Cornwall makes some excellent drinks. Alongside long-established breweries, there are craft brewers, cider farms, gin and vodka distilleries and a growing number of vineyards, many of which welcome visitors for tours, tastings or a drink at the source. Here's where to go, from taprooms to vineyard terraces.
Before you go
Most tours and tastings need booking in advance, and many places run reduced hours in winter. Times and prices change, so check each producer's website before you travel. If you're tasting, plan ahead: book a designated driver ticket where offered, use public transport or a taxi, or buy a bottle to enjoy later.
Breweries and taprooms
Verdant Taproom, Penryn. Verdant has built a big reputation for its hazy pale ales and IPAs. Its taproom on the Kernick Industrial Estate in Penryn has 16 keg and 4 cask lines and serves Neapolitan pizza. At the time of writing it opens Tuesday to Sunday, with no bookings and card payments only.
Skinner's Tapyard Riverside, Truro. Skinner's, which now brews at Indian Queens, runs The Tapyard Riverside in the heart of Truro, a relaxed spot for food, locally brewed beer and live music by the river. It describes itself as family-friendly and dog-friendly.
St Austell Brewery. Cornwall's best-known brewer, maker of Tribute and Proper Job, has been brewing in St Austell since the 19th century and runs pubs across Cornwall and beyond. Check its website for current visitor experiences.
Sharp's Brewery. Based at Rock on the Camel Estuary, Sharp's is famous for Doom Bar, named after the sandbank at the mouth of the river. You'll find its beers in pubs all over Cornwall.
Cider farms
Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm, Penhallow. Near Truro, Healey's is the home of Rattler cider. Visitors can take a vintage tractor ride through the orchard, join a tutored tasting in the farm shop, explore the cellars and distillery, and meet the farm animals. Tour places are limited, so book online.
Cornish Orchards, Duloe. Near Looe, Cornish Orchards makes its cider on Westnorth Manor Farm, where it runs tours and tastings every week and has a farm shop. Shop hours change with the seasons and it takes cards only, so check before you go.
Distilleries
Tarquin's Cornish Gin. Tarquin's distillery sits on a windswept hilltop near the north Cornish coast and offers behind-the-scenes tours with tastings of its gins. Book on its website.
Colwith Farm Distillery, Lanlivery. Near Lostwithiel, Colwith calls itself Cornwall's first plough-to-bottle distillery, making vodka and gin from potatoes grown on the family farm. It runs guided distillery tours, gin and vodka schools and a café.
Pocketful of Stones, Penzance and Falmouth. The makers of Caspyn gin run 90-minute gin tastings at their shops on Causeway Head in Penzance and Church Street in Falmouth, with a cheaper ticket for designated drivers.
Vineyards
Camel Valley, Nanstallon. Near Bodmin, beside the Camel Trail, Camel Valley is one of England's best-known wine estates, famous for its sparkling wines. You can buy wine and enjoy a glass on the sun terrace on weekdays, and book guided tours and tastings. It's closed at weekends, and only guide dogs are allowed.
Trevibban Mill, near Padstow. This vineyard and orchard offers guided wine tours with a tutored tasting, wine and cider tastings, and lunch overlooking the vines. Opening days are reduced in winter.
Polgoon, Penzance. Just outside Penzance, Polgoon makes wine and cider and has a shop open seven days a week, guided and self-guided tours, and a seasonal bar and restaurant. It's a dog-friendly vineyard, with dogs on leads.
Good to know
- Many producers sell online and in local shops, so you can take a taste of Cornwall home.
- Look out for Cornish drinks on pub and restaurant menus, and ask staff for local recommendations.
- Combine Camel Valley with a ride on the Camel Trail, or Polgoon with a day in Penzance and Mousehole.
- Please drink responsibly, and never drink and drive.
Photos: Camel Valley vineyard by Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0; Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm by Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0; Polgoon vineyard by Mike Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0; via Wikimedia Commons.
