You may not think of England as a viticultural hotspot, but the first thing any self-respecting English winemaker will tell you is that England and wine go back – way back. The Domesday Book recorded 42 vineyards across England and Wales in the 11th century (below a line from Ely to Gloucestershire). The manuscript also referenced “Nitimbreha”, from which one of the best English wines – Nyetimber – takes its name (more on that later).

The best English wine tends to be made with chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, but this is changing all the time. The modern English wine industry is really in its infancy, albeit growing rapidly. According to the “Rural Matters” report by Knight Frank in 2024, the area of the UK planted with vines has soared by 75% over the past five years to almost 10,000 acres. Today, there are over 950 vineyards across Great Britain, with more vines being planted every year.

To begin with, it was the sparkling wines that set the wine world alight – from the nineties onwards. In 2017, Pommery and Taittinger, two of France’s best-known champagne houses, planted vines in England. At the time, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger told the Daily Mail: “We have been very impressed by the quality of English sparkling wine being produced, and we believe the combination of chalk soils, climate and topography of our site in Kent are ideal for producing quality sparkling wine. These attributes are perfect for grape growing, and are very similar to the terroir in Champagne, for us it was a natural step to do this”.

In recent years, a warming planet means England is also having success with still wines, mostly made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. Warmer summers and growing know-how means more complex and higher quality wines are emerging from England all the time. But who makes the very best English wine? Here are some names to know.

Read next: How to Taste Wine Like a Sommelier

1. Roebuck Estates

Across Sussex and Kent, named for the wild deer who roam the land, this is an award-winning producer of some of the best English sparkling wines. The winery in West Sussex runs various tours and tastings, plus Friday evening “sunset sippings”. Try the Rosé de Noirs 2018, a sparkling rosé with notes of cherries, strawberries, and toasted almonds.

 

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2. Gusbourne

In the short history of English sparkling wines, Gusbourne’s debut vintages – the Brut Reserve 2006 and the Blanc de Blancs 2006 – attracted international interest and acclaim when they were released in 2010. The producer now also makes a host of still wines, including the citrus-driven Chardonnay Guinevere (2022), one of their most awarded. There are tastings and tours at the estate near Rye in east Sussex, plus picnics in the vineyards from spring.

 

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3. Hambledon

In 1952, with a little help from renowned champagne house Pol Roger, Major-General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones established Hambledon. The Classic Cuvée, a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, once famously beat Pol Roger, Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger in a blind tasting. Tours, tastings and afternoon teas are available at the vineyard in Hampshire.

4. Nyetimber

In 1988, Nyetimber’s first vines were planted, but it wasn’t until 2006, when Eric Heerema took over, appointing Cherie Spriggs as head winemaker, that Nyetimber (she of the Domesday book) became a global name. The Classic Cuvee is not just one of the best English sparkling wines, but one of the best sparkling wines in the world. Also try the Cuvee Chérie – a celebrated Demi-Sec sparkling wine, the first of its kind in England. The estate is only open to the public on select open days, Willy Wonka-style.

 

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5. Chapel Down

This is one of England’s biggest and best wine producers. You can’t go wrong with any of their sparkling and still offerings, but Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2016 has been a big award winner of the last few years. At the Kent winery, there are guided tours, tutored tastings and three-course dinners with wine flights at The Swan Wine Kitchen. Plus, the vineyard partners with Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse to offer overnight accommodation.

6. Tillingham

Tillingham Winery offers natural wine, seasonal food and stylish rooms near Rye in East Sussex. This is a good one to know if you want to extend your Luxury Gold journey to the UK and make a trip of it. Tillingham is not just a winery, it’s a mixed farm, dedicated to sustainability and restoring soils to the optimum level of organic matter.

 

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7. Ridgeview

This has been a family business since 1995, when it was started by Mike and Chris Roberts. Queen Elizabeth II served the Blanc de Blancs 2004 at her birthday banquet in 2006, and the Bloomsbury 2009 at her Diamond Jubilee. In 2018, Ridgeview (now under a new generation of Roberts) was awarded International Winemaker of the Year, a first for English wine. At the winery in east Sussex, there’s a restaurant, wine shop, tours and tastings.

