Londoners soon won’t need to hotfoot it out to the home counties to drink a glass of wine mere metres from where it was produced. Because a huge urban winery is set to land in the capital city this autumn. And when we say huge; we really do mean it.
Taking over a 6,000 square-feet of space in Canada Water; the shiny new urban winery will be the largest in the whole country. And it’ll give us city-folk the rare chance to sip, swirl, and savour winestraight from source. Without having to leave the rather comfortable confines of the M25.
This wine-derful news comes courtesy of the team over at Vagabond. You know? The beloved bunch of wine bars that allow customers to pour themselves a glass of grapey goodness from one of the card-activated, self-serve vending machines.
Vagabond recently announced that they’ll be transforming the iconic ‘First Dates’ restaurant into London’s latest wine bar this summer. But apparently that wasn’t exciting enough for them. And so they’re now throwing in a hefty urban winery for good measure. Because wine not, hey?
With a production capacity of up to 100,000 bottles per yearand space for over 300 daily visitors; Vagabond’s urban winery will bring large-scale winemaking straight to the heart of the capital. Led by José Quintana (Vagabond’s head winemaker), the winery is expected to quadruple the company’s English wine offering, and support the growth of its award-winning, small batch ranges.
Vagabond’s urban winery
The space will feature some pretty eye-catching design detailsincluding a concrete egg fermenter and an experimental solera system. It will boast a working 100-tonne winery, a Vagabond bar (complete with signature self-serve machines), and multiple event spaces, too. The urban winery will also offer plenty of tours, tastings, and opportunities for visitors to meet the winemakers and get up close and personal with each and every step of the production journey.
Vagabond Managing Director, Christobell Gilessaid: “This urban winery is unlike anything we’ve done before. It’s a cathedral to wine – a space that lets people get up close to the winemaking process and connects them to the stories and passion behind every bottle. Wine shouldn’t live on a dusty shelf. It should be alive, expressive, and social – and that’s exactly what we’re building.”
Find out more about Vagabond Wines here.
