Camel Valley Royal Warrant Vineyard

Bob Lindo spent 16 years in the RAF, flying Vulcan bombers, Jaguars, Gnats and Hunters, and led a display team. He looked at a Cornish hillside and asked about vines. Annie Lindo pruned her own 5,000 vines by hand every year for 28 years — Sam made a cuvée called Annie's Anniversary in her honor. In 2010, Camel Valley beat Bollinger and Roederer at the World Championship in Verona. It is the only wine brand holding Royal Warrants from both King Charles III and Queen Camilla simultaneously. The slate soil here is NOT chalk — Camel Valley proves English wine doesn't need Champagne's geology to win.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Stand Where the RAF Pilot Looked Up and Saw Vines History · Free

   Where: The vineyard viewpoint on the approach road to Little Denby Farm, Nanstallon, Bodmin PL30 5LG. Park and walk up the steep lane — the view opens across the south-facing slope before you reach the winery.

   What: In the 1980s, an RAF display pilot named Bob Lindo stood on this same hillside watching the grass turn brown every summer. He had flown Vulcan bombers, Jaguars, Gnats, and Hunters for 16 years — including the RAF's display team, where he performed aerobatics at air shows all over the world. When he retired and bought this farm with his wife Annie to raise a family, he watched those sun-drenched slopes year after year until one day he asked the question: if the grass burns, could vines thrive? He did a vintage in Germany, read every book he could find, and in 1989 planted 8,000 vines. The RAF display pilot had just become a Cornish winemaker.

   How: As you walk up the lane and the vineyard comes into view, look south down the valley toward the River Camel. The slope faces almost due south — maximum sun from sunrise to sunset. This is what Bob saw: a natural amphitheatre of ancient Cornish slate that holds heat like a storage heater, warming the soil long after the sun drops. Now look at what you're NOT standing on: there's no chalk here. That's the Sussex vineyard story. This is slate — geologically ancient, completely different from Champagne's soil, and responsible for wines no Sussex vineyard can replicate.

   Backup: The shop is open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. If you arrive outside terrace or tour hours, simply walk the grounds and absorb the setting — there is no entry fee to visit the property.

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2. 2 Spot the Vines Annie Pruned by Hand for 28 Years History · Free

   Where: On the sun terrace overlooking the vineyard. Ask any staff member to point out 'Annie's vines'.

   What: There are very few vineyards on Earth where a block of vines has been pruned by one person, every year, for every vintage. Annie Lindo is one of those people. She has pruned her own 5,000 vines single-handed every year for 28 years, by hand with secateurs — the millionth cut with her own hands happened somewhere in that row in front of you. Her son Sam, three-time UK Winemaker of the Year, was so moved by this that he made a special cuvée in her honor: Annie's Anniversary Brut, made from 100% Seyval Blanc grown on those exact vines, which won the Lord Montague Trophy and was featured on ITV's 'Cornwall' series. This is a wine that exists because one woman refused to let a machine touch her vines.

   How: Wine by the glass is served on the sun terrace, garden and tasting room Monday to Friday 11am to 5pm (book online first — there's a £5/person booking fee refundable against wine purchases, max 5 people, 90-minute slots). Once seated with your glass, find the block the staff pointed out. That block of Seyval Blanc has never been pruned by anyone but Annie. If Annie's Anniversary Brut is available in the shop, buy a bottle. It is not made every year.

   Backup: The view is free to absorb even without booking terrace service. Walk the public areas of the farm and look down at the vines from above.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine That Beat Bollinger in a World Championship Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: The tasting room or terrace at Camel Valley, Nanstallon, Bodmin PL30 5LG. Ask specifically for the Pinot Noir Rosé Brut or Cornwall Brut.

   What: In 2010, Sam Lindo took his Camel Valley sparkling wine to Verona for the World Sparkling Wine Championships and came home with the Trophy for Best International Traditional Method Sparkling Wine — beating Bollinger and Louis Roederer. In 2011, his 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé was crowned Sparkling Rosé World Champion ahead of Bollinger Champagne Rosé, scoring 95 out of 100 from Tom Stevenson, the editor of Christie's World Encyclopaedia of Champagne. The wine was made on ancient Cornish slate with grapes grown 250 miles west of London, by a maths graduate from Bath who had never planned to make wine at all.

