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Vineyard guide · Stanton
Visiting Wyken Vineyards
Wyken is a 1,200-acre farm near Stanton, north-east of Bury St Edmunds, with a vineyard planted in 1988, a restaurant in an old barn and a Saturday farmers’ market. Its Bacchus is the wine to know. Book the Sunday vineyard tour in summer and stay for lunch at The Leaping Hare.
Wyken Vineyards at a glance
| Founded | Vines planted in 1988 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Wyken Bacchus, and The Leaping Hare restaurant in a converted barn on the farm |
| Awards | Wyken Bacchus: a past English Wine of the Year and Best East Anglian Wine (2013); Moonshine: East Anglian Wine of the Year (2017); The Leaping Hare: Michelin Bib Gourmand for over two decades, Best Restaurant in Suffolk (2016 and 2020); gardens voted most popular RHS Partner Garden for the East and Midlands (2023) |
| Grapes | About 12,000 vines, including Bacchus, Pinot Noir, Auxerrois and Madeleine Angevine |
| Open | Restaurant, café and shop Wednesday to Sunday from 9am, with dinner on Friday and Saturday; closed Mondays and Tuesdays |
| Booking | Book tours online; lunch bookings recommended in the restaurant, the café takes no bookings, dinner booking highly recommended |
| Tours from | £25 |
| Food | The Leaping Hare restaurant and café for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner on Friday and Saturday |
| Dogs | Not in the restaurant or gardens; welcome on the terrace, and in the café at the staff’s discretion |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About Wyken Vineyards
The vineyard sits on a south-facing slope that the estate says was once a Roman vineyard, in sandy loam over chalk. It was planted in 1988, and there are about 12,000 vines now, which make around 12,000 bottles a year. In most years that means two still whites and a sparkling wine called Moonshine.
The rest of the farm matters as much as the vines. The Leaping Hare, in a barn about 400 years old, has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for over two decades, and Wyken says it was the first vineyard restaurant in the UK. Much of the meat on the menu is reared on the estate, including venison, hogget and pork, and the vegetables come from the kitchen garden. Heating and hot water come from coppiced timber out of the farm’s ancient SSSI woodland, and most of the electricity from its own solar panels. The four acres of gardens around the old manor have been made over the last 50 years.
The wines
Bacchus is the one to try. It is dry, with a Sauvignon Blanc character, and it is the wine that made Wyken’s name. Moonshine, the sparkling wine, blends Pinot Noir with Auxerrois, and the other still white is a Madeleine Angevine. The shop and restaurant also sell the estate’s Good Dog Ale, brewed with its own malting barley, and a gin distilled with some of the Bacchus grapes. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Wyken Vineyards
Wyken works best as a long lunch with a walk, and the vineyard tour only runs on summer Sundays, so most visitors come for the food. The restaurant serves lunch and is worth booking. The café next to it doesn’t take reservations, and on Sundays only the Sunday lunch menu is served, across both rooms. Everything is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Saturday mornings the old stables and main car park fill with the farmers’ market, so use the overflow field car park, and there is disabled parking by the barns. Wooster’s at Wyken does takeaway food from Wednesday to Saturday. The gardens are closed for the autumn and winter and reopen in spring 2027, and whether the woodland walk is open depends on how wet the ground is. Dogs are not allowed in the gardens.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard Tour A tour of the vineyard with a tasting of the two still wines, the Moonshine sparkling wine and the estate’s Bacchus gin. Booked online. | £25 per person | – | Sundays at 11am, April to September |
| Twilight Tour An evening version of the vineyard tour, timed to finish in time for dinner at The Leaping Hare. | £25 per person | – | Some Saturdays at 6pm, April to September |
| Private group tour Arranged by email with the group visits team. | – | – | Any time, for groups of 12 or more |
Book these on the Wyken Vineyards website.
Buy Wyken Vineyards wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
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Getting there
Travelling north-east on the A143, turn right onto Walsham Road after Ixworth, then take the second left just past the bend. It’s signposted to Wyken Vineyards.
Make a day of it
Bury St Edmunds is the nearest town. There’s no accommodation at Wyken, but it suggests The Temple on the Euston Estate or The Courtyard at Stowlangtoft. Giffords Hall, at Hartest on the other side of Bury, is the second vineyard to pair it with.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Suffolk and Norfolk directory. Our other Suffolk and Norfolk vineyard guides: Flint, Giffords Hall, Winbirri Vineyards.
Questions people ask
When can you tour the vineyard at Wyken?
Only from April to September: on Sundays at 11am, and on some Saturday evenings at 6pm. Groups of 12 or more can arrange a private tour at other times.
Is Wyken dog friendly?
Partly. Dogs can’t go in the restaurant or the gardens, but they are welcome on the terrace, where the café menu is served, and in the café at the staff’s discretion.
Is the farmers’ market every week?
Yes, every Saturday from 9am to 1pm, in the old stables and main car park.