South West food and drink experiences

All about giving experiences over material gifts? You’ll find something for every kind of foodie in our roundup of South West food and drink experiences

Cheese and wine tasting at Kask, Bristol

Bedminster wine bar, deli and shop Kask hosts monthly tasting nights where guests get the opportunity to sample a selection of delicious wines and top-notch cheeses. The Kask team often invite their suppliers to co-host the events, so attendees get an insight into the winemaking process and expert tasting tips.

From £35. Buy it here.

Hattiers Rum Tour & Tasting, Devon

Who better to lead guests around Hattiers HQ than its founder Philip Everett-Lyons? Those who embark on the tour and tasting experience in Holbeton are taken on a deep-dive of the rum blending process, which culminates with a tutored tasting of Hattiers’ multi-award-winning spirits: Egremont – Premium Reserve, Eminence – Blended Aged White Rum, and Resolute – Blended Aged Navy Strength Rum.

£20. Buy it here.

Latte art classes at Origin Coffee Roasters, Cornwall

Know someone who’s serious about quality coffee? Gift them the knowledge of how to get the most out of their expensive kit via a latte art course at Origin Coffee Roasters in Cornwall.

From their swanky HQ in Porthleven, the skilled Origin team teach budding baristas how to texture milk to silky perfection and pour spot-on rosettas, tulips and hearts. If Cornwall is a bit of a trek, there’s also the option to do the course at Origin’s London training lab.

From £55. Buy it here.

Salcombe Gin School Experience, Devon

For the ultimate gin experience, it doesn’t get much better than a trip to Salcombe Distilling Co.’s Gin School. At the south Devon distillery, juniper super-fans have the opportunity to be the master of their own spirit and create a bespoke 70cl bottle of gin under the guidance of Salcombe’s award-winning distillers.

The half-day sessions kick off with a G&T and guided tour of the distillery, before the group head off to the gin lab to let their creativity fly. The experience wraps up with a sample of the fresh-from-the-still spirit in the distillery bar.

From £110. Buy it here.

Guided tour and tasting at Langham Wine Estate, Dorset

There are lots of vineyard tour and tasting experiences in the South West, so if you need help whittling them down may we suggest a visit to Langham Wine Estate. The Dorset vineyard made headlines in 2020 when it beat competition from some of France’s most prestigious Champagne houses to scoop Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year in the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Langham’s guided tour and tasting starts with a walk around the beautiful vineyard near Dorchester and finishes with a tutored tasting of three of its award-winning sparkling wines. You can even add a vineyard picnic-lunch and glass of fizz to the experience and make a day of it.

From £25. Buy it here.

Like 5 of the best South West food and drink experiences? Check out our roundup stocking fillers under £30 here.

We choose the companies included in our 5 of the best features based on editorial integrity. Occasionally, some inclusions will be from clients with whom we have a commercial relationship.