Three wonderful fruity drinks from the Lyme Bay Winery go on trial.

I was lucky enough to be sent three bottles of wine and cider from the amazing Lyme Bay Winery to review a few weeks ago. They are all made from English fruit, and come from the part of the country where my heart still lies: the wonderful South West of England. So what did I think?

1. Quince wine

Quinces, white wine and a summer’s evening: what could be better? This is a beautiful light, sweet wine. The quince flavour adds a marvellous edge to the wine without being overbearing. It has a beautiful feel-good taste to it: perfect for a warm day at dusk before supper. This was probably my favourite drink of the three, though it was a close call.

2. Jack Ratt Scrumpy Cider

I’m not a big cider drinker, which probably colours this review slightly. Lyme Bay’s cider has won awards, and so I was looking forward to drinking this on a hot evening after a long day at the allotment. It comes in the loveliest bottle, but the slightly musky flavour isn’t my thing.

Perhaps I was hoping for something a little sweeter. I did enjoy drinking it, but unlike the other two drinks, I won’t be rushing back to buy this one. It does have a nice rich flavour, but there was less apple in it than I’d hoped.

3. Sloe wine

What a wonderful taste of Devon hedgerows this wine is. It is a white fruit wine, coloured deep sloe, and full of rich flavour. It works best really as a dessert wine, although it isn’t overbearingly sweet: more crisp, intense and fruity.

Lyme Bay is a lovely independent English winery. You can view their range of country wines here and the ciders here.