 

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8. Vagabond Winery

It would be remiss not to mention that some of the best English wines are currently being made in ‘urban wineries’. In London, Vagabond is based on the River Thames next to Battersea Power Station. It describes itself as an “artisanal, hands-on winery due to the small space that forces us to work slowly and meticulously”. Vagabond’s Solena NV Ortega is a high achieving wine – a skin contact white. There are Vagabond wine bars in various London locations.

 

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Your next article: 10 Award-Winning Argentinian Wines You Must Try On Your Next Trip

First published in 2009, The World’s 50 Best Bars list is voted for by 700 drinks experts from across the world. It’s part of William Reed’s 50 Best brand which also compiles and publishes The World’s 50 Best Hotels and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. In their own words:

“Incorporating grand hotel bars, secretive speakeasies, quirky salons and classic drinking dens, The World’s 50 Best Bars list is a celebration of the diversity and universality of drinks culture and a reflection of new bar scenes developing all over the world.”

Some individual awards are given, too. This year, Lyaness in London won the Best Cocktail Menu award for their “tightly curated selection of drinks that go big on flavors from unexpected sources”. Caretaker’s Cottage in Melbourne won the Michter’s Art of Hospitality award for their “convivial and disarmingly unpretentious desire to build a community”. And Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires won the Remy Martin Legend of the List award for being a pioneer of the BA scene.

Our highlights from The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024 are below. If delving a little deeper into the innovation, genius and sheer flavor of the best bars in the world sounds appealing to you, all of them are in Luxury Gold cities, which means they can be incorporated into one of our journeys.

Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires

Serving natural wine and cocktails through a secret refrigerator door in a florist (what could be more glorious than a place of wine and flowers?), Florería Atlántico is the speakeasy du jour. The cocktail menu tells the city’s multicultural story, with a focus on the communities that migrated to Argentina after democracy was restored in 1983. Choose the Chile for fruity Pisco Capel flavored with soft corn, basil and turmeric.

Swing by on a journey through Grand South America.

 

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Lady Bee, Lima

Through cocktails and small plates, Lady Bee adeptly showcases the biodiversity of Peru and celebrates the humble honeybee, the hardest worker in the world’s ecosystem. The bee motif can be seen throughout decor, garnishes and glassware. There are just five tables and four bar seats. At the honey-colored bar, you can order the namesake cocktail: Lady Bee combines gin, orange, herbs and honey for a taste of everything that’s right with the world.

Discover the best of Peru’s capital on: Treasures of the Incas

For more mixology-related travel inspiration: Our Favorite Classic Cocktails, and the Timeless Hotels To Try Them At

 

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Bar Ben Fiddich, Tokyo 

On the ninth floor amid the skyscrapers of Shinjuku, this apothecary-style bar has been a labor of love for the magical mixologist Hiroyasu Kayama (and his white suit) for over 10 years. In a dusky, low-lit space with just eight seats, dark wooden shelves groan beneath Kayama’s concoctions, made using ingredients from his family’s land, like anise, fennel and wormwood. There is no menu. Book a seat at the bar and let your host light the way.

Join us for the ultimate luxury tour of Japan on Majestic Japan

 

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Jewel of the South, New Orleans

Get a potted history of New Orleans’ unsurpassed food and drink culture in this sky blue Creole cottage, resplendent with plant-filled courtyard and parlor rooms. Southern cocktail pioneer Chris Hannah is known for his riffs on the Manhattan (try the Night Tripper), and for reviving classics like the Sazerac (try the Jewel Sazerac). Order anything (or everything) from his Jewel Classics menu. If you like cocktails and are travelling on our Southern Grace journey, consider this magical spot unmissable.

You may also enjoy reading: The History of New Orleans’ Favourite Cocktail, and How to Make It

 

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Locale, Firenze

For a perspective on Florence that you won’t get anywhere else, Locale is a sort of time machine. It’s set in the Palazzo Concini, so it has the frescoes and lavish detail that Florence loves to spoil its visitors with, but it’s also a very modern, light-filled space – impeccably restored – serving futuristic drinks. Throw yourself at the mercy of its genius and order the Giardiniera – blueberries, pickles, rye whisky, champagne and chili. Yes, really.

