Christmas
Christmas party night
A shared Christmas party with a three-course meal, a disco and a bar open until midnight.
Friday 18 December 2026 · £50 a head plus £7 deposit · Book ahead
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Vineyard guide · Trethurgy
Visiting Knightor Winery
Knightor Winery makes still and sparkling wine and its own Cornish vermouth in an old farmstead at Trethurgy, about a mile from the Eden Project. The cellar door opens Wednesday to Sunday for tastings, wine by the glass and Cornish cheese plates, and dogs are welcome.
Knightor at a glance
| Founded | Winery buildings bought 2010, first sparkling vintage 2011 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Small-batch Cornish wines, long-aged sparkling wine and Knightor vermouth |
| Grapes | Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Bacchus, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe, Riesling and Muscat, among others |
| Open | Cellar door Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm |
| Booking | No booking for self-guided tastings, book ahead for groups, private tastings and cheese plates |
| Tours from | £11 self-guided tasting, £16 guided tasting |
| Food | Cornish cheese plates from 11am to 3pm, plus olives, crisps and nuts |
| Dogs | Welcome, with clay trails nearby for walks |
| Children | Families welcome, with space for children to explore |
| By train | St Austell, about 5 miles away |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
About Knightor
Knightor takes its name from a settlement first recorded in 1305 as Creghtyer, Cornish for ’wrinkled land’. It was once part of the manor of Treverbyn and later a seat of the Trevanion family. The manor house was rebuilt in the 19th century and still has fragments of mullioned windows and a date stone of 1623 built into it, and the main barn, from the late 18th or early 19th century, once held a shippon and a threshing barn. China clay was found nearby around 1769, and the clay industry shaped the landscape around Trethurgy.
In 2010 the winery bought the Knightor buildings and a four-acre smallholding from Imerys, the successor to the clay mining companies. The business was founded by Adrian Derx, who previously ran an IT company, and its first harvest was in 2011. Knightor has its own vineyards at Portscatho on the Roseland Peninsula and at Seaton in south-east Cornwall, and also buys fruit from other Cornish growers.
The wines are made in small batches, and the sparkling wines are aged for at least five years before release. Knightor also blends its own vermouths from its English wines with herbs and spices. Its Blanc de Blancs 2015 was named World’s Finest at the 2024 Glass of Bubbly Awards.
The wines
Knightor makes cool-climate whites, rosés and reds in small batches, plus long-aged sparkling wine and vermouth. Still wines include Bacchus, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and a skin-fermented Muscat, the Trevannion and Mena Hweg blends, the Carpe Diem white, rosé and red, rosés from Pinot Noir and from Portscatho Pinot Noir Précoce, and reds from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The sparkling range includes Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, a Vintage Cuvée, Brut Classic Cuvée white and rosé, and a Sparkling Red Demi Sec. The vermouths come in White, Dry, Rosé and Rosso. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Knightor
The cellar door is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm and is closed on Monday and Tuesday. It serves Knightor’s still and sparkling wines, vermouths, aperitifs and cocktails, along with soft drinks, beers and ciders, and you can take bottles home. Cornish cheese plates (£8.50, serving one) are available from 11am to 3pm and are best booked ahead. On Christmas Eve the cellar door opens from 12pm to 4pm with mulled wine and live music, and no ticket is needed. Knightor is a working winery in an old farmstead with rough ground, uneven levels, steps and thresholds, so wear sensible shoes; an accessibility guide is on its website. Knightor also runs The Vine, a seasonal spot at its Portscatho vineyard on the Roseland with pizzas, cheese plates and wine by the glass, which closes for 2026 after 31 October.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Wine Tasting Four wines poured by your host, with notes on how each is made and served. Booking is advised for larger groups or private tastings. | £16 per person | About 45 minutes | During cellar door hours, Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm |
| Self Guided Wine Tasting A flight of four wines or four vermouths with tasting and production notes, which you can combine with drinks from the bar. Email ahead for large groups or if you want food. | £11 per person | At your own pace | During cellar door hours, no booking needed |
| The Cornish Cocktail Experience A welcome cocktail or mocktail, a classic vermouth cocktail, a short history of aperitifs and vermouth, a tasting of the four core vermouths, then blending your own spritz. You take home a 37.5cl bottle of Knightor Vermouth that you wax yourself. Mocktails are available for drivers. | £30 per person | 90 minutes | Pre-booked for groups, with a minimum of 10 to 12 people |
| Christmas Shared Party Night A three-course meal, a disco and a full bar at the winery. Private festive events can also be booked through December and January. | £50 per person plus a £7 non-refundable deposit | Evening, with the bar open until midnight | Friday 18 December 2026 |
| Grape to Glass Winery Tour A tour of the winery with one of the winemakers, ending with a tutored tasting. It is dog friendly, and Cornish cheese plates can be added at £8.50 each. The tour is paused for now and the winery suggests visiting the cellar door in the meantime. | £22 per person | About 90 minutes | Sundays at 11am, March to September, returning in 2027 |
Book these on the Knightor website.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Christmas
Christmas Eve at the cellar door
Mulled wine, live acoustic music and last-minute gift shopping at the winery cellar door.
