The Bulari Bar is coming back!

The Bular Bar is opening its shutters again on May 1^st as we welcome guests back to the vineyard for food and drink on Friday nights in 2026. 2025 was a fantastic year, where so many friends, neighbours and new faces gathered under our marquee or out in the sunshine to enjoy Poulton Hill wines and delicious dishes from our rotating food vendors.

This year we are back with another great line up of food and drink. As usual, there is no need to book, there is plenty of free parking and children and dogs are welcome. The gates open at 5pm. Our Bulari Bar will be selling Poulton Hill Estate wines by the glass and by the bottle, local beers and a range of soft drinks.

The food vendor on our opening night, May 1^st, is customer favourite Gurt Wings, selling their award-winning fried chicken wings with a range of sides.

May food line-up

May 1^st: Gurt Wings (fried chicken wings)

May 8^th: Smiths of Bourton (boutique burgers)

May 12^th: Sri-Licious (Sri Lankan street food)

May 22^nd: Taste of Punjab (Indian street food)

May 29^th: Pig’s Pizza (pizzas from Porky the shiny trailer)

 

New for 2026: Vineyard Tours & Tastings with picnic hampers

Our new summer season of Vineyard Tours and Tastings start on May 30^th. Join us for a relaxed tour around our vineyard, where we will take you through our history and the growing of grapes.

You will then head into our Cellar Door for a guided tasting, where you will sample a selection of our wines and also learn about our medal-winning spirits. The tasting will include one sparkling wine and three still wines. Tours start at 11am and last about 1 ½ hours.

This year, we are introducing a delicious new addition to our summer Vineyard Tour and Tasting sessions. When booking your experience, you will soon be able to add a locally sourced picnic to enjoy after your tasting.

There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating available by the Cellar Door, or you are welcome to bring your own picnic blanket and relax among the vines, taking in the views across the beautiful Cotswold countryside. Wine by the glass and wine flights will also be available to purchase on the day.

Picnic Hampers will cost £20 per person

Each hamper includes a generous selection of local charcuterie from SaltPig Curing, cheeses from The Fine Cheese Co and accompaniments including crackers, olives, onion relish and butter.Tickets for the Vineyard Tours and Tastings and picnics will be live on our website soon, so keep an eye on poultonhillestate.co.uk.

 

Thank you Diogo!

 

 

Winter pruning is now over. This year has been particularly arduous due to the almost constant rain. We would like to say a huge thank you to Diogo, who went out in the vineyard every day until he had pruned every single one of the 9,750 vines by hand, no matter the weather (even through Storm Ingrid). His dedication is truly appreciated by the entire Poulton Hill Estate team. When you sit down in a couple of years’ time to enjoy a glass of Poulton Hill 2026 wine, you will have Diogo to thank for his care and attention in preparing the vines for a successful growing season. We are now looking forward to seeing the first signs of new life in the vineyard, as the buds start to show on our beautifully pruned vines.

 

Phoenix 2024 vintage released

Poulton Hill Estate has just released its 2024 vintage of Phoenix white wine. This ever-popular wine made from 100% Phoenix grapes, a variety that was created in Germany in 1964 when Bacchus was crossed with Villard Blanc. The grape variety is perfect for the UK climate, as it is a cool-climate hybrid developed to withstand and ripen in cooler, damp conditions. It is also highly resistant to mildew, which can be an issue for UK wine growers

Poulton Hill Estate’s Phoenix 2024 has a pale straw appearance with a delicious nose of guava and peach. The palate is off dry, refreshing and wonderfully balanced, bursting with sweet melon, pear and creamy apple, which leads to a long, clean and satisfying finish. This wine is prefect to drink on its own or with pasta dishes, Thai cuisine, seafood and cheese. 11% abv

The wine costs £18.50 a bottle and is available from our website or from the Cellar Door in Poulton.

 

Poulton White Trio offer

Spring is here and we have a special offer for you on a trio of our white wines to celebrate the start of the new season. You can save more than £10 by picking up the Poulton White Trio for only £44.99 (normally £55.50).

