Whatever your favourite tipple or your favourite pastime, there's a masterclass or guided tasting to suit everyone.
Dip into chocolate making. Explore the spirit world. Get hands-on in the kitchen with some seriously good cookery skills. Dust down and scrub your BBQ and learn how to cook on fire or spend a family day planting seeds and exploring nature.
Food Drink Devon, which has a membership of over 350 food and drink producers, hospitality and retailer members, suggests some of the highlights from Devon for you to enjoy this summer.
For wine lovers
Most, if not all, vineyards will be thrilled and delighted to show you around their small or not-so-small patch of heaven and even give you a guided tasting through their vines and wines.
Huxbear Vineyard which is in Chudleigh offers a walking tour where the owner, Lucy, will talk you through the story of Huxbear, their vineyard calendar and winemaking processes.
You'll learn heaps in about 90 minutes, followed, of course, by a free tasting. Non-walking tours are also available on request and are suitable for people with limited mobility, so should be accessible to everyone in your family or group.
Torview Vineyard, which isn't very far from Beaworthy, goes a a little bit further as it lets visitors get hands-on during their Winemaking Days.
They run a Red and a Sparking version and your experience is spread over several days, several months apart, depending, of course, on the wine type.. This year's Red Winemaking experience is almost sold out, but there's space on the upcoming Sparkling, so do look out for that, if sparkling wine's your thing.
Heron Farm Vineyard close to Honiton runs Vineyard Tours which also take in their impressive orchards, to learn about apple juice making, and their Kitchen Garden and Gin Orchard, topped off with a tasting back at the Heron Farm Kitchen & Café.
Sandridge Barton Wines, home of award-winning Sharpham Wine, close to Stoke Gabriel offers several different varieties of tasting experiences, from a casual self-guided options to in-depth guided tastings and tours for those who want to learn more about the processes they employ in their sustainable vineyard and winery.
Lyme Bay Winery near Axminster offers private guided tasting sessions in their Cellar Door, where you'll be talked through each wine, where the grapes are grown, how it's made and they'll even offer you a few all important wine buying tips. You'll leave for home with Winemaker's Notes on each of the wines you've sampled.
More beautiful vineyards with tours and tasting sessions to visit and experience…
Venn Valley Vineyard, near Barnstaple
Alder Vineyard, near Okehampton
Old Walls Vineyard, near Bishopsteignton
Wishing to delve a little deeper into wine? South West Wine School brings together the best wine educators in the south west to run Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) training courses at Darts Farm, near Topsham. Whether learning about different grapes for the first time or analysing a wine in a blind tasting, South West Wine School will take you on that voyage of discovery.
Beer and cider tours and tastings
Explore the world of brewing and fermenting
Sandford Orchards, near Crediton. You'll be able to look behind the scenes at the Cider Works,which boasts that it is the oldest working cider mill in the country, and see how award-winning Sandford Orchards cider is made. Round off the experience with a Q&A session and a cider tasting flight and pizza included in the price.
Salcombe Brewery If you have a desire to learn about beer and brewing, Salcombe Brewery is the place for you. Take yourself and fellow-beer lovers down to Salcombe Brewery. Their tours include a welcome drink in the Taproom, a tour of the Brewhouse with one of their knowledgeable brewers, who'll be more than happy (hoppy, even? Sorry!) to answer your questions, and you'll finish with a beer flight tasting back in the Taproom.
Other beer and cider tours and tastings to consider…
Hanlons Brewery, Newton St Cyres
Hunts Cider, Stoke Gabriel
Red Rock Brewery, Bishopsteignton
Rum experiences
Learn about the art of blending and rum distilling…
Devon Rum Co. Join the team at their waterside venue in Salcombe for a Rum Tasting Experience, complete with a very welcome drink, behind-the-scenes tour of their Blending House. You'll be able to try your hand at bottling rum, then enjoy an in-depth tasting of their four award-winning artisan rums. Ideal for rum fans and groups of friends to enjoy.
Two Drifters Distillery, near Exeter. Want to see a working rum distillery in action? Two Drifters were the first distillery to make rum from scratch in the UK. They'll fix you a drink, then gibe you a fascinating tour of the carbon-negative distillery. Smell the deliciously tempting scent of the genuine molasses and learn how they turn this high-quality material into finest quality rum. And then, it's a welcome return to the Rum Bar for a tasting flight.
Salcombe Rum School A visit here gives you the wonderful chance to craft your own rum and take it home with you. Learn about distillation and rum production, collect your botanicals, and create your own recipe and your own bottle label. Maybe leave the car at home as at least three rum cocktails feature in this experience!
Other recommended tours and tastings include
Devon Distillery, Dartington
Hattiers Rum, Mothecombe, South Devon
Gin adventures
Go behind the scenes and make your own signature serve
Quayside Distillery, Exeter Quay. Join the gin experts in the lab for a wonderful 90-minute experience learning about the fundamentals of a well-balanced gin whilst you are learning and creating your own unique gin recipe. Or opt for a 60-minute experience with a master distiller where you'll taste your way through their flagship range.
Salcombe Gin School Take charge of a beautiful mini copper pot still to develop and distil your own 70cl signature bottle. Learn how they produce Salcombe Gin and what it takes to produce a balanced and harmonious gin whilst enjoying a 'Salcombe & Tonic'.
