Very friendly and helpful staff. Lots and lots to sample and purchase in the shop. The restaurant…read moreis comfortable with a very tempting menu. I had the ribs but they were a little over done and parts were impossible to eat. On the plus side the serving was large so not eating all of it was ok. Staff were very attentive. Well worth a visit, my friends and I will be going again.

Restaurants in Sutton Coldfield are much of a like but then I found this little gem well worth a…read morevisit. A vineyard tour is also recommended

Who would have thought that Monmouth was the wine producing region of Wales? I don't suppose it's…read morethe only one, but it's certainly the closest to Cardiff! Wernddu Vineyard are a pretty small producer, but less is definitely more where they are concerned. Their white wine is exceptional! (And that's from a predominantly red wine drinker too!) They also produce perry and cider, but I'm not too keen on alcohol made from apples and pears, and so rarely go near it. My friends, however, are more than happy to testify that it is as equally good as the wine! For a small business, they are pretty self-contained. Wernddu Vineyard process and bottled all of their beverages on site, and then they retail it too, meaning that they manage to cut out all of the middle men. This is good news fr everybody as it keeps the price down, but still allows Wernddu Vineyardto make a healthy profit, ensuring that they stay in business for a good time to come! All of their beverages are available direct from their winery, or you can buy it from a number of farmers markets as well.

Quaint winery with a relaxing environment. Perfect stop between Bath and London (very slight…read moredetour). OK wine, nice place to stop for a rest. Service was a bit challenging - had to keep going inside the shop/store to ask for help (more drinks, order food)

This is actually a lovely place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon, with a bottle of their house…read morewine and cheese! You can also bring your own picnic and enjoy the grounds!

Quick glance: + award-winning Welsh wine…read more+ friendly owners / staff providing generous tastings + a chance to taste / buy Welsh wine + top of the hilly vineyard provides wonderful view of Tintern and Tintern Parva + good selection of white, liquer, rose and mead - can get a bit crowded as the shop is a small building on the farm - cost £1.50 per person (as at Aug 2010) for a self-guided tour of the vineyard The vineyard is only about 4-5 acres and produces a selection of white wine, some rose, mead, and liquers. Because of the relatively small size of the vineyard, their wines are only available at local restaurants and through their own shop on the farm. Their wines have won awards and the quality is generally very good, although slightly pricey because of low supply and the "Welsh wine" novelty factor. The owners are generous with the tastings and let you try any of their products. The shop is very small and full of their wines, wine related products, cheeses, and some crafts and gifts. You can also take a self-guided tour for £1.50 per person (as at Aug 2010), which lets you walk around and to the top of their vineyard on a south-facing hill. On a sunny day this allows great view of Tintern and Tintern Parva. Overall, the wine is good and make great souvenirs / gifts. Tasting and shopping would take no more than 15 minutes, although add another 20-30 minutes if you wish to walk up the hilly vineyard and take some photos of the village.

English Wine is something I'm not really too familiar with... I do love a nice glass of something…read moreon a warm day (or a cold day, I'm not fussy), but am more familiar with wines from warm climates than I am with the more local stuff. This is why a whole festival of English wine really appealed to me... A good chance to educate myself and test my palate. The ticket price of £15 seemed to be really good value, but with a Yelp discount - it ended up being £10 for entry. We (myself and Dan G) also opted to go for the brunch package which was an additional charge. On a cloudy Saturday, we wanted down to the Bond to grab some food before the tasting. Firstly, the food was amazing. Salmon, ham, pastries and all kinds of delicious stuff washed down with great company and a glass of bubbly (or two)... This was a perfect way to kick off our bank holiday weekend. We entered the venue at 12pm for doors and made our way around the stalls to have a look. With around 40 different wines to try, we certainly weren't bored! With local wines from Malvern, Tamworth, Herefordshire and then a bit further afield (turns out it's easier to grow vines down south where the climate is a bit warmer), not only did we get to try many varieties, we also got chat to some of the producers about the difficulty of growing in the British weather and the special ways they kept their stock to protect it. Think British red isn't worth shouting about? Think again. We tried amazing sparkling, red, white and rose during the time we were there (which ended up being about 4 hours). We ended up coming away with a couple of interesting bottles and a head full of knowledge. I loved the venue (The Bond), the food and the wines on offer. The venue wasn't huge, but catered well to the crowds that were there. It was a bit of a shame that vendors (on the whole) only accepted cash and cheque (there are no cash points around the venue), but this might have just saved my wallet. I imagine this is the kind of event which will grow year by year... in 2016 - be one of the first to buy a ticket! I'll see you there, no doubt!

