Huge congratulations to the wonderful team at Alder Vineyard at Lewdown, who earlier this year received not one, but TWO awards at the 2022/23 Devon Tourism Awards.
Two years on from opening the doors to their vineyard kitchen and shop, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Alder Vineyard team are beyond thrilled to be awarded gold in the Cafe & Tearoom of the Year category and silver in the New Tourism Business of the Year category at this year’s Devon Tourism Awards.
Despite the delays and challenges associated with Covid-19, Alder Vineyard opened the doors to their new building in September 2020 welcoming visitors from far and wide to their ‘very own ‘little bit of heaven’.
The vineyard, at Lewdown, is run by a small yet passionate family team of four - founders Sarah and Mike Hodgetts, their son Tom and his partner, Adam.
Being awarded gold in the New Tourism Business of the year means an incredible amount to the team at Alder Vineyard. Running their popular vineyard tours and wine tastings is the flag-ship element of the experience on offer, with over 2,000 visitors joining the team for a tour in 2022 alone.
Whether on a tour or simply visiting for a bite to eat you’re certainly in for a delicious treat in the vineyard kitchen. Receiving the gold award for Café/Tearoom of the Year reflects the high standards and quality of their offering. Using the best quality, local produce in everything they make, the team serves up a range of delights from sharing platters and open sandwiches to local drinks, coffee and homemade cakes.
Sarah, founder of the vineyard, says: “The whole team has worked so hard over the last two or so years. As much as we all love what we do here, to receive these awards was just an amazing recognition of that hard work!”