The Poulton White Trio:

• 1 x Bacchus 2023
• 1 x Arlington White 2023
• 1 x Awkward Hill White 2023

Why not get ahead with your Easter preparations and order your white wine now? Collection from the Cellar Door is free or a delivery charge of £10 applies to orders under £100 within mainland UK. For more details and to order your Poulton White Trio, click here or pop into the Cellar Door.

 

Spring Tastings

There are still tickets left for our Spring Tasting sessions, which are a lovely way to celebrate the start of the growing season here at Poulton Hill Estate. They also make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.

Tasting session dates:

• March 14
• March 28
• April 11
• April 18
• May 2

At the tasting, you will sample a selection of our wines and learn about our medal-winning spirits. The tasting will include one sparkling wine and three still wines. Snacks can be purchased on the side. All sessions start at 11.30am an last for about an hour.

For more details or to book, click here to book your spot.

Winter pruning and water management

Although our vines are currently in their dormant phase, we have been busy in the vineyard starting our winter pruning. This is a huge task that is vital to ensure we have a good growing season and harvest, and it is all undertaken by hand whatever the weather. As 2026 so far has been very cold and then very wet, you can imagine how tough it has been! It is vital to get the pruning process completed before bud break or bud burst, which occurs in March to April.

We select two strong canes and one spur for the year (which is about the thickness of a pencil). We remove the rest of the unwanted canes with secateurs, ensuring these are sharp for clean cut. It is essential not to damage the vine as we do not want to reduce opportunities to produce canes in future years.

Then we trim the selected canes down so that between eight and ten buds remain on each. We tie down each of the remaining canes to the fixed fruiting wire, using eco-friendly, natural cane ties. With the two canes (now arms of the vine) tied down, we treat any large wounds with garlic paste. This acts as a barrier and prevents disease from entering the vine.

The majority of the grape varietals at Poulton Hill are pruned in this way, with the exception of our Pinot Noir vines. Pinot Noir is one of the more difficult varietals to grow in this part of the Cotswolds, so we prune each vine to a single arm to allow it to focus its energy. The single arm is trained uphill from the stem.

The wet weather has led to surface water on many of the fields around the area, but we have employed our secret weapon: sheep! Our flock of Babydoll and Black Jacob sheep are back in the vineyard, and their hooves help to break up compacted soil to improve the drainage. However, they also help the vineyard to be more biodynamic and reduce the need for chemical pesticides, weedkiller and fertiliser. They do a great job of nibbling the grass and weeds that spring up between the vines and help to fertilise the soil!

The sheep also like to assist our gardening team by nibbling on the roses that we plant at the end of each row of vines, which saves on pruning. Roses are traditionally planted in vineyards as an early warning system as they attract insects, such as aphids, and they develop fungal diseases, such as black rot and mildew, before they impact the vines.

Once the weather warms up and our vines start to come out of their dormant state, the sheep move to pastureland on the estate to protect the vines’ precious buds and leaves.

Add some local sparkle to your Valentine’s Day

St Valentine’s Day is coming up this month and if you are looking for a special treat for your loved one, we have a whole range of special wines and spirits, including our Bulari sparkling white and sparkling rosé wines. You can buy them as a gift in one of our special wooden gift boxes or serve with a romantic meal. Check out our wines in our online store or come to see us at the Cellar Door in Poulton, where you can buy our wine at special Cellar Door prices. We are open Tuesday to Friday 9am to 4pm and on Saturday from 11am to 3pm.

Happy Christmas from the Poulton Hill team!

 

We would like to wish all our customers,  friends and neighbours a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

In the run-up to Christmas, we are here to help. Whether you are looking for Christmas gifts, stocking fillers or corporate giving, or if you want to add some local flavour to your own festive table, we have something for you. Come along to our Cellar Door in Poulton where you can buy our wines at special Cellar Door prices. We also have a range of wine-related gifts, and you can purchase gift vouchers that can be exchanged for Poulton Hill wines and spirits or future wine-tasting events.

Our friendly team can put together gifts for any budget and can courier them directly with a personalised gift message. If you are stuck for what to get for your clients/staff/suppliers, then we can also help out with corporate gifts. Sending local wines and spirits demonstrates a more personal and sustainable approach. We can send out single bottles, or put together duos, trios, sixes or cases for any budget per person, and include your personalised message. If you would like us to send them out directly, you can give us a spreadsheet of delivery addresses and we can check them in with our courier. Discounts are available for large orders.

