Crouch Valley Wine Tours

19/08/2024

We’ve had a good selection of vineyard tours this year already, with a few more to come before we end the vineyard visits in September for harvesting. Throughout the autumn, winter and spring we can also come to you to do a tasting in your own homes or clubs.
Here are some examples of this year’s tours :-
- groups of 5 or 6 friends and families
- groups of 4
- wine club group of 13
- friends group of 11
- private escorted 2 day tour of the Crouch Valley for two
- wine friends group on Crouch Valley tour of 11
- as well as visiting wine clubs, WI or U3A etc at their locations

Some of these are just at one vineyard, some with lunch at the vineyard or at a pub, some visit two vineyards with lunch at one of them. And of course some people are just coming for the wines!

We cater for all sorts and can tailor the tours to meet people’s preferences.

It’s never too early to book for 2025 so if there’s a special occasion or birthday, or if you and your friends just want to discover the wines and vineyards of the wonderful Crouch Valley region please get in touch and we’ll start planning your trip. Here’s a bit of info to think about

- 6 is the ideal number but we can accommodate more
- do you want to visit one or two vineyards?
- would you like lunch and if so is it a pub lunch or vineyard lunch, or even bring your own picnic?
- how many wines would you like to taste?
- how are you going to get to us - we may be able to collect from a station or you could get a taxi/minibus
- length of time for our tours is usually a minimum of 3 hours but can run longer if you wish - depending on the number of wines you’ll want to try
- if you’re part of a wine club or social group we can come to you

Email us for some more details and we can discuss what you’re looking for.

[email protected]
07729 501446 / 07795 037354

27/05/2024

Excellent article in this month’s Essex Life magazine about the vineyards of the Crouch Valley - the best place in England to grow grapes for English still wine. Our founder Roy and Graham get a mention and their photo included. 🥰🥰

19/05/2024

Wonderful tour group yesterday - the sun shone and it didn’t rain 😃
This wine group from Northamptonshire discovered the Crouch Valley and some of the wines on offer from two of the area’s vineyards Clayhill and Martin’s Lane.
First stop Clayhill for a chat about grapes and why Dale decided to plant vines back in 2006 followed up by tasting 3 of their wines. Then a lovely lunch at Clayhill with a glass of sparkling.
Then on to Martin’s Lane for a walk amongst the vines with some sparkling en-route, followed by tasting 6 more wines and to find out about the Crouch Valley, how Martin’s Lane produces their wines and the history of the vineyard.
Thanks Pytchley Millennium Wine Group for booking with us.

17/05/2024

Wine tour for 15 tomorrow from a lovely village wine group from Northants - hoping the weather will be kind 🤞🤞We need more sun like this!!
We’ve a whole summer of tours booked so if you haven’t already booked your tour for this year you may need to plan for next year instead - midweek tours still have availability. Email us on [email protected] to find out more info or to book one of our last Saturdays.

17/05/2024

Wine tour for 15 tomorrow - hoping the weather will be kind 🤞🤞 We need more of this sunshine!
There’s a full summer of tours booked so if you haven’t already booked for this year then you’ll probably need to plan for next year instead, unless you want a midweek tour.
email us on [email protected] for more details and see if you can book your tour this year or plan for next year

27/04/2024

The first wine tour of the season and it went down well. Plenty of wine, plenty of laughs. The warm blankets were welcome as it was still a little cool but what a great group of friends to spend time with! They tasted 5 wines at Martin’s Lane Vineyard followed by a lovely lunch and 4 more wines at Clayhill Vineyard.

25/04/2024

We’re kicking off the wine tasting and tour season this Saturday with a tour for 6 people, 5 wines at Martin’s Lane Vineyard and then lunch and tasting 3 or 4 more at Clayhill Vineyard. We’re REALLY hoping the weather is kind but have blankets, umbrellas and gazebo at the ready to keep warm and dry, and of course Clayhill has a fabulous tasting room and cafe so they’ll be cosy there.
There’s only a few dates left over the summer to book in a tour so if you’ve a group of 6+ friends that like wine, food and beautiful views of vineyards and rivers, why not give us a call or email to book your tour now.
07729 501446 or [email protected]

08/04/2024

Madame in the conservatory!

