Discover a taste of Wales: Essential food and drink tours to relish

A country’s food and drink is indelibly woven through its history and culture, and the hills, valleys and spectacular coastline of Wales are no exception. This is a land steeped in farming traditions; from the cheese-making dairies that bought wealth to the valleys five centuries ago, to the oyster beds that line the Menai Strait and the succulent lamb for which Wales is world-famous. In recent years, a new appreciation for Welsh culinary heritage has seen specialist producers, craft breweries and food-themed tours pop up across the country – many offering tours and tastings, with plenty of treats to take home.

Joining a guided food tour is one of the best ways to really understand the long-held traditions that underpin Wales’ foodie culture.

In Cardiff, Loving Welsh Food offers several tours that reveal the capital’s gastronomic side, with seven different tastings. From buttery Welsh cakes to Keralan street food, alongside the chance to learn more about the city’s tumultuous history. For a bespoke tour, Wales Beckons creates personalised itineraries, including visits to specialist cheese-makers, smokeries and restaurants with dishes that focus on foods unique to Wales, such as Saltmarsh lamb and Welsh Black Beef. 

Alongside organised tours, Wales is dotted with independent producers, many of whom use traditional methods that have been passed down through the generations.

Caws Cenarth Cheese in West Wales has been hand-producing cheeses on the family dairy farm for three generations. From 12-3pm, Monday to Wednesday, visitors can observe the cheese-making process, then taste and buy award-winning cheeses including Cenarth Brie and the tangy blue Perl Las.

To experience Wales’ mining heritage alongside its culinary tradition, visit Blaenafon Cheddar Company, the only producer in the world to mature its cheddar in a 300-feet deep former coal mine. Pre-bookable group talks and tastings are available, while independent visitors can drop in between 10.30-3pm, Monday - Saturday. For a choice of over seventy cheeses, visit the Welsh Cheese Company in Cardiff, which has monthly tasting evenings.

Tangy cheeses sit beside smoked fish, meats and charcuterie at the Black Mountains Smokery, in the picturesque town of Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons National Park. There are weekly Smokery Tours, including tastings, at 11am every Wednesday between March and September.

Read more: Cheese experiences in Wales.

One of Wales’ most innovative food businesses, Halen Môn Sea Salt, is set by the Menai Strait in north-west Wales. Guided tours tell the fascinating story of Welsh salt, including the huge success of Halen Môn – used at Royal Weddings, the 2012 Olympics and political summits – with the chance to taste the different flavours, including vanilla and Christmas tree.

Read more: Touring Wales’ wonderful salt factory.

Foraging tours offer the chance to get out into Wales’ beautiful natural landscapes and discover where much of the rich produce comes from.

Brecon Beacons Foraging offers monthly Botanical Gin foraging sessions on the last Sunday of each month, with herbs and plants collected used to create a bespoke gin blend. There are also week-day courses for groups of more than four, or individual foraging days can be arranged.

Further west, on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast, Really Wild Emporium offers foraging courses that explore the ancient trackways, spectacular shoreline and peaceful hedgerows that flow across the hills. Plants, seeds, leaves, flowers and seaweed are all harvested, with plenty of information on their different culinary uses.

Read more: Edible adventures in Pembrokeshire.

Welsh beer-making and brewing has undergone a transformation over the last decade, with many small, independent producers offering unique craft beers and ciders.

The Kingstone Brewery is located in Tintern, in the beautiful Wye Valley, with beers adapted from traditional recipes, to produce golden, hoppy ales and light, eminently quaffable bitters. Brewery tours range from one hour to a full day.

Tucked away in a small fishing village of the Llyn Peninsula, Cwrw Llyn Brewery lies on one of Britain’s oldest pilgrimage routes. Forty-five minute tours are available Mon-Sat from midday-5pm (booking essential), with the chance to try light summer ales and tasty IPAs. Choose a designated driver for a visit to the Mad Dog Brewery in Cardiff, where the tour includes a third of a pint of nine different beers, plus an additional pint of the favourite.

Read more: The great beers of Wales.

It’s not only craft brewing that’s undergone a revolution in recent years, Welsh winemaking has come of age too, with vineyards producing still and sparkling award-winning wines.

Vale Vineyard in the beautiful Vale of Clwyd in North Wales produces both sparkling and still wines, from six grape varieties including cabernet noir and Pinot Noir. Guided tours, with wine-tasting and a cheese platter, take place on most Saturdays (pre-booking essential). The Kerry Vale vineyard, set right on the Welsh border with Shropshire, offers three different wine tasting tours, including an afternoon tea with sparkling wine.

Read more: Sip and sparkle - vineyard tours in Wales.

For cocktail drinkers, or those who love nothing better than an ice-cold G&T or a fiery whisky, a visit to one of Wales’ world-class gin and whisky distilleries is a must. The Monmouth Gin Company produces small-batch, handcrafted gins infused with locally-sourced botanicals, including juniper, cassia bark, rosehips and barberries, with tours and tastings alongside the chance to make your own blended gin.

At the other end of the country, on the Isle of Anglesey, Llanfairpwll Distillery produces the first Welsh rum, with 100% pure cane molasses fermented with Welsh water and yeast. Tours and tastings – of Llanfairpwll’s gin or vodka, alongside the rum - are available to pre-book.

Read more: Gin experiences in Wales.