Vinopolis of London, England: The Ultimate Booze Tourism Destination

Until last year, my husband Bill and I were living in Germany. We had an awesome time, touring around the European continent, seeing all the sights. One of our most memorable trips was the long weekend we spent in London, England. We went there courtesy of a "blind booking" deal offered by Germanwings, one of Germany's discount airlines.

We bought two discount tickets to a mystery location which wasn't revealed until our payment was accepted. Luckily, our mystery location was London. I was especially excited about that, since I had lived in England as a youngster and I was a big fan of Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe. I had watched her London show and noticed that she visited Vinopolis, the ultimate destination if you like your booze.

What is Vinopolis?

Vinopolis is one part museum, one part tasting room, and one part classroom. Located in the Southbank area of London, right next to The Clink Prison Museum, Vinopolis is a place where adults can try all sorts of different alcoholic libations, everything from premium wines to premium whisky and everything else in between.

How does the tour work?

First, you have to decide just how much and what kind of tasting you want to do. Vinopolis offers four different tours. The most basic tour is Vinopolis Grapevine, which includes the "How to Taste Wine" class, six regular wine tastings, a Bombay Sapphire cocktail, and a tasting notebook. The most expensive tour is Vinopolis Celebration, which offers everything the Grapevine does, along with three premium wine tastings, two whisky tastings, two beer tastings, and three champagne tastings. Bill and I chose to do the Spirit of Vinopolis tour, which included everything the Vinopolis Celebration tour did, except for the premium wine and champagne tastings. In their place, we got two rum tastings and two absinthe tastings. The other available tour is the Vinopolis Vineyard, which is basically the Grapevine tour with the addition of the premium wine tastings.

Once you have decided which tour to take, you have to decide when you want to go. Vinopolis tours are priced according to the time of day you want to take your tour. Peak tour tickets are more expensive, but they allow visitors to visit on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and are redeemable within a six month time period. An off peak ticket is valid Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays and are redeemable for a three month period. These two price points were not much of an issue for Bill and me. We showed up on a Sunday and bought our tickets to be used that day.

When you purchase your tickets, you will get chits according to the specific tour you've chosen to take. Each chit is labled for the tastings you have paid for. For example, you'll definitely get six chits that are labled for regular wine tastings. If you've purchased something other than the Grapevine tour, you will also get other chits that are labled for the other tastings. When you want to taste something, you redeem your chit.

Self-guided tour

Most people who visit Vinopolis do the self-guided tour. However, before the tour gets underway, most people take the "How To Taste Wine" class, which is held for groups at the beginning of the tour. While you're waiting for the class to begin, be sure to check out the exhibits in the foyer near the room where the wine tasting class is held. When Bill and I visited, there was an excellent exhibit about Georgian wines. I only wish they'd had some available for tasting.

Wine tasting class

Before you start wandering around Vinopolis, you should take the wine tasting class, especially if you don't know much about wine. There, a Vinopolis employee will explain the technique of tasting wine, how to check for sugar and alcohol content, and how to tell the age of a wine. Bill really got into this class and still uses the techniques he learned at Vinopolis whenever he tries a new wine.

Start tasting!

Once we were finished with the wine tasting class, we were on our way. There are several stations set up in Vinopolis interspersed with interesting exhibits that explain how different types of alcohol are made. Fear not. It's not long before you're at your first stop. In our case, it was the regular wine tasting table, where a Vinopolis employee was standing by to pour wines from all over the world. There were wines from the usual places like France, Italy, Australia, and Chile, but there were also some more exotic wines as well. Bill and I tasted vino from Slovenia, Thailand, and Hungary. Hungary, by the way, makes some excellent wine, which we learned last year when we visited for Labor Day! Bill was very good about using his Vinopolis tasting notebook to take notes on the wines and note where they were from. I was not as ambitious.

We passed through a very cool exhibit that featured stationary scooters with films on their windshields that made them look like they were being driven through the Italian wine country.

There is a snack bar set up for those who like to nibble when they taste wines; there are also free snacks and water fountains available to help cleanse the palate and keep patrons from getting too tipsy. The snack bar is set up in the first room, which makes it convenient to the wine and champagne displays. There are also several restrooms conveniently located throughout the tour.

Once Bill and I had exhausted our regular wine chits, we headed for the Bombay Sapphire exhibit, a cool blue bar area where only Bombay Sapphire gin cocktails were being served. A bartender was making three different concoctions. Bill loves good gin, especially in a gin martini. That's what we both enjoyed on our tour.

After we were finished with the Bombay Sapphire gin exhibit, we went to the absinthe exhibit. This tasting was particularly interesting for me, since absinthe has a long history of prohibition in the United States. In Europe, however, it is available everywhere. Vinopolis pours absinthe two ways. There's the Czech style, which involves placing an absinthe soaked sugar cube on a slotted spoon over a glass with a shot of absinthe in it, then setting it on fire. There's also the French style, which uses a slotted spoon and water to dissolve the sugar into the absinthe. Personally, I didn't really like either method more than the other. I don't think I like absinthe that much, although it is now available in the United States.

The next station consisted of beer and whisky tastings. At this point in the tour, I was starting to feel a bit tipsy. Nevertheless, I bravely tastes ales and lagers and nips of whiskys and whiskeys. The Vinopolis employee who was pouring for this tasting explained why whisky and whiskey are two different libations.

We ended our tour at the rum exhibit, where a charming young lady from Barcelona, Spain had three different Caribbean rums of different ages laid out for us to try. While I don't consider myself a rum afficionado, I will admit that when I tasted these rums side by side, I could definitely tell the difference.

After the tour

Bill and I were feeling no pain after our three hours at Vinopolis. But, for those who don't get enough booze on the tour, Vinopolis runs a martini bar right next to the entrance. Additional chits can also be purchased, though if you do the Spirit of Vinopolis and actually need additional chits, you must have a bionic liver! There's also a wine store located within Vinopolis if you find something you want to take home with you.

I thought it was fitting that right next door to Vinopolis, there's The Clink Prison Museum. It's not connected to Vinopolis, but it is cleverly located. Bill and I stopped by there after our tour and checked out how prisoners were treated during medieval times. Then we went looking for food to help soak up some of the booze!

Would we tour Vinopolis again?

Although Vinopolis is a rather pricey attraction in London, we would definitely visit again. We had a great time trying all the different libations and learning new things. I still retained most of the new things I learned, even after all the samples! One of the best parts of the tour was getting to taste the wines from the different parts of the world and rubbing elbows with the Brits who were in attendance.

Although children are allowed to visit Vinopolis and those under sixteen are even allowed in free, I would not recommend this attraction for them. Children are not allowed in the How To Taste Wine class and there's not much for them to do except tag along with the adults. That's sure to be a losing proposition for everyone involved. For obvious reasons, I would also advise pregnant women or alcoholics to skip this attraction!

Vinopolis also offers monthly special events and classes. Check their Web site for more information on what's offered and when.

Business hours

Monday - Wednesday: Closed
Thursday - Saturday: 12pm - 10pm
Sunday: 12pm - 6pm,

Last entry 2.5 hours before closing on all days.
The Bombay Sapphire Blue Room and selected tasting tables will close 30 minutes prior to the rest of the tour.

During December 2010 Vinopolis Wine Tour will be operating extended opening hours

Monday - Friday: 11am - 6pm
Saturday: 12pm - 10pm
Sunday: 12 - 6pm
Closed December 24th-28th (inclusive)

For more information: http://www.vinopolis.co.uk/