Seasonal
Fireworks night
A family fireworks display set to music, with a light show and other entertainment. Everyone, children included, needs a ticket.
Friday 6 November 2026 · Gates open 6pm · £25 a head plus booking fee · Book ahead
Welsh Wine Tours / Vineyards / Llanerch
Vineyard guide · Hensol
Visiting Llanerch Vineyard
Llanerch has grown vines in the Vale of Glamorgan since 1986 and is now a vineyard hotel with a restaurant, two minutes off the M4. The £25 tasting of its Cariad wines runs all year, and it fits neatly before lunch or dinner at Roots.
Llanerch at a glance
| Founded | Vines planted 1986; hotel extension opened July 2019 |
|---|---|
| Known for | Cariad wines, and a vineyard hotel with Roots restaurant |
| Awards | AA Best Hotel in Wales; two AA Rosettes for Roots |
| Grapes | Seyval Blanc, Triomphe, Reichensteiner, Solaris and Phoenix |
| Open | Tastings all year; hotel and restaurant open daily |
| Booking | Tastings booked and paid ahead, online or on 01443 222716 |
| Tours from | £25 |
| Food | Roots restaurant: lunch Monday to Saturday 12pm to 4pm, dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm to 9pm, Sunday roasts, afternoon tea £35 |
| Dogs | Dog-friendly dining area, bar and terrace; two dog-friendly rooms, up to two dogs |
| Children | Family rooms available |
| Stay | Hotel rooms and suites, including family, accessible and dog-friendly rooms |
| By train | Pontyclun, then a short taxi ride |
Checked on the vineyard’s own website in November 2026.
About Llanerch
Peter and Diane bought the farm in 1970, and in 1986 Diane planted the first vines, more than 2,000 of them, mostly French and German varieties such as Triomphe, Bacchus, Reichensteiner and Huxelrebe. In 1989 they named the wine Cariad, Welsh for love, for their eldest daughter’s wedding. From 1999 the wine was made at the Three Choirs winery in Gloucestershire.
By 2005 the estate ran to 20 acres, including a 6.5-acre vineyard. Ryan and his family took it on in October 2010 and reopened it in June 2011 after a refurbishment. A 26-bedroom extension opened in July 2019, turning an 11-bedroom guest house into a proper hotel, and the enlarged restaurant reopened in May 2021. Llanerch calls itself the UK’s original vineyard hotel.
The vineyard supplies the grapes for the Cariad wines and for the estate’s infused gins.
The wines
Cariad Poplar is the one to try. It is an off-dry white of Reichensteiner, Seyval Blanc, Solaris and Phoenix, named for the poplar trees the vines grow between. The two traditional method sparklings are Cariad Sparkling Brut, all Seyval Blanc, and Cariad Sparkling Blush, Seyval with Triomphe. The still range is completed by a Provence-style Blush Rosé and a stainless-steel Dry White of Solaris and Phoenix. The wine page says the wines are only sold at the hotel and restaurant, though there is also an online wine and gin shop. Where to buy them.
Tours and tastings at Llanerch
You don’t need to stay to taste: the tasting is booked like a restaurant table and runs through the year. We’d book it for late morning and stay for lunch at Roots, leaving at least an hour and a half between the start of the tasting and your table, as the hotel suggests. The vineyard ground is uneven, so wear sensible shoes, and tell the team in advance about any access needs. Afternoon tea is served in the Garden Room or the dog-friendly part of the restaurant from Monday to Saturday, and in the Sky Lounge from Friday to Sunday, 12pm to 4.30pm. It needs 24 hours’ notice, and 48 for vegan or dairy-free. Dogs are well catered for: there is a dog-friendly dining area, the bar and terrace welcome them, and the woodland walk is pitched at dog owners.
| Experience | Price | Length | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llanerch Wine Tasting Experience An introduction to how the estate and the Cariad wines are made, with three wines guided by one of the team. In winter it is indoors in the Tasting Lodge, with a self-guided walk in the vines if the weather allows; in summer part of it moves out among the vines. Arrive 15 minutes early to collect tickets. Groups should contact the hotel about prices. | £25 per person, paid when booking | About 1 to 1.5 hours | All year |
| Llanerch After Dark cocktail-making class A hands-on class with a mixologist in the Tasting Lodge, with all ingredients and drinks included. Up to 20 per session. | £100 per couple | 1 hour 45 minutes, from 6pm | Selected Friday nights |
Book these on the Llanerch website.
What’s on
Coming up at the vineyard, from its own website. All vineyard events.
Workshop
Christmas wreath making
Make a Christmas wreath with a local florist in Calon Lodge, with a glass of mulled wine.
Sunday 29 and Monday 30 November 2026 · £65.04 a head · Book ahead
Christmas
Afternoon tea with Santa
A festive afternoon tea with a children’s disco and games and a visit to Santa’s grotto, where each child gets a gift. Adults and children pay the same.
From Saturday 5 December 2026, with further dates · 3pm to 7pm · £40 a head plus booking fee · Book ahead
Workshop
Christmas painting evening
A Christmas painting class led by a local artist in the vineyard’s tasting lodge, with a glass of wine.
Tuesday 15 December 2026 · From 5.30pm · £35 a head plus booking fee · Book ahead
Buy Llanerch wines
None of our wine partners has these wines in stock this week. The vineyard sells them in its own shop, or see our pick of English wines to buy online.
Getting there
Llanerch is about two minutes’ drive from junction 34 of the M4, west of Cardiff. The hotel gives no rail directions; Pontyclun station, on the line from Cardiff towards Bridgend, is the closest, and a taxi from there is short.
Make a day of it
Glyndwr Vineyard at Llanblethian, near Cowbridge, is the obvious second stop, though its tours run only on set days with lunch included. Cowbridge itself has a good high street of independent shops. St Fagans National Museum of History, on the western edge of Cardiff, is free and about a quarter of an hour away.
See every vineyard you can visit in our Wales directory. Our other Wales vineyard guides: White Castle, Glyndwr.
Questions people ask
Can I bring my dog to Llanerch?
Yes, in most places. There is a dog-friendly dining area, dogs are welcome in the bar and on the terrace, and two ground-floor rooms take up to two dogs. There is a £20 per dog, per night supplement until 1 January 2027, after which dogs are included in the room rate.
Is the tasting outdoors?
Partly, in summer, when the weather allows. In winter it is held in the Tasting Lodge, with an optional walk in the vines.
Do I have to stay at the hotel to do the tasting?
No. The tasting is open to anyone who books and pays ahead, online or on 01443 222716. Hotel guests book it the same way.