The Cellar Door is open Tuesday – Friday 9am – 4pm and Saturday 11am – 3pm. The last day the Cellar Door is open before Christmas is Saturday 20th December. It will reopen on Tuesday 6th January 2026.

Date for your Diary: Christmas in the Vines

Poulton Hill Estate is hosting a very special Christmas in the Vines shopping event on Saturday 6th December from 12pm until 8pm. Visitors can browse the many stalls selling everything from trinkets, gifts and crafts to food and drink, all set within the beautiful surroundings of Poulton Hill vineyard.

You can pick up some Christmas gifts from the stalls and buy your wines for the Christmas dinner table or party. The Bulari Bar will be open selling our full range of wines, local beers and soft drinks, as well as teas and coffees, and we will have a guest caterer offering some tasty treats to eat. There will also be an incredible raffle, with the chance to win a selection of great prizes.

The event is free to attend, and tickets are available from this website. Pre-booked tickets will include a free ticket for the raffle. Free tickets will also be available on the door, but no raffle ticket will be included.

Put the date in your diary and come along to get in the festive spirit!

Christmas Cellar Door

Wine and spirit gifts for family and friends or corporate clients this Christmas are available from the Cellar Door. Why not get ahead with your Christmas shopping and buy your boxes or bottles now? Either pop in to see us or give us a call and we can make sure that we meet your requirements.

If you want to give a wine gift to send in a card or via email, why not buy a Poulton Hill gift card or tickets to one of our tasting events? All details are on our website.

The Cellar Door is open Tuesday – Friday 9-4pm and Saturday 11-3pm.

Winter & Spring Tasting dates for 2026

We have a number of Winter and Spring Wine Tasting sessions ready to book online.

• 11:30am Saturday 21^st February – Winter Tasting
• 11:30am Saturday 14^th March (pre-Mother’s Day) – Winter Tasting
• 11:30am Saturday 28^th March – Spring Tasting

Each tasting costs £20 and you will sample one sparkling wine and three still wines and learn about our medal-winning spirits. Snacks can be purchased on the side.

The total measure of wine in the tasting is equivalent to a small glass of wine so you are legally able to drive, and spittoons will be available.

For more details and to book, visit https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/events/ or call 01285 850257.

Bountiful harvest keeps us busy but is a brilliant start to our autumn

Our harvest is in and what a harvest it was this year! In total, we picked a whopping 24,247kg of grapes. The weather conditions for 2025 meant that fruit was in abundance. We picked for seven full days and finished on Saturday 27th September. It was also a very early harvest, last year we did not start picking until October 4th.

This year, we picked both our Pinot Noir and our Bacchus grapes, which were not harvested last year, but the breakdown in figures still demonstrates that all varietals did incredibly well, with most beating the total tonnage for the entire vineyard in 2024, which was just 3,749kg.

The tonnage for 2025:

• Bacchus – 5,215kg
• Seyval Blanc – 4,627kg
• Phoenix – 6,769kg
• Pinot Noir – 3,509kg
• Regent & Rondo – 4,127kg

Total: 24,247kg

We want to thank everyone who came to help with harvest this year. The grapes are now in the winery, and we are looking forward to tasting and blending in the Three Choirs lab next spring.

Warm up your winter at our tasting and charcuterie events

We have two Winter Tasting + Charcuterie dates on the calendar so far, and we already have some bookings!

Attendees will sample one of Poulton Hill’s sparkling wines and three of our still wines. Then enjoy a full glass of Poulton Hill still wine alongside a platter of charcuterie. The Tastings are held in our beautiful Cellar Door at the vineyard. Tickets cost £45 per person, and each session starts at 11.30am. Bring your friends and make it a great social event.

The first dates available for our Winter Tasting + Charcuterie are: Saturday 1^st  November and Saturday 13^th December.

For more details or to book, visit our events page here or call 01285 850257.

