Lyme Bay Winery

Lyme Bay Winery is the home of LBW Drinks, nestled in the heart of Devon’s beautiful Axe Valley. Our dedicated drinks company is full of people who are passionate about producing delicious and award-winning English Still and Sparkling Wine, Fruit Wine, Liqueurs and Gin. Under our Jack Ratt brand, which embodies a ‘Spirit of Adventure’, we produce Jack Ratt Mead and Lugger Rum.

For over thirty years Lyme Bay Winery has worked to combine our knowledge and love of flavours and ingredients with our wine-making skills to craft award-winning traditional drinks, tailored to the 21st-century palate. Each of these amazing products is fermented, blended and aged, as appropriate, right here at the Winery under the supervision of our experienced team.

Regarding our English wine production, At Lyme Bay Winery we like to do things a little differently. Since 2015 we’ve been working with some of the best English wine growers to bring you a selection of delicious and award-winning still and sparkling wines. We are one of a very few wineries that works with growers all over the country to get the best fruit rather than relying on what is grown in our own vineyards. That way, we have access to different grape varieties that grow better on different soils and in different microclimates across the country and use them to make exceptional, full of character still and sparkling wines that suit every palate and occasion.

The Cellar Door is open every day for sampling and shopping. Here we offer Guided Tastings across our different drinks ranges, from English still and sparkling wine to Mead and Spirits – you choose to suit your tastes.

Getting married? We can sort your wedding drinks - please contact us on steve.richardson@lbwdrinks.co.uk for full details.

Cellar Door

Our Cellar Door shop is open every day and showcases our wide range of award-winning English still and sparkling wines, spirits, fruit wines, ciders, meads, and liqueurs. There is always a selection of English wines and other award-winning products available to taste – just ask our helpful staff.

Under the watchful eye of our brilliant winemaking team and using secret blends of local ingredients, we take great care crafting traditional recipes into award-winning drinks, tailored to the 21st-century palette. Each of these are fermented, blended and aged, as appropriate, right here at the Winery.

Treading the normal path is not for us! We prefer to trust our inventive instincts and sense of creativity to push the boundaries whilst aiming for the best possible quality in all that we do.

More recently, and to further this passion, we entered into the world of English wine, planting 26,000 vines in 2009 and 2010 within a stone’s throw of the Winery here in Devon. We also source grapes from a select group of the best growers in the South of England because we believe that truly special wines are born from grapes with diverse backgrounds.

All in all, this bold approach to producing category-defining drinks has paid off. Over the last 25 years we have seen the success and reputation of our products soar: having won 35 awards in 2016 alone, from prestigious competitions including the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the International Cider Challenge, the Decanter World Wine Awards and many more.

What's more, our philosophy of making the very best products has also been recognised this year in our achieving the highest possible industry accreditation; the ‘British Retail Consortium Global Standard’, which was awarded to us with an A-grade and makes us the only English wine producer to hold this prestigious accolade.

English Wine

Relentlessly driven by the potential of what our industry can achieve, here at Lyme Bay we strive to make the best wine, from the best grapes, from the best growers. Our top sites are in Essex's Crouch Valley, and we source from several wonderful grape-growing counties including Kent, Devon and Herefordshire. Central to this is our love of all things coastal and West Country. Our grapes are selected and many of our wines crafted to reflect a natural affinity to the region’s renowned fish dishes and coastal vistas, both in style and character. The result; a range of still and sparkling English Wines that have captured the imagination of many and achieved incredible international award success.

Fruit Wine

Each one of our Fruit, Country and Sparkling Wines is made with immense care and attention. Our winemaker and dedicated team continually strive to improve and enhance the flavour and depth of each particular wine.

Sparkling Fruit Wine

These wines have been fermented in-bottle, resulting in two really special wines that have set new standards in fruit wine making. Both the elderflower and the strawberry have been made in a similar way to what's called the 'Traditional Method' for sparkling wines, as used for both Champagne and Cava. Champagne can consist of three main grape varieties; chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. In our sparkling fruit wines, we've selected a high quality chardonnay juice, and combined it with either fresh Herefordshire strawberry juice, or elderflowers picked from fields surrounding the winery.

Mead

The nectar of the gods, the golden liquor of poets, lovers and kings and thought by many an elixir of health, fertility and longevity- smooth and sumptuous mead is rumoured to have aphrodisiac properties and was historically presented to newlyweds to enjoy during what we now call their “honeymoon”.

Our award-winning meads are fermented, blended and aged on site using our specially selected blends of honey to create the rich, floral and pungent characteristics for which they are famed.

Spirits 

Inspired by the unspoiled Jurassic coastline of Lyme Bay and its local maritime history, our hand-crafted spirits are stamped with the Lyme Bay seal of excellence and packed full of exciting flavour.  We flavour and age our spirits range to provide a delicate balance of flavours to ensure that all the components work in harmony together, integrated to deliver a refined drinking experience. Visit our website or shop to explore our range of Jack Ratt Lugger Rum, and five different gins!

Liqueur

For those who prefer something a little sweeter, our luxurious liqueurs are the ideal addition to a pre-prandial cocktail, or hold their own as a perfect after-dinner digestif. They also make great gifts and grown-up stocking fillers.

Cider

We are passionate about keeping the skill of Westcountry cider making alive. Twenty years ago we started making real, simple, old fashioned quality ciders, and now we have an unrivalled reputation for producing ciders of the highest standard.

We use nothing but the pressed juice of locally grown traditional cider varieties such as Dabinett, Kingston Black and Yarlington Mill.

Cider Brandy

We are delighted to be a distributor for the Somerset Cider Brandy Company’s wonderful products: traditional drinks that invoke all the magic and mystery of the West Country’s proud cidermaking and apple-growing heritage.