Thursday 24 December 2026 · Shop 12pm to 4pm, music 1pm to 3pm · Drop in
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Buy Knightor wines
8 bottles in stock with our wine partners this week. Prices are for a single 75cl bottle.
Sparkling
Knightor Classic Cuvée Sparkling
Knightor's non-vintage Brut, a fruity and generous sparkling wine with floral aromas, peach, apple and a subtle lees character.
£32.99at WinebuyersBuySparkling rosé
Knightor Classic Cuvée Rosé Sparkling
A low-dosage sparkling rosé blended from seven varieties, with raspberry, apple and citrus and a savoury finish.
£34.99at WinebuyersBuySparkling, off-dry
Knightor Mena Hweg 2023
A low-alcohol, gently sweet Schönburger made in the German Kabinett mould, with blossom, citrus and stone fruit aromas.
£19.99at WinebuyersBuyWhite
Knightor Bacchus 2025
A dry, highly aromatic Cornish Bacchus with crisp orchard fruit, lively acidity and a hedgerow character.
£19.99at WinebuyersBuyWhite
Knightor Chardonnay 2023
A Chardonnay fermented and then aged for 11 months in older French barrels, with citrus fruit and a light creamy oak note.
£19.99at WinebuyersBuyRosé
Knightor Carpe Diem Rosé
A pale salmon Cornish rosé blended from five varieties including Rondo and Pinot Noir, with raspberry, peach and citrus.
£17.99at WinebuyersBuy
Show 2 more wines
Rosé
Knightor Pinot Noir Rosé 2022
A dry Pinot Noir rosé, partly fermented in American oak, giving a little more body than most.
£19.99at WinebuyersBuyRed
Knightor Carpe Diem Red
A lightly oaked, medium-bodied red blend with cherry and strawberry, plus pepper and spice from the Regent grape.
£18.99at WinebuyersBuy
Getting there
Knightor is about 10 minutes from the A30, a mile from the Eden Project and 5 miles from St Austell station. Brown tourist signs lead to it from the road between Carluddon and the Eden Project, with winery signs at the end of the lane. Do not rely on the postcode, which can take you to Knightor Close in Trethurgy village: from there the winery is about 500 metres away, up the lane heading north out of the village, and the granite gateposts are on the left after the manor house. The what3words address is ///grove.trial.boosted.
Make a day of it
The Eden Project is about a mile away, so the two fit easily into one day, and the clay trails nearby are good for a walk, with or without a dog. St Austell and the bay are a short drive. Knightor’s own seasonal venue, The Vine at Portscatho on the Roseland, is the place to go in the warmer months. For a second Cornish vineyard, Camel Valley near Bodmin opens on weekdays.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Cornwall directory. Our other Cornwall vineyard guides: Camel Valley, Polgoon.
Questions people ask
Do you need to book at Knightor Winery?
Not for a self-guided tasting or a drink at the cellar door. Booking is advised for larger groups and private tastings, and cheese plates are best booked ahead. The Cornish Cocktail Experience must be pre-booked.
How much is a wine tasting at Knightor?
A self-guided flight of four wines or vermouths is £11, and a guided tasting of four wines, lasting about 45 minutes, is £16.
Does Knightor run winery tours?
The Grape to Glass tour (£22, Sundays at 11am from March to September) is paused and due back in 2027. Until then, the cellar door tastings are the way to try the wines.
Is Knightor Winery dog friendly?
Yes. Dogs are welcome at the cellar door and at The Vine, and there are clay trails close by for a walk.
Can you take children to Knightor?
Yes, families are welcome and there is space for children to explore. The site has rough ground and steps, so take care with buggies.
How far is Knightor from the Eden Project?
About a mile. Follow the brown signs from the road between Carluddon and the Eden Project rather than the postcode.