Long, hot summer signals an early grape harvest

August was quite incredible in the vineyard. The hot days meant that our vines and grapes grew and ripened much earlier than in previous years. The signs we look for that indicate that the grapes are ready to be harvested include the leaves changing colour as the fruit takes more nutrition from the vines; the grapes getting fuller and changing colour; and local wildlife starting to take a greater interest in the vines. Our nets went up in our Regent and Rondo vines in early August, to protect the ripening fruit from birds and animals, and we placed traps beneath the vines to stop wasps, which are small enough to get through the nets.

All the signs indicate that we may have an early harvest this year. However, we won’t know exactly when the time is right until we start testing the grapes using a refractometer that is set to the Oechsle scale. This measures the density of the grape must to show a grape’s ripeness and sugar content.

We really enjoy harvest time at the vineyard and love to share the experience with our neighbours and friends who volunteer to help out. It is a great way to get to know our customers and our local community. It is also a good opportunity for people to learn a bit more about vineyard life!

We give all the training that is needed and provide clippers, snacks, drinks and lunch. We recommend you bring a pair of gloves as the clippers are sharp and the grape juice is sticky. You do not have to spend the entire harvest with us, but you can pop in for a morning or afternoon or for a few hours when you have time.

See out the season with some star caterers at the Bulari Bar

Our Friday Nights at the Bulari Bar continue through September, and we have some great guest caterers to end the season with.

Friday 5^th: Sri-licious, Sri Lankan street food
Friday 12^th: Jesse Smith,burgers, hot dogs and bacon baps
Friday 19^th: Gurt Wings, fried chicken with lots of different toppings
Friday 26^th: Tania’s Pop-up, Indian-inspired tacos

The Bulari Bar is open from 5pm to 9pm, and serves Poulton Hill wines, Cotswold Lakes Brew Co beers and a range of soft drinks. It is free to attend, we have plenty of parking and there is covered and uncovered seating, all with beautiful views across the vineyard. Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome.

We have loved welcoming so many of you to the vineyard on Friday evenings. Once the Bulari Bar shuts for the year you can still come along to the Cellar Door during our opening hours to buy wine by the glass or the bottle to enjoy with friends in the beautiful surroundings of the vineyard. The Cellar Door is open Tuesday to Friday 9am – 4pm, Saturday 11am – 3pm.

Sour to sweet thanks to lots of sunshine

August is one of the loveliest times to visit our vineyard here at Poulton Hill. All this warm, dry weather, with only the odd rain shower, has had an incredible impact on our vines. Our Regent and Rondo grapes are not only plentiful, but are already showing signs of veraison (above) when the fruit starts to change colour, swell up and ripen. This is more obvious in our red grapes, but white grapes also undergo the process, turning from light green to a more golden-green colour.

Veraison occurs at different times according to the grape variety, the weather and the location within the vineyard. Early veraison can be an indicator of an early harvest, as it means the sugar levels in the grapes are already starting to increase and the acidity is decreasing. Our nets will also go up over the vines soon to protect the grapes from any bird or wildlife that might enjoy some ripening fruit!

Our white grapes are also thriving in this weather. We have so much fruit on our Seyval Blanc and Bacchus vines that we are undertaking some managed reduction to ensure that the remaining bunches of grapes get enough nutrients and sunlight to ripen fully.

August at the Bulari Bar

Our weekly Friday night at the Bulari Bar events are running throughout August. Our Bulari Bar is open from 5pm until 9pm serving Poulton Hill wines, Cotswold Lakes Brew beers and a range of soft drinks.

We have covered and uncovered seating, all with views across the vineyard, and we have plenty of parking. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, as are children. The evenings are free to attend and you do not need to book, just turn up and enjoy.

Each week we have a different guest caterer. The line-up for August is below.

• Friday 1^st: Tania’s Pop-up
• Friday 8^th: Smiths of Bourton
• Friday 15^th: Jesse Smith
• Friday 22^nd: Gurt Wings
• Friday 29^th: Tania’s Pop-up

All menus will be released on Instagram during the week. The full list of caterers this summer is available on the Bulari Bar page of the website

Fabulous food, delicious drink and fantastic flying!

July is when we are treated to some incredible flying displays as the Royal International Air Tattoo takes place in Fairford.

