Best Vineyards to Visit Near Birmingham

The best vineyards near Birmingham include one of the oldest in the UK.

If you’re looking for the best vineyards to visit near Birmingham, there are plenty to choose from. To narrow down the search, we’ve picked five of the best, including one of the oldest in the UK, and one of the most unique.

Birmingham, in the heart of the West Midlands, is the second biggest city in the UK. The Birmingham region isn’t blessed with the same chalky soil as the south-east of England, but there is a great food and wine scene, and there are some really interesting vineyards to visit near Birmingham.

If you were a fan of TV series Peaky Blinders, you’ll have seen Birmingham through the lense of feared gang members running lawless slum neighbourhoods in the 1920’s. But that was a period drama set 100 years ago.

Today Birmingham is a vibrant, diverse city that has benefited from huge and ongoing investment.  It has over 35km of canals, making it the city with the most canals in the world. That’s right, it’s not Venice!  Birmingham also claims to be the greenest city in the UK and the birthplace of the balti curry.

Five of the Best Vineyards Near Birmingham

Blabers Hall

Having planted their first vine in 2016, it wasn’t till 2018 that Blabers Hall got their first harvest. Using grape varieties that they carefully selected for the cooler climates of the UK, Blabers produces a range of 5 wines, including still and sparkling wine. Due to the infancy of this vineyard the best years are undoubtedly ahead: be one of the first to discover the vineyard with a visit to one of their free events.

Visit Blabers Hall

Buzzards Valley

Buzzards Valley started growing grapes in 2001 and now has over 8000 vines comprising of German and French grape varieties. Alongside English wine, Buzzard Valley also produces a gin. In 2016, Taste of Staffordshire listed Buzzards Valley as their drink’s manufacturer of the year. Like many vineyards, Buzzards Valley has a shop onsite selling local produce, but it’s the only one we know of with an onsite fishery.  For those looking to experience all that Buzzard Valley has to offer, there are vineyard tours available on the first Friday of the month between May and October, with fishing available year-round.

Visit Buzzards Valley

Astley Vineyard

This boutique winery was founded in 1971, making it one of the oldest vineyards in the UK. Astley Vineyard has been in Haywood family hands since 2017 and together the family members produce a range of still and English Sparkling Wines. This includes an Old Vine Kerner made with fruit from the original vines planted in 1971.

The Astley Vineyard ethos has community and sustainability at its heart. In 2021 they went organic (non-certified) and are big champions of locally grown produce and artisan business. Tours sell out quickly so you need to book ahead.

Visit Astley Vineyard

Grove Estate

An accountant, a high-end retailer and marketing manager sounds like the start of a joke, but instead it’s the start of Grove Estate’s story. They produced their first bottle of wine in 2016 with big ambitions to be a local and quality supplier.  That’s an ethos very close to our heart here at Marasby. Grove Estate produces a range of English Sparkling Wines and a still white, all of which can be enjoyed as part of a pre-arranged visit.

Visit Grove Estate

Halfpenny Green

Halfpenny Green is a family run vineyard, shop and tearoom that has been running for the last 30 years. It is one of the largest vineyards by area near Birmingham and produces some of the most affordable English wine on the market.

Halfpenny is a very accessible wine as it’s stocked in numerous local shops and was also the first English red wine to be stocked in Aldi.

Visit Halfpenny Green

Join the 1%

The West Midlands wine scene is smaller than in the south-east of England. Nonetheless there are plenty of vineyards situated near the fantastic city of Birmingham that will provide a great day out.

99% of the wine we drink in the UK is still imported. Become a member of The Marasby Club and join the 1%