See Italy in luxury style on: Ultimate Italy

 

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Lyaness, London

Like all of Mr Lyan’s menus along the way, the focus of the menu at his bar in the glamorous Sea Containers, overlooking the Thames, is on exploring complex ideas and thinking about how things could be different. In a large, electric blue room, over a green marble bar, let the staff fling you a Frisbee Fix, which the menu describes like so: “We’re told not to play with our food, but like with this zesty and tropical sour, sometimes it’s just too damn fun. This was the origin of the frisbee; having snarfed the goodies from the local Bridgeport Frisbie Pie Co., 1940s Yale students would fling around the UFO-shaped tins, yelling ‘Frisbie’ to avoid any collisions with an unsuspecting passerby.”

England’s capital is your start point for our Castles & Kingdoms luxury small group journey.

 

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Maybe Sammy, Sydney

Sipping a Pool Side (gin, Martini Ambrato, palo santo, coconut and basil) poured by a bartender in a pastel pink blazer is an experience that should be very high on your Sydney to-do list. Maybe Sammy is not a hotel bar, it’s a bar inspired by hotel bars, with the menu organized according to hotel spaces, like the spa and the lobby. It’s a fun, uplifting, makes-your-day kind of a place.

Bookmark for later: 10 Best Fine Dining Restaurants Around The World

 

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The Cambridge Public House, Paris

In the Marais, where everyone wants to while away their hours, this place combines the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of a pub with a world-class cocktail program. There are craft beers, natural wines, pies and sausage rolls, plus raucous cocktails like the Cigarette after Sex, which is a velvety, earthy and fresh combination of Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus iced tea), with sloe gin and mezcal.

Extend your Ultimate France journey with a few extra days in Paris, and you can while away as many hours here as you desire.

In Full: The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024

1. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
2. Bar Leone, Hong Kong
3. Sips, Barcelona
4. Tayēr + Elementary, London
5. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
6. Line, Athens
7. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
8. Alquímico, Cartagena
9. Zest, Seoul
10. Paradiso, Barcelona
11. Himkok, Oslo
12. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
13. Connaught Bar, London
14. Double Chicken Please, New York
15. Overstory, New York
16. Lady Bee, Lima
17. Baba au Rum, Athens
18. Coa, Hong Kong
19. The Cambridge Public House, Paris
20. Tlecān, Mexico City
21. Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne
22. CoChinChina, Buenos Aires
23. Salmon Guru, Madrid
24. Martiny’s, New York
25. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
26. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
27. Superbueno, New York
28. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
29. Satan’s Whiskers, London
30. Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
31. Tan Tan, São Paulo
32. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
33. Drink Kong, Rome
34. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
35. Byrdi, Melbourne
36. Locale Firenze, Florence
37. Scarfes Bar, London
38. Moebius Milano, Milan
39. Bar Nouveau, Paris
40. Mimi Kakushi, Dubai
41. Bar Us, Bangkok
42. Virtù, Tokyo
43. Atlas, Singapore
44. La Sala de Laura, Bogotá
45. Röda Huset, Stockholm
46. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires
47. Analogue Initiative, Singapore
48. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
49. Danico, Paris
50. 1930, Milan

William Reed are the people behind The World’s 50 Best brand, a suite of lists awarding the very best in restaurants, bars and hotels; they are the pros at keeping the industry on its toes. Each year, thousands of experts across the world are involved in curating these detailed and considered lists. The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list focuses specifically on food and wine tourism – these are the vineyards of the world that give visitors the most unforgettable experiences.

As Andrew Reed, Managing Director Wine and Exhibitions at William Reed, comments: “This annual ranking recognises the unique experiences that these vineyards offer, from stunning landscapes and rich histories to extraordinary restaurants and vineyard tours. The top 50 vineyards exemplify excellence, innovation, and a commitment to quality, guiding wine enthusiasts to explore both hidden gems and renowned estates.”

You can explore some of the world’s best vineyards on many of our small group luxury journeys.

Topping The List

This year, the coveted top spot went to Bodegas de los Herederos del Marques de Riscal, which has been a force for greatness in Rioja, Spain for decades and came second in The World’s 50 Best Vineyards for the previous three years. It is where the first ever Rioja wines were bottled, with the then Marquis’ first vintage in 1862. These days it’s equally famous for the building its bodega lives in. Frank Gehry’s undulating red, gold and silver titanium ribbons are something to behold from afar, the Rioja landscapes stretching out around it, and the magic only intensifies up close.