We have an amazing viewpoint here in the vineyard and last year we hosted our very first RIAT watching event, which was a sell-out.

This year we are opening up the vineyard again and offering our guests refreshments while they watch the shows. Tickets cost £20 per car for the entire day, with entry from 10am until 5pm on Friday 18^th and Saturday 19^th July. We will be serving tea and coffee and soft drinks, as well as Poulton Hill wines and Cotswold Lakes Brew Co beers.

Hot food on both days will be served by our guest caterers from 12noon until 8.30pm. On Friday we have Gurt Wings, offering their tasty friend chicken with a variety of sauces. On Saturday we are welcoming back Pig’s Pizzas to the vineyard, who will be serving their delicious pizzas from Porky, their shiny trailer.

If you wish to turn up after 5pm on both days, there is no charge to enter and the Bulari Bar will remain open until 9pm.

Although we have plenty of seating, please feel free to bring your own picnic rug if you wish, but we ask you notto bring your own food or drink. Children and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

We have made 50 tickets available for each day. You can book here

July at the Bulari Bar

Throughout July we are running our Friday nights at the Bulari Bar, with different guest caterers each week. The vineyard will be open from 5pm until 9pm, and we will be serving Poulton Hill Estate wines, Cotswold Lakes Brew Co beers and a range of soft drinks.

The Bulari Bar evening events are free to attend, there is plenty of parking, and covered and uncovered seating.

The caterers for each week in July are:

• Friday 4^th: Sri-licious
• Friday 11^th: Cotswold Cookery School & Events (Paella)
• Friday 18^th: Gurt Wings
• Saturday 19^th: Pig’s Pizzas
• Friday 25^th: Peaches & Pudding

All menus will be released on Instagram during the week. The full list of caterers this summer is available on the Bulari Bar page of the website

Raise a glass to English wine

English Wine Week takes place from June 21^st to 29^th and to celebrate we are opening the Bulari Bar on Friday and Saturday nights.

To accompany our English wine, we have a quintessential English food option – fish and chips, as our guest caterer on Saturday 21^st will be the Cotswold Chippy. On Friday 27^th, Smiths of Bourton will be offering visitors their gourmet burgers. The Bulari Bar will be open, serving Poulton Hill wines, Cotswold Lakes Brew Co beers and a range of soft drinks.

There is plenty of parking, and we have covered and uncovered seating with views out across the vineyard, nestled in the English countryside. Dogs and children are welcome, so bring the family and meet up with friends. The events run from 5pm until 9pm.

We also have three Summer Tours and Tastings taking place during English Wine Week on June 21^st, June 26^th and June 28^th. Our wine tours are a great way to celebrate English wine as you have the rare opportunity to not only taste our unique wines and spirits, but also to enjoy the countryside they were grown in.

For more details on the Bulari Bar or our Tours and Tastings, visit our website: www.poultonhillestate.co.uk

Bud rubbing and crown thinning

June is a busy time in the vineyard as we are undertaking a lot of work to ensure that our vines are in the best condition for growing a healthy crop of grapes. Bud rubbing started in May this year, where any growth a hand down from the crown (the bulbous bit at the top of the vine) is gently rubbed off, focusing the vines nutrients into areas where we will be growing the grapes.

Canopy management, in the form of crown thinning, also starts in June. This is when we remove some shoots at the top of the vine to focus the vine’s energy into a few shoots that will grow to bear fruit. This allows the grapes their own space to grow and get sunlight, also ensuring better air circulation, which will help to prevent diseases such as mildew affecting our vines.

Say thank you to your father with Poulton Hill

Father’s Day falls on June 15^th this year and we have plenty of gift ideas for you, from any of our range of wines and spirits, tickets to a Tour and Tasting or even gift vouchers. We also have a range of gift boxes and wine accessories at the Cellar Door. All wines and spirits bought at the Cellar Door are sold at special Cellar Door prices.

If you want to take Father out for a nice lunch, a number of local eateries stock Poulton Hill Estate wines and spirits. If you visit our website, our Cellar Door page also lists all our stockists. https://www.poultonhillestate.co.uk/the-cellar-door/.