The Motley Cru Wine Safaris
The Motley Cru Wine Safaris provide an exciting and immersive experience, quite different to your standard Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting Experience at the Cellar Door.
Having visited many Vineyards in England, Australia, California & South Africa, we wanted to create something different for Visitors to Kenton Park Estate. Having loved being on Safari in South Africa, we wanted to inject some of that "magic" and "South African influence" into our Wine Tours.
The Motley Cru Wine Safaris capture the very essence of LIFE on the WILD side.
Coffee & Amarula
Wine Safaris start with Coffee & Amarula on the Deck of the Winery overlooking the Vines. Amarula is a South African success story. Sweet, creamy, and vibrantly fruity on the palate, with notes of caramel, peppery spice and a hint of citrus, it has an irresistible taste, which will leave you wanting more! The Motley Cru Team discovered Amarula whilst staying at a Private Game Reserve in Timbervati, South Africa (Makanyi Lodge).
The fruit that provides Amarula Liqueur with its unique flavour comes from the Marula Tree which grows wild across sub-Saharan Africa. Many wild animals, but especially Elephants, are crazy about the succulent, nutritious fruit. They’ve been known to ram the tree to dislodge their favourite snack if none has fallen to the ground.
Spotting the Big five
In Africa, THE BIG FIVE Game Animals are the Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Buffalo. The term was used by BIG GAME Hunters, and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to track on foot.
We have THE BIG FIVE that we have curated here at Kenton Park Estate, including (1) English Sparkling Wines (2) Sparkling Cider (3) Artisan Gin (4) Micro Brewery Beer and (5) Whisky and each reside in their own distinct location for you to discover within the Grounds of the 20 acre Estate.
So after Coffee & Amarula, your Wine Safari Tour Guide will lead you out into the Vineyard to start your journey of discovery along the Trails in search of "THE BIG FIVE" ......
no. 1 - english Sparkling Wines
We start the Wine Safari Tour exploring the Trails in the different Vineyard Plantations. Your Guide will tell the story of how the Vineyard was brought back to Life and will talk about the different Grapes varieties grown in each Plantation. There is a Trail Map available illustrating the Vineyard and which Grape Varieties grow in each Plantation. The search is on to spot the first "Tasting Station".
Guests will be thrilled to discover the Estate's Land Rovers at various Tasting Sites in the different Plantations where they can enjoy tasting the deliciously chilled Award-winning English Sparkling Wines ....
Our Land Rover "Safari Vehicles" will be filled with Hamper Baskets and giant Champagne Baths packed with ice and Bottles of our Sparkling "Motley Cru" Classic Cuvée, our Sparkling "Gun Dog Escape" Rosé Reserve and our Sparkling "Flying Circus" Blanc de Blancs - paired with Seafood Paella or Champagne Risotto for you to try.
Guests will then continue along the Trails and work their way through the Chardonnay, Pinotin and Reichensteiner Plantations until our Safari Tent and Picnic Site comes into view where a BBQ awaits ...
BBQ
The area known as "The Feeding Grounds" is based at the very top of the Vineyard with spectacular views, where a BBQ awaits with grilled Pork from the Estate's Rare Breed Tamworth Pigs served with a choice of still Wines, a delicious Red Wine, our "WINE in the WILD" House Merlot and our very pale House Rosé Wine, "The Grape Thief", a Pinot Grigio.
CIDER APPLE ORCHARD
Afterwards, we trek back down through the Vineyard, via the Solaris Plantation towards our Cider Apple Orchard. On the way, there will be an opportunity to meet our very sociable Rare Breed Tamworth Pigs known as "The Ginger Cru" who are very lucky to live a fantastic life in a beautiful area here in South Devon. They overlook our Vineyard, keeping an eye on the Vines for us!
As a special treat at the end of the Apple Harvest here around the middle of September, our Pigs are treated to a couple of days holiday in the Orchard to hoover up the remaining
Apples left lying on the ground.
It’s a very happy environment for the Pigs who share their space with our resident noisy Pheasants, Partridges, Indian Runner Ducks, Cou Cou Marran Chickens.
The Trail continues on and takes you past the Estate's Beehives and on into the Orchard where we grow Apples, Pears & Plums and here you will discover our Sparkling Cider .....
no. 2 - Sparkling Cider
Your Guide will lead you into our Apple Cider Orchard where you will discover our "Pop up" Cider Shack - The Motley Cru Bar and you can taste our beautifully chilled "HARD CORE" Sparkling Cider & the Estate's own produced Sausages served with fresh Rosemary & drizzled with Kenton Nectar (the Estate's Honey) or our BBQ Sauce. You will be able to enjoy our 4th Vintage of Sparkling Cider as you swing in our Hammocks between the Apple Trees.
The Watering Hole
We then move on to "The Watering Hole" to mingle with our very cute looking Rare Breed Valais Blacknose Sheep and our cheeky Pygmy Goats and you can enjoy a sip of our delightfully chilled Sauvignon Blanc Wine, aptly named "The Watering Hole" illustrating "LIFE on the WILD side". Hopefully you will also meet our Indian Runner Ducks.
We've paired this Wine with a selection of local Devon Cheeses and a few of our very own favourites form further afield.
No. 3 - GIN
Next it's on to the Gin Botanical Garden to Discover the “SPIRIT” of Kenton Park Estate with a tasting of our very own Artisan Gin "Cheeky Ginny" made from the aromatic Grapes grown here in the Vineyard and blended with several different Botanicals. Cheeky Ginny is produced in small batches, very limited quantities, beautifully crafted and made from the wild foraged ingredients discovered here on the Estate. We also incorporate our Honey as well as our own Lavender, Rosemary and Fennel to create our unique recipe.
When you taste our Gin, we hope you experience how the flavour captures the fun spirit felt here on our Estate. You can enjoy experimenting by adding your own Botanicals to enhance the flavour - fresh Mint, Rosemary, Lavender and Fennel.
No. 4 - BEER
Guests then wander over to The Barrel Room to try our Micro Brewery Collection of Beers including "Band of Brothers" and the "Motley Cru Brew" with our deliciously salty Pretzels or our freshly baked Focaccia Bread .
No. 5 - Whisky
Finally, back into the Winery for Sundowners on the Deck with our Kenton Park Estate Single Malt Whisky. Our Whisky is the latest edition to our Collection. It's a beautiful rich golden colour and you can taste the wonderful flavours of chocolate orange & honey.
Our Whisky is part of our "Dare to Dream" series. Everything we create is themed around enjoying Life in the Outdoors .... we're not just a Vineyard here at Kenton Park Estate.
We want to inspire you to enjoy a "Style of Life" that celebrates some of the incredible timeless traditions to be shared with Family & Friends.
If our Bartender is in residence, then he will happily demonstrate a few Cocktails. Always a popular end to our Wine Safari Tours where Ben will show you a few tricks of the trade. You can see him performing some of these tricks over on our instagram page.
Wine Safari Tour Price
The cost per person is £95.
Wine Safari Tours are available for Groups:
Minimum No. 15
Maximum No. 25