About the Winery
The Lyme Bay Winery, originally Lyme Bay Cider Co., was founded on a dream to leave the City and return to the West Country to live. With a passion to make a real West Country cider, and inspired by the local Lyme Bay coastline, at first we produced just draught and bottled ciders, supplying local pubs and shops.
Over time we began making other traditional drinks, rediscovering the tipples country folk have always made and bringing them back to life. Many of these traditional country wines and fruit liqueurs have developed a real following and now we make a large range of award-winning drinks.
The Winery working year is hard work but interesting; punctuated by the seasonal availablity of the fruit and flowers and the temperamental nature of the weather.
The year begins in March with the collection of birch sap from local woods for our Birch Wine. We go nettle picking in March/April as the new growth starts to come through, then onto elderflower picking in May/June from our own trees at the Winery, followed by cidermaking, which begins in the Autumn. We are very busy in-between with fermenting, blending, bottling and tasting!
In 2009 we launched new additions Nettle & Rosehip to our wine range, which have proved to be successful. In 2010 we added the modern touch of Blueberry Reserve Liqueur to our product range - made with a mixture of wild and cultivated blueberries to optimise both colour and flavour of the finished blend. 2011 has been a very busy year so far with the launch of Quince wine, a delicious Strawberry Liqueur and Gooseberry Sparkling wine. We are very excited about the Gooseberry Sparkling as it has been three years in the making - resulting in a complex & balanced wine with a subtle note of toast on the palate.
Our drinks are hand-made, by a small team of individuals, who utilise both traditional and modern production techniques to create the best quality tipples we can.
A Busy 2011
We've had a busy year with the unveiling of a new fruit wine, plus planning the harvest of a quantity of vines that were planted locally three years ago. We will also be busy checking the progress of a further 16 acres of three varieties of grapes which were carefully planted last Spring. Watch this space for the new wine plus progress reports on our baby vines ...
EFSIS Safe and Legal Standard
This year we decided to undergo a strict external audit in order to attain the 'EFSIS Safe and Legal Standard'. This standard is aimed precisely at companies of our scale, and examines all activities associated with food & drink production. (click to view larger photo)
We have always strived to achieve a high standard with all of our products, and felt it was a good time to prove to all of our customers that our manufacturing process was indeed worthy of official recognition as regards safety and legality of processes and documentation. 
We are proud to announce that we passed at our first attempt!
Our possession of the standard will be reviewed annually, and we are committed to maintain the high level of attention to detail the standard demands.
The Winery Shop
Situated within the Winery, our shop offers our complete range of products plus a wide selection of locally produced food and drinks. The shop is open from 9am - 5pm Mon - Fri, and in the winter from 10.00am - 3.00pm on Saturdays and 11.00am - 3.00pm on Sundays.
Location
Two miles west of Axminster turn off the A35 to Shute. The Winery is sign posted
1 mile after Shute. Alternatively turn off the A3052 to Colyton or Musbury and follow signs to Whitford.
Friends of Lyme Bay Winery
The Wet Fish Shop, Lyme Regis: Probably Dorset's premier fish company, they source fish locally and guarantee next day delivery. You can even choose your own fish via a web cam!
Old Manor Cottages, Colyford, East Devon: The Manor House is a Grade II listed thatched manor which offers luxury self catering accommodation for up to 10 people.
Local Food Advisor website listing over 4000 award winning producers and over 800 Farmers Markets across the UK & Ireland
The Official Lyme Regis website with tourist information and much more about the 'Pearl of Dorset'.