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Driving to wineries can be fun, sort of
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Traveling to wineries can be as smooth as new asphalt, however some wine travel can try your patience and persistence. Since winery tasting rooms are not located within walking distance to an airport, one needs to rent a car or use one’s own vehicle and drive the local roads. GPS systems work well most of the time. It’s the ten percent of the time these devices take you somewhere that doesn’t exist that can make traveling a challenge and at times amusing.
You will be put to the test while traveling to wineries in towns south of London. It isn’t the steering wheel on the right side of the car or traveling in the left lane that poses problems. Just remember to keep the yellow lines next to you when you drive. When traveling to Carr Taylor Vineyards and Winery in Hastings, I drove down a one-lane road and hoped that another car wasn’t traveling the same road in the opposite direction. Fortune shined that day and there were no other cars on the single lane road. However the road was only a single lane at times. The brush on both sides of the road had taken over and left you with a half lane for stretches. The GPS put me on this road and there wasn’t an option to turn around and recalculate a different route.
Mike Roberts, owner and winemaker at Ridgeview Wine Estate pointed out the need for persistence when traveling to the next stop Breaky Bottom Winery in Lewes. After passing the sign, only seen from one direction, the opposite, and getting completely lost in Lewes, I finally found the driveway and began the descent to the bottom. After a few feet the cement road disappeared and a dirt road appeared. Then the dirt road disappeared. Thirty minutes later I had to stop the car and wait for the sheep to get up and move. Eventually I made it to the bottom, persistence paid off. We had a wonderful tour and wine tasting with an adventurous group from Ireland that also made it to the bottom.
The greatest problems driving to wineries in the United Kingdom arose when approaching a traffic circle. My GPS failed to say what lane to get into when approaching a circle. In England your one lane turns into multiple lanes before entering the traffic circle. You can’t just keep going around in a circle until you figure it out. You have to make a choice and stick with it for better or worse. I did finally adjust my thinking to communicate with the GPS. If it said to enter the roundabout and take the first exit, then you need to be in the furthest left lane prior to entering the circle.
Traffic circles in the Tuscany region of Italy are much easier to navigate. Usually one lane enters the circle and if you’re not sure where to go the first time just keep in the circle and figure it out. The challenge in Tuscany was the lack of addresses that lead to the exact location of the winery. Most wineries have a location near the closest town. You can find the town but then what to you do? I stopped at a winery to ask directions to another winery. Two workers tried to help me, but they got into an argument as to which way to go. Eventually I made it to the winery. Using a print map of Chianti wineries, I learned that I could enter a location on my GPS device and then tell it to take me there. This worked well.
After driving to wineries in the United Kingdom and Italy, I really don’t mind driving to wineries on dirt roads in the United States. One of the challenges in locating wineries in this country is the use of the winery name for the small stretch of road or driveway leading to the parking area. Often these roads are not recognized by GPS devices. Sometimes the dirt road leading to a winery can be adventuresome. Look for a sign that states, “Honk before proceeding.” The sign is usually posted around blind curves.
Don’t let a little tension or adventure deter you from traveling to wineries. It is always a good idea to check the winery website for directions. These directions should trump GPS devices.
If interested, read reviews of the wineries visited in the United Kingdom and Italy.
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