority when I say that I wouldn't immediately associate #wine #tourism with the UK. The location chosen was the Yorkshire Heart vineyard, approximately 10 miles from York and 10 miles from Knaresborough, just off the A1.

The #vineyard provides basic camping with toilet amenities in a grassy area on the perimeter of the vineyard for £15 per night. A great opportunity therefore to sample the wine and not have to worry about driving! Admittedly the initial appeal of the weekend was the opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes, and aside from the rather miserable insight afforded to me through one day's worth of vine training in Mildura, Victoria, Australia back in 2000, my knowledge about wine production is rather limited. With the exception however of a recent tour of the Taylor’s port house in #Porto, see a previous blog.

What can I say? The tour was great, and I’d highly recommend it. I learned an awful lot, such as, from this point forwards I will always buy wine with a cork on both sustainability and hedonic grounds. BUT, the biggest thing I learned is the importance of getting back out there, supporting small business and helping our crippled tourism industry get back on its feet. The stories of the impact of COVID upon the tourism industry are somehow more meaningful when they are given such emotive and human centred story. This 34-acre #vineyard in #Yorkshire was created through the blood, sweat, tears and sheer love, passion, determination and (self-proclaimed) madness of Chris and his family.

Everything they do and every decision they make is made out of their passion and love for the art of wine making. Their story is told with warmth and humour. You can see that their ethos as a family is not greed but a desire to offer the best quality product to their customers in a responsible way. Incidentally, and interestingly they don't lead with a desire to do things responsibly or organically, but this outcome is a by-product of their family #values. Something Chris said really struck me about the connection between his work and #responsible #business in that “he who plants trees knowing that he will never sit in their shade has started to understand the meaning of life”. He is hoping to enjoy a long and healthy life complemented by the #hedonic #pleasures of the drink he and his family produce but knows that the rewards will be reaped by his #future #generations.

You can find out more about the Yorkshire Heart vineyard by following this link and can book onto one of the various tours or the campsite using the contact details provided. Is also worthy of note that a number of Vineyards in Yorkshire have responded to the value and appeal of the local #wine #tourism industry and formalised this in the Yorkshire wine route.

#winetourism #UK #Yorkshire #camping #vineyard #familybusiness #responsiblebusiness