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Visiting Lyme Bay Winery
Lyme Bay Winery, at Shute near Axminster in East Devon, is a winery rather than a vineyard, making English still and sparkling wine from bought-in grapes alongside mead, fruit wines and liqueurs. Its cellar door opens six days a week, with a long guided tasting on Fridays and Saturdays.
Lyme Bay at a glance
| Founded | 1992, first English wine harvests in 2013 (sparkling) and 2014 (still) |
|---|---|
| Known for | English still wine, especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, plus mead and fruit wines |
| Grapes | Bought from growers, mainly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Bacchus from the Crouch Valley in Essex |
| Open | Cellar door Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm, closed 12.30pm to 1.15pm for lunch and on Sundays |
| Booking | No booking for the shop, guided tastings booked ahead by email |
| Tours from | £35 |
| Food | Nibbles with the guided tasting only, no café or restaurant |
| Dogs | Not stated, ask ahead |
| Children | Not stated; the website is for over-18s only |
| By train | Axminster, a short taxi ride away |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in October 2026.
About Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay Winery was founded in 1992 by Nigel Howard in the hills of East Devon, just outside Axminster and next to the medieval Shute estate. It began with country fruit wines, meads, ciders and liqueurs before turning to grape wine, and it still describes itself today as the largest mead and fruit wine maker in the UK.
The move into English wine came later. Vines were planted on two plots at Watchcombe and Southcote in 2009, the first sparkling harvest was in 2013 and the first still wine harvest in 2014, with the first wines released around 2015. Unusually for an English producer, the plan from the start was to put still wine first. Lyme Bay now buys grapes from a network of growers in Essex, Kent, Herefordshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Devon, and much of its fruit comes from the Crouch Valley in Essex, where it pays growers for ripeness rather than yield. James Lambert leads the winemaking team, with Clem Yates MW as consultant winemaker.
The approach has paid off in competitions. At the International Wine Challenge 2025 Lyme Bay became the first English producer to win the trophies for both Best English White Wine and Best English Red Wine in the same year, with its Martin’s Lane Chardonnay 2020, from a single parcel in the Crouch Valley, and its Pinot Noir 2021. The Martin’s Lane Chardonnay also won Best Still English Wine at the WineGB Awards 2025, and The Real Review named Lyme Bay its Top Winery in Great Britain in 2025.
The wines
Lyme Bay makes red, white, rosé and sparkling English wine, and is best known for its still wines. The range includes Bacchus, Bacchus Block, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir Rosé, the Shoreline white and rosé blends, the lower-priced Covepoint Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and a Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine. Beyond grape wine there are traditional and sparkling meads, country and fruit wines, and liqueurs, gin liqueurs and rum. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the wines that have won the most attention. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Lyme Bay
The cellar door at the winery in Shute opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm, closing for lunch from 12.30pm to 1.15pm, and is closed on Sundays. You can drop in to browse and buy the full range and see something of the production side of the winery. The longer Gold Guided Tasting is the main experience and must be booked ahead by email at info@lbwdrinks.co.uk or by phoning 01297 551 355; the winery says an online booking system is coming. This is a working winery rather than a vineyard estate, so there are no vines to walk through and no café. The winery’s website does not give details of parking, accessibility, dogs or children, so ask when you book.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Guided Tasting A tutored tasting of seven drinks (three whites, two sparkling, a rosé and a red) across the English wine, mead and spirits ranges, with nibbles. Each is explained, from where the grapes are grown to how it is made, with tips on choosing wine. You take home winemaker’s notes and a tote bag, and get 10% off Lyme Bay products bought in the shop on the day. Book ahead by email; gift vouchers are sold by phone. | £35 per person | About 2.5 hours | Usually Friday and Saturday at 1.30pm, varying with the season |
| Cellar Door shop and counter tasting The full range of wine, mead, fruit wine, liqueurs and spirits is on sale at the cellar door, and visitors can see production going on and ask about how the drinks are made. | Free to visit | As long as you like | Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm, closed 12.30pm to 1.15pm |
Book these on the Lyme Bay website.
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Buy Lyme Bay wines
6 bottles in stock with our wine partners this week. Prices are for a single 75cl bottle.
Sparkling
Lyme Bay Brut Reserve Sparkling
A dry non-vintage sparkling wine from Chardonnay, Reichensteiner, Pinot Blanc and Seyval, with citrus and toasty notes.
£29.95at WinebuyersBuySparkling rosé
Lyme Bay Sparkling Rosé
A non-vintage sparkling rosé from Lyme Bay Winery, made mainly from Pinot Noir with other Pinot varieties.
£44at The Great Wine Co.BuyWhite
Lyme Bay Sandbar Bacchus 2024
All Bacchus, bright and fresh with grapefruit, guava and a hint of blackcurrant leaf.
£20at The Great Wine Co.BuyWhite
Lyme Bay Shoreline 2024
A crisp, dry white blended from several varieties, led by Bacchus and Reichensteiner and fermented in stainless steel.
£25at The Great Wine Co.BuyWhite
Lyme Bay Bacchus Block 2022
All Bacchus, zesty and aromatic with elderflower, peach and tropical fruit and a fresh, crisp finish.
£25.50at WinebuyersBuyRed
Lyme Bay Pinot Noir 2024
A rounded Pinot Noir showing red cherry and raspberry, with a smoky, spicy savoury note at the end.
£31.95at WinebuyersBuy
Getting there
The winery is at Shute, just outside Axminster in the Axe Valley, about five miles from the coast, and is listed under the postcode EX13 7PW. The nearest station is Axminster, on the line from London Waterloo to Exeter, from where a taxi is the simplest option; book your return journey in advance. The website has a map link but no written directions.
Make a day of it
The winery sits in the East Devon National Landscape close to the Jurassic Coast, so a visit fits well with a day at Seaton, Beer or Lyme Regis. Shute Barton, the medieval manor next door, is cared for by the National Trust, and Axminster is a few minutes away for lunch. For a vineyard with vines to walk through, Langham Wine Estate in Dorset grew some of the grapes for Lyme Bay’s early sparkling wines.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Devon directory. Our other Devon vineyard guides: Swanaford.
Questions people ask
Do you need to book at Lyme Bay Winery?
Not for the cellar door shop, which is open Monday to Saturday. The Gold Guided Tasting must be booked ahead by email at info@lbwdrinks.co.uk.
How much is a tasting at Lyme Bay Winery?
The Gold Guided Tasting is £35 per person. It lasts about two and a half hours and includes seven drinks with nibbles, winemaker’s notes and a tote bag.
When is the Lyme Bay cellar door open?
Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm, closing for lunch from 12.30pm to 1.15pm. It is closed on Sundays.
Does Lyme Bay Winery have its own vineyard?
Lyme Bay is a winery that buys grapes from growers across England, many of them in the Crouch Valley in Essex. There are no vineyard walks on site.
Does Lyme Bay only make wine?
No. As well as English still and sparkling wine it makes mead, country and fruit wines, liqueurs and rum, all sold at the cellar door.