   How: The Daily Guided Tour (10:30am Mon-Fri, April-September, approx £15-20 per person) includes a flight of four flagship wines. The Grand Tour every Wednesday at 5pm (£30 per person, June-September, led by a winemaker) starts with the Cornwall Brut and runs through a minimum of five wines. Both require advance booking on camelvalley.com — new dates are added weekly. When the Pinot Noir Rosé arrives, smell for what the winery calls a 'floral and delicate strawberry fruit nose'.

   Backup: If you can't book a tour, buy the Cornwall Brut (approx £34) or Pinot Noir Rosé Brut directly from the shop and take a glass on the terrace. Wine is also sold by the glass Mon-Fri 11am-5pm.

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4. 4 Ask to See the PDO Plaque — England Has Only One Like It Wine · Price: low

   Where: On the tour or in the winery — ask your guide specifically about the Darnibole PDO, or look for signage in the tasting room referencing the Darnibole vineyard.

   What: In 2017, after a five-year application process through DEFRA to the European Union, the Darnibole section of Camel Valley's vineyard became the ONLY UK single vineyard to receive a Protected Designation of Origin. All 28 Member States of the EU voted unanimously in favour. The application was based on the ancient slate subsoil and steep south-facing slope being geologically unique — producing wines with a character that could not legally be replicated anywhere else in England. The PDO rules are strict: 100% Bacchus, hand-picked, with no acidification, de-acidification or sweetening. Camel Valley adds its own discipline: pressed within 2 hours, the juice cooled to 4°C, fermented in stainless steel. The PDO application describes the result as 'an intense, steely Bacchus with a delicately restrained aroma' — not the gentle floral Bacchus you find in Sussex. This is what a wine with protected terroir tastes like.

   How: On the Guided Tour (approx £15-20 per person, 10:30am Mon-Fri) or Grand Tour (£30, Wednesdays 5pm June to September), ask specifically: 'Can you tell us about the Darnibole PDO?' Look for the Darnibole Bacchus on the shop shelf (approx £18-22 per bottle). Buy the Darnibole AND the standard Bacchus side by side — taste them together to feel what a protected single-vineyard terroir actually means in a glass versus the broader appellation style.

   Backup: The Darnibole Bacchus is available direct from the shop Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. You don't need a tour to buy it.

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5. 5 Toast England's Only Dual Royal Warrant Wine Over the Valley Wine · Price: low

   Where: The sun terrace at Camel Valley, facing south-southwest over the vineyard toward the Camel Valley below. Book a late terrace slot; table service ends at 5pm, Monday to Friday.

   What: Camel Valley holds not one but TWO Royal Warrants — from King Charles III AND from Queen Camilla. They are the ONLY wine brand in the world with warrants from both the King and the Queen simultaneously. The first warrant came in 2018 when they became the first English wine ever granted a Royal Warrant (after supplying Prince Charles's household for years). The second came in May 2024 when Queen Camilla — President of Wine GB — granted her own warrant in her first round. Bob Lindo said: 'Her Majesty has taken a keen interest in the development of English wines and as president of Wine GB has been a terrific source of encouragement.' This wine has been served at a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace for the King and Queen of Spain. It's in British Airways First Class. And right now you can drink it on the terrace looking over the same vines the King drinks, for less than the price of a pub meal.

   How: Book the terrace at camelvalley.com — £5 per person booking fee (refundable against wine purchase). Table service Mon-Fri 11am-5pm. Order a glass of Cornwall Brut (the flagship) or Pinot Noir Rosé Brut. Raise the glass toward the valley. You are drinking what King Charles III drinks — made on slate, not chalk, some 180-220 miles further west than Sussex, by the son of the RAF's own Vulcan display pilot.

   Backup: If the terrace is full, buy a bottle from the shop (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, approx £34 for Cornwall Brut) and take it down to the river on the public footpath. There is no better picnic setting in Cornwall.

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Insider tips

• Grand Tour Wednesdays 5pm, June to September - min 5 wines

• Daily Guided Tour 10:30am Mon-Fri

• Casual terrace tasting available year-round

• Try the Cornwall Brut and Annie's Anniversary