The World’s 50 Best describes the 61-room hotel as having two contrasting wings which are “joined by a raised glass corridor which sunlight streams through, and views from the lounge terrace offer the winelands of Rioja to one side and the gastronomic promise of the Basque Country on the other”. In the restaurant, you can eat a six or nine course “Ideas Land” menu. The vineyards can be explored by foot, bike, or horse, with golf and padel on offer, too.

 

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Here are six more of our favorites from The World’s 50 Best Vineyards 2024, all in Luxury Gold destinations.

VIK – Millahue, Chile

After a long search for the perfect terroir, Alex and Carrie Vik’s first concern here in the Cachapoal Valley was creating a state-of-the-art winery that blended into the unspoiled surroundings. There is more swirling titanium here, inspired by the Andes mountains in the background, the wind, and the work of Frank Gehry and Richard Serra, and yet this sculptural marvel sits so serenely on its hill. Guests staying in one of the 22 suites can bike between the vines, relax in the spa, swim in the infinity pool, or take a cooking or yoga class.

 

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Creation – Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa

In Walker Bay, 95 kilometers from Cape Town, the sky is wide and the maritime climate is breezy. Hemel-en Aarde literally translates as “heaven and earth” and Creation’s spot within it is described by The World’s 50 Best as having a “sheer, natural beauty that will truly blow you away”. Guests at Creation are encouraged to explore the art in the grounds, and to make use of local hiking and cycling safaris. In the restaurant, there are avocado or poached egg-based breakfasts requiring a chic Chardonnay companion, plus seasonal dinners with wine pairings, and tasting events.

Our Spectacular South Africa journey begins in Cape Town, discover more: Cape Expectations: How Travel Concierge Jameel Makes South Africa Sing

Ceretto – Langhe, Italy

In the north of Italy where the air smells of hazelnuts, truffles and pine, the Langhe is heaven for food and wine lovers. In the 1960s, the Ceretto brothers, Bruno and Marcello, pioneered the modern style of Barolo and Barbaresco wines. Now, the winery is run by the third generation, cousins Lisa, Roberta, Alessandro and Federico, who look after one of the world’s best vineyards with a casual conviviality that is infectious. In the winery shops, you can buy wines, chocolates, hazelnut tortes and the like from the family’s Relanghe brand. Lots of different wine tasting options are available by appointment.

 

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You may also enjoy reading: The Luxury Gold Guide to Private Wine Tasting in Italy

Champagne Bollinger – Champagne, France

Visitors to this iconic winery are welcome, and The World’s 50 Best says, “any visitor to Champagne should seize the opportunity to wander the cellars and courtyard and drink in the atmosphere of this incredible domain”. On a tour, you’ll hear the history of La Maison, see the workshop of Champagne’s last in-house cooper, behold the two plots that have never succumbed to phylloxera, the disease which ravaged most of the region in the early 20th century, ramble the cellars and try lots of champagnes.

Champagne is just two hours from Paris, an easy extension to our new Ultimate France journey.

Gusbourne – Kent, England

The only UK vineyard on the list, Gusbourne’s welcoming tasting room was described by The World’s 50 Best as “a place for wine lovers to treat themselves and enjoy gorgeous bottles of fizz alongside freshly prepared, seasonal menus”. For visitors, there is much focus not just on estate tours and tasting flights, but on very British picnics – visitors can collect a hamper of locally sourced cheeses and charcuterie, and homemade bread, and eat among the vines.

The estate is two hours from London, making it a fine choice to add to our British Royale or Castles & Kingdoms journeys.

 

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98WINEs – Yamanashi, Japan

Winemaker Yuki Hirayama opened his dream winery aged 60, with a lifetime of knowledge gained from his work in Burgundy and Japan. Just 100 kilometers from Tokyo (where our Majestic Japan Luxury Tour begins and ends), Hirayama’s farmhouse-like wooden haven sits high in the hills, with views of Mount Fuji, best enjoyed from one of the winery’s hammocks. The name 98wines refers to good but imperfect wines which score below 100 points in competition. The winery’s ethos is that “by making new friends and finding new ways, the imperfect 98 can become a perfect 100”.

You may also enjoy reading: Fushimi Inari to Miyajima: The Most Famous Torii Gates in Japan

For further travel inspiration, take a look at our collection of small group luxury journeys.