12/12/2023

Lots of Christmas orders going out this week but there’s still time to get your order in for your Christmas bash or New Year celebration. We have a special offer on our Sparkling Chardonnay this Christmas with 10% off two or more bottles, and 10% off 6 bottles of any of our still wines. We can do mixed cases too so get your thinking caps on and give me a shout. Delivery locally is free 🥂

27/08/2023

Love this! How every wine tour should end 🤣

26/08/2023

Wine tour day today - mixed group tour of 3 lovely friends Ella, Jenny and Kirsten along with David and Jane from Dedham. All got on really well and we had a great laugh. Sunny day (except for a shower) and beautiful views of the River Crouch while they tasted 6 wines and grazed on cheese and charcuterie. A perfect day in the Crouch Valley.

13/08/2023

Saturday’s tour with a great group of wine and food enthusiasts from the IWFS Capital Branch - Martin’s Lane Vineyard first stop for a walking tour and tasting 7 wines and then we sent them on their way, back on their minibus to continue their tour at Clayhill Vineyard, Crouch Ridge Vineyard and then Blackbook Winery. I think they had a good day!

19/07/2023

Where’s that van Gogh when you need him?

18/07/2023

Woo hoo - after a brilliant tour on Thursday we had a very breezy Friday to prep for the 2nd wine tour of the week on Saturday. To say it was fun is an understatement - what a great group of ladies and gents. Such an interesting mix of people, asked lots of questions and drank lots of wine! I think the pub has finally recovered! 😆 Thank you Faye and friends 🥰

14/07/2023

Well the weather for yesterday’s vineyard tour was good - a little breezy but warm and sunny! We had a great time showing the lovely Amy and her family around Martin’s Lane Vineyard in Stow Maries and explaining about the wines, what makes them so good and why the area has become such a great place for growing grapes.
Tomorrow’s tour may be more of a challenge with the weather set to be very windy!! 🙄
What is it they say about the English?? Ah yes we go out in the midday sun - but we also go out in the rain and wind! So we will have another great time with Faye and her 11 friends in spite of the weather 💨🌧️🌤️🥂

03/04/2023

NOW BOOKING! Wine tours and tastings in the Crouch Valley for 2023.

Come and spend the day touring the beautiful Martin's Lane Vineyard and hear the story of how the grapes grown here are used to produce high quality wines. With magnificent views of the Crouch Valley, taste a range of wines and graze on charcuterie and cheese boards. Take this opportunity to come and discover for yourself just why this part of Essex is being dubbed the new Cote d'Or. This is English wine that can rival anything from established wine growing countries.

For parties of 6 or more, this is the ideal day out with friends and family. We can tailor the day to suit your needs and we can arrange lunch either at the vineyard or at a local pub if required.

Contact us to discuss how we can create the perfect wine experience for you.

For details and bookings please email [email protected] or telephone 07795 037354 / 07729 501446

11/09/2022

A beautiful day for a late summer tour and tasting at ’s Lane Vineyard for a 50th Birthday. A leisurely walk around the vines, full buffet lunch including cheeses and desserts and tasting 6 wines from the range of still and sparkling wines. The sun shone except for a short shower, after which we had a beautiful rainbow too. Happy customers who were lovely to chat with and spend a great 6 hours with! Thanks Lucy, Paul and Sally for booking with us, hope to see you again. ☀️🌈🍷

12/05/2022

Thanks and welcome to our new followers! 🥂
This is us, Graham and Caroline, and we run Crouch Valley Wine Tours - a place to discover the amazing English wines of this warm and sunny region of Essex. We hope you'll enjoy our posts. Even better, why not book a tour for you and your friends - we would be delighted to put together a bespoke tour to suit you.
[email protected]
+44 7729 501446

10/05/2022

What a great tour on Saturday, a lovely group of 6 friends enjoyed a guided walk through Martin’s Lane Vineyard, a tasting of 6 wines with our cheese and charcuterie boards to snack on, before heading off to the village pub for a 2 course meal.
Why not seize the opportunity to discover for yourself all the delicious wines of the Crouch Valley and what makes this region so special for wine production. Give us a call or email us to arrange a date for your tour - we can bespoke any tour to your requirements.
[email protected]

10/05/2022

07/05/2022

07/05/2022

07/05/2022