Gotland Gin, Beaworthy This novel experience begins in their outside bar with a G&T or soft drink before heading into the nano-distillery to see how Gotland Gin is produced. Next meet their flock of Gotland sheep and lambs during lambing season, then relax back in the bar and learn all about the botanicals while enjoying a few more tasters.
A few more to explore
Devon Distillery Gin School, Dartington
Sidmouth Gin School
Cocktail time
Time to mix, muddle and shake your way to a great time
Devon Rum Co. Cocktail Masterclass. Head to Salcombe to mix, muddle, and shake your way through a hands-on cocktail making session. You'll take charge of your very own and fully stocked cocktail station, have an introduction to mixology, then make (and drink) up to four unique rum-based cocktails. Might be best to not use your car to visit them!
Devon Cove Cocktail Masterclasses. Perfect for a fun night out with family members or friends or to celebrate a very special occasion. Hosted by an expert mixologist, you'll be able to learn how to make a range of delicious cocktails in the Kingsbridge Tasting Room. Try their award-winning spirits, learn the history of cocktails and play a few games, too!
Bar Buoy 'Cocktail Compass'. A one-off Tour, Talk and Tasting Event at the home of Bar Buoy handcrafted, ready mixed cocktails in Exmouth. Thursday, September 21, 7-9:00pm.
Coffee
Take your barista skills to the next level
Owens Coffee, Ivybridge. Latte Art Essentials Workshop. A two-hour course to awaken your inner barista and take your love of coffee to a higher level. However, it's important to realise that this is not your average coffee class, it's a vital experience that's all about having fun, unleashing your creativity, and elevating your coffee game, too. Several other coffee tasting, brewing and barista courses are on offer at Owens, too.
Learn cookery, fire and baking skills
From learning the right way to chop your onions, to how to cook over coals, to baking the perfect sourdough
High Grange, Axminister Learn lots to apply in your own garden at this bespoke barbecue school which covers the full gambit of outdoor cookery. At Fire School you'll cover a variety of outdoor fire cooking and barbecue techniques and butchery with chef and food writer, Luke MacKay. Enjoy what you've just cooked, around the big oak table for lunch. Other masterclasses are available too.
Ashburton Cookery School is one of the UK's top cookery schools offering inspirational cookery courses taught by a team of keen and very expert chefs. With over 40 cookery courses to choose from, designed to suit beginners as well as the more advanced home cooks amongst our readers, they'll teach you to cook with imagination, passion and enjoyment… and how to chop an onion properly, too, as we just mentioned!
One Mile Bakery Boudicca Woodland runs One Mile Bakery in Exeter, making and delivering delicious and utterly delightful homemade bread, soups and preserves by bike within one mile of home mile, BUT she also teaches sourdough and other breadmaking classes in her Breadshed Microbakery. Her classes fill up rapidly, so do get in quick!
Sweet treats
Chocolate heaven for big and little ones…
Ilfracombe Chocolate Emporium Introduction to Chocolate Making. This lovely workshop session includes a talk on chocolate, learn the entire process of turning a bean into the chocolate you recognise whilst the chocolatier demonstrates how to hand-craft, hand-dip and properly decorate chocolates. They also run a 'Short & Sweet Tutorial' ideal for children and parents.
Salcombe Dairy Chocolate Factory Experience the sights, sounds and aromas of bean-to-bar chocolate being made and packaged onsite thanks to full height glass dividing walls between the factory and the shop.
Flapjackery Barbican Trail Pop into Flapjackery on Southside Street to pick up a free children's trail which takes you around the sights and sounds of Plymouth's historic Barbican. Chocolate treats for children who complete the Barbican Trail.
Growing and foraging
Learn more about working with nature to produce food more sustainably…
The Husbandry School near Ashburton. If you are interested in growing more of the food you eat and wish to do so in a natural, fully sustainable way, then Husbandry Skills courses are ideal for you. Or you'll be able to take your family and spend the day exploring nature and picking great things to eat on the way round.
Taw Valley Microgreens Lunch & Learn, a hands-on introduction to growing your own microgreens. Learn about producing food sustainably, enjoy a tasty lunch, walk in the meadow and return home with a freshly picked microgreen punnet. (That's Food and Drink love growing microgreens in our conservatory.)
The Pig at Combe Dig a little deeper into THE PIG's 'plot to plate' ethos with their free Kitchen Garden tours every last Friday of the month.
Broomhill Estate From photography to foraging, metalwork to music lessons, cookery to art appreciation, Broomhill Estate near Barnstaple is 103 acres of imagination and creativity. Sounds great!
Ebb Tides Seaweed, Sidmouth Seaweed Foraging and Pressing. One-off event on Sunday 17th September 1-5pm
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth. Sowing with Donkeys. One-off event on Monday, September 18, 3-6pm.
For more information on any of these experiences visit the individual member's website or for information on Food Drink Devon visit www.fooddrinkdevon.co.uk and follow @FoodDrinkDevon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Worried about driving to and from the venues? Then you might like to check out suitable high quality hotels with the Devon Hotels and Restaurants Association website https://www.devonhotels.com.
(Incidentally, please mention our food and drink blog, That's Food and Drink, when you make a booking at any of the above food and drink venues)
