What's On
Upcoming events at independent UK breweries, distilleries & wineries.6 events across 1 producer.
This Weekend
40th Anniversary Celebration Picnic
Warden Abbey Vineyard sits on the site of the Little Vineyard, which was cultivated by the Cistercian monks of Wardon Abbey. The monastery was closed and dismantled in the mid-16th century and the land purchased by brewer and MP Samuel Whitbread in 1786. The vineyard we know today as Warden Abbey Vineyard was replanted exactly 200 years later by Lady Whitbread with the help of the late Derek Smedley MW. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the modern vineyard we’re inviting volunteers, friends and family to join us for a picnic and a glass of one of our current sparkling wines. There’s no charge, come and have some fun in the vineyard and meet fellow friends and volunteers who have helped keep the vineyard thriving as a Community Project despite the weather, a pandemic and the many challenges of English viticulture. Bring a picnic, we’ll supply a glass of fizz. just let us know how many adults are coming, bring the children or grandchildren too …
Sunday 23 August
Vineyard Tour Sun am
Come and visit our vineyard, find out about our community vineyard project and how our wonderful volunteers nurture our vines throughout the year. After the tour sample a couple of our delightfully fragrant wines. The tour takes 1½ to 2 hours. The vineyard opens for afternoon tours at 1:00pm so why not bring a picnic lunch to enjoy before your afternoon tour. Unfortunately picnics after tours have finished is not possible. Unfortunately, as our tours and tastings last up to 2 hours, they are not suitable for young children. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome We regret that we cannot refund if you cancel with less than one week’s notice in the event of “no shows”, but you may transfer your ticket to someone else if you are unable to come. In the event of cancellation due to bad weather your ticket can be refunded or transferred to another date. For further details please check our About our Tours page .
Saturday 29 August
Flying Day afternoon picnic
Bring a rug and a picnic and enjoy a relaxing afternoon with family and friends among the vines. You can take a free self-guided or virtual tour too, and enjoy chilled wine from our marquee. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome. The picnic coincides with the nearby Shuttleworth airshow and there’s usually a chance to spot planes heading our way, although this may depend on which way the wind is blowing. More details on what you might see can be found here: https://www.shuttleworth.org/events/airshows/ Please select the number of tickets you require. When you click on the ‘Get Tickets’ button you will be taken to the checkout screen. Tickets are non-refundable. Tickets on sale online at £4 for adults until 4:00pm on the day before the event – pay on the gate (£5) is available on the day
Sunday 6 September
Vineyard Tour Sun am
Come and visit our vineyard, find out about our community vineyard project and how our wonderful volunteers nurture our vines throughout the year. After the tour sample a couple of our delightfully fragrant wines. The tour takes 1½ to 2 hours. The vineyard opens for afternoon tours at 1:00pm so why not bring a picnic lunch to enjoy before your afternoon tour. Unfortunately picnics after tours have finished is not possible. Unfortunately, as our tours and tastings last up to 2 hours, they are not suitable for young children. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome We regret that we cannot refund if you cancel with less than one week’s notice in the event of “no shows”, but you may transfer your ticket to someone else if you are unable to come. In the event of cancellation due to bad weather your ticket can be refunded or transferred to another date. For further details please check our About our Tours page .
Sunday 13 September
Open Day 2026
Open Day & Wine Sale Join us at our annual Open Day and wine sale at Warden Abbey Vineyard and enjoy a walk amongst the vines. At your leisure, you can learn the fascinating story of how a vineyard came to be planted on this beautiful Bedfordshire site in medieval times. Learn how it came to be replanted in 1986 by pioneers of the English wine revival, and about its current incarnation as a community project and social enterprise producing award-winning wines. This year’s wines We’ll be introducing our 2025 wines at the 2026 Open Day. 2025 was a great year with a long hot summer and early harvest. We have a 2025 Reformer, a blend of Reichensteiner and Müller-Thurgau grapes and returning after a short absence we have a 2025 Bacchus. We’ll also be selling our popular 2021 English Fizz and, new this year, our 2023 pink fizz – a unique wine blending our signature grapes with a small quantity of Pinot Noir. Entertainment & stalls Weather permitting, Animal Edge petting farm and Hemlock Morris will be joining us. Our food stalls and ice cream van are returning along with a range of local food and craft stalls. There’s something for all the family. Interested in attending as a stall holder? Contact events@wardenvineyard.org.uk . Pop-up Wine School with Mark Horton Mark Horton, from Cambridge Wine in Ampthill, will be running his popular Pop-up Wine School tutored wine tasting sessions. This year, Mark will be focusing on wine blends and food pairings. Space is limited to 15 places for each session and this year tickets are only available in advance at £10 each – Please note that the wine samples equate to a total of 2 units of alcohol consumed for the whole tasting. The tutored tasting ticket does not include an entrance ticket to the Open Day. Mark will be running 3 sessions at 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00. Tickets Online: Entry £4. Gate: Entry £5. Children under 16 go in for free. Combine with vineyard tour (+£5) and/or tutored tasting (£10). When booking a ticket, entering your name and email is optional. If you enter your email, we will add you to our mailing list and send occasional emails notifying you of future vineyard events. We will not share your email with other organisations. Practical information Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome – please clear up after your dogs and take all poo bags away with you. Please note the vineyard is on a gentle slope and the ground is uneven. There is no winery on the site but there’s a free tasting of Warden Abbey wines which are also available to purchase. We have plenty of car parking.
Sunday 20 September
Vineyard Tour Sun pm
Come and visit our vineyard, find out about our community vineyard project and how our wonderful volunteers nurture our vines throughout the year. After the tour sample a couple of our delightfully fragrant wines. The tour takes 1½ to 2 hours. The vineyard opens for afternoon tours at 1:00pm so why not bring a picnic lunch to enjoy before your afternoon tour. Unfortunately picnics after tours have finished is not possible. Unfortunately, as our tours and tastings last up to 2 hours, they are not suitable for young children. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome We regret that we cannot refund if you cancel with less than one week’s notice in the event of “no shows”, but you may transfer your ticket to someone else if you are unable to come. In the event of cancellation due to bad weather your ticket can be refunded or transferred to another date. For further details please check our About our Tours page .