The delights of Vine and Orchard
Behind the Scenes of a Blue Badge Tour
Having sampled the delights of the land and the sea, the finale of our tour takes us to the beautiful La Mare Wine Estate, nestled high on the cliffs above the north coast of the Island.
The estate itself is a fascinating combination of history and tradition. Comprising of historic buildings and beautiful gardens; extensive vineyards and orchards; function rooms, a winery, distillery and estate kitchens, this estate produces a wonderful array of genuine jersey produce. If you love chocolate, something not to be missed is the enticingly named “Bean to Bar” experience where, between April and October, La Mare’s chocolatier offers a daily ‘Bean to Bar’ chocolate tasting. This tasting takes you through the chocolate making process from cultivation of the chocolate bar to processing and the final delicious result.
We came, however, for the delights of Vine and Orchard, and were thus met by Master Winemaker and Distiller, and Head of Production Daniel De Carteret, who took us on a gentle stroll through the orchards, and vineyards. Dan oversees all of the alcohol and food production on the Estate, and he took time out of his busy schedule to guide us around the beautiful vineyards, orchards, the Cognac style distillery as well as the chocolate production kitchen.
Dan explained the methods of the wine, liqueurs and apple brandy production before rounding off the afternoon with a delightful tasting in La Mare’s picturesque garden room, allowing our guests to savour the true flavours of Jersey in a delightful environment.
And there we have, The Big Four Producer’s Tour.
Something a little bit special for our visiting Journalists, something to showcase our beautiful Island and the amazing produce it can provide.
But these of course, are not our only producers. The next Big Four Tour currently being drafted takes in the delights of the East of the Island … Coming soon – the sequel
Thank you for travelling with us……. come back soon