England isn't really somewhere you associate with wine production but there's some fantastic…read morevineyards out there utilising the rich soil and varied climate to their advantage. We headed down to The Bond on a Saturday morning to sample the delights of English wine and were not disappointed. Having decided to pay a bit extra and go for the bubbly brunch option was a great decision. We were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine and sat down to a fabulous brunch of smoked salmon, grilled asparagus, cheeses, cooked meats, pastries and fruit whilst chatting away with our fellow diners on the banks of the canal whilst the wine flowed freely. The Bond is a fantastic venue, perfect for this kind of event and after finishing our brunch we headed inside to check out the offerings. 40 different wines were on offer for us to try from vineyards located across the land. The standout offerings for me were from XVI ridges who produced some of the nicest wines I tried and the lady working the stand was lovely, interesting and informative. Food was on offer as well as masterclasses which we didn't choose to do but from all accounts were great. A fantastic event which opened my eyes to the world of English wine.

It's billed as a wine company and there's certainly lots of well-priced mid to top range grape…read morebased beverages in here. The first thing to arrest me when walking in though was the broad range of ales and beers to the left of the door. Breweries from near (Sadlers, Stourbridge) and far (Flying Dog, Maryland, USA) are represented and the prices at times are lower than you'd find in major supermarkets. A lot of the beers are at the high end of the alcohol scale, and that's how I like 'em. Flying Dog's Horn Dog at 10% is a powerful Barley Wine style beer with flavours galore. The crazed rhino-cum-canine creature that adorns the label is what you might turn into after a few of these. (Luckily, you know that craft beer is to be adored in moderation though, dontcha?) I always treat my self to a basket of beers when I'm in Leamington for my hair-do, and today is no exception. By the long list of fruit flavours on the Sadlers' Hop Bomb label, I was expecting a taste explosion that I didn't quite get, though I can forgive them as they make my beer-of-the-moment Mud City Stout, (brewed with cocoa and vanilla; once tasted it makes Guinness taste like the 'Carling of the stouts'.) Curious IPA does hits the mark though with a balance of three different hops. Joining it in the basket is the amazing Belgian Cookie (Speculoos) Beer, and of course the mighty Anchor Porter from San Fran's long standing brewery that your reviewer proudly shares his birth year with. As well as wine and beer, there are cocktail supplies too like rhubarb, orange, vanilla and Angustora bitters, and miniatures of high end spirits like Grey Goose vodka and Hendrick's gin so you can try a little before you buy a lottle.

Clink is a lovely little craft bar in the Custard Factory. When I say little, I mean tiny as only a…read morehandful of people can fit in at any one time. I popped in with a group of friends on Saturday night. Although I am not a craft beer drinker even I could appreciate the wide selection of beers that they had available. Even better, they sell prosecco by the glass so I was happy. As I mentioned the interior is very small, with a small bar area downstairs and a spiral staircase leading to a seating area upstairs. The guy service on the bar was very nice and happy to offer advice to anyone.

Great little bar situated at the Custard Factory. Loads of choice of cans and bottles to takeaway…read morefrom many independent brewers. Usually 6 beers on tap. Quick friendly service and good prices-independent Birmingham card gives you a discount too. Worth checking out if you like beer! Don't go expecting cocktails!;)