Vagabond Wines

Wine Without the Rules: The Vagabond Philosophy

Vagabond Wines has spent more than a decade rebuilding the way London drinks wine. The pitch is disarmingly simple: pour your own, drink at your own pace, and treat every glass as a small experiment. With 100+ wines available by the glass across the group, self-pour dispensing machines on the bar and a team trained to recommend rather than lecture, Vagabond has turned wine discovery into something interactive, social and refreshingly low-pressure. The strapline “wine without the rules” is not a marketing flourish but the operating principle behind every bar, every event and every wine list.

Trading legally as Wineify Limited (Company Registration Number 12095707, VAT 563058932) and part of the wider Majestic Wine Group, Vagabond now operates fourteen venues across the capital, ranging from cosy neighbourhood dens to vibrant city bars. Each venue shares the same spirit - wine discovery without the fuss - but carries its own character, menus and crowd. Sitting at the centre of the estate is the Vagabond Urban Winery in Canada Water, the UK’s largest urban winery and the production home of every bottle that carries the Vagabond name.

Self-Pour Technology: A New Way to Discover Wine

Walk into any Vagabond bar and the first thing you notice is the wall of machines. Each self-pour wine dispenser holds a curated selection of bottles organised by style, with a small touchscreen above every pour. Guests tap a Vagabond card, choose a taster, a half glass or a full glass, and the machine dispenses exactly that amount, charging the card accordingly.

The machines are designed to make wine exploration feel playful rather than academic. There are no minimum orders, no commitment to a bottle you might not love, and no awkward moment when the sommelier asks what you normally drink. You might pour a splash of volcanic Sicilian red, follow it with an alpine Austrian white, finish with an English sparkling and finish the evening with a classic Bordeaux that reminds you why some wines become legends. Most evenings, Vagabond says, you’ll rarely drink the same way twice.

Beyond the wine machines, every Vagabond bar also pours craft beers, spirits, cocktails and a generous selection of no- and low-alcohol options, so nobody in the group is left out of the round.

The Vagabond App: Track, Earn, Explore

The self-pour experience is amplified by the Vagabond app, which turns the wine card into a pocket wine guide. Download it free on iOS or Android, and new users get £5 off their first glass. Once registered, you can:

• Scan wine machines with the app to pour effortlessly without swiping a card.
• Link a payment card and track every glass you try, with or without using the app at the machine.
• Read the tasting notes, region and producer information behind each pour.
• Earn points on every pour and redeem them for tastings, money off the next glass or early access to new releases.

The app records what you have poured, where you poured it and what you might want to revisit, so Vagabond can recommend flights and discoveries that genuinely suit your palate rather than guess at it. It also means that the more curious you are, the better the perks become.

The Urban Winery at Canada Water

The beating heart of Vagabond Wines sits in Canada Water, south-east London. The Vagabond Urban Winery is, by its own description, the UK’s largest urban winery: a fully working, 100-tonne production space brought into the middle of the city so that winemaking happens metres from where guests drink the finished wine.

From the outside, it looks like any other Vagabond bar - open seven days a week for a glass of wine, a plate of something delicious or a deeper dive via tours, tastings, workshops and masterclasses. Step inside and you find stainless steel fermentation tanks, a concrete egg, oak barrels and the winery’s own solera system, all on display. You can drink among the tanks, explore the barrels, or hire the space for something a bit special. The whole experience is designed to demystify the journey from grape to glass.

Grapes, Terroir and Harvest

Vagabond sources its fruit from vineyards all within two hours of London. The team harvests by hand in the early morning before transporting the grapes to the winery, where they are gently sorted and processed. Juice is fermented in a mix of oak and stainless steel to build texture and mouthfeel, with the stated aim of making some of the best wines in the UK.

The grapes in production span aromatic classics such as Bacchus and Ortega, textured barrel-aged Chardonnay and genuinely rare English Pinot Noir. Sitting alongside these are experimental bottles that push the boundaries of what English wine can be.

Sustainability and Recognition

In 2022 the Urban Winery was awarded the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain trademark for its work to reduce the environmental impact of winemaking, and in 2024 it was named WineGB Boutique Winery of the Year. The winery can produce up to 100,000 bottles a year, with capacity and quality both recognised at industry level.

The Wines: From Classic to Experimental

Vagabond’s winemaking style is described by the team as “serious wine, without taking ourselves too seriously”. The range moves from crowd-pleasing classics through to genuinely experimental bottles that you will struggle to find anywhere else.

Signature Bottles

• Chardonnay - barrel-fermented, textured and built to age, an early flagship of the Urban Winery.
• Dios Mío - a skin-contact Bacchus, amber in colour and packed with aromatic complexity.
• Pinot Noir - a cool-climate English red from carefully selected sites within two hours of London.
• Night Tripper - a co-fermented, multi-varietal “unicorn blend” designed to push the boundaries of still winemaking.
• Solena - a multi-vintage orange wine aged in solera under flor. The Solena Batch 004 took home the trophy for Best Alternative or Experimental Still Wine at the 2026 Independent English Wine Awards, plus a gold medal, with silver medals going to Chardonnay, Dios Mío, Pinot Noir, Night Tripper and the Nature Series Cuvée 2019.

These wines can be explored in person at the Urban Winery, purchased by the bottle from the bar (at a discounted retail price), or bought online via the Urban Winery collection.

Meet the Winemaker

Heading up production at the Urban Winery is winemaker Jose, who grew up on a farm in Sussex and developed an early connection to agriculture. Time spent with winemaker friends and family in Spain, followed by a degree in Viticulture and the WSET Diploma, set him on a path that included harvests at Bodegas Comando G in Spain and a string of respected English producers including Davenport, Westwell, Henners and Wiston.

At Vagabond, Jose is combining that international and UK experience to continue learning, experimenting and creating wines that showcase the potential of UK production. The winemaking team is encouraged to rescue concrete eggs, play with soleras, and generally treat each vintage as a chance to ask “what if?” - the results show up in bottles like Solena and Night Tripper.

Food Made to Share

Vagabond’s kitchens are designed around the wine list, not the other way around. Dishes are built to pair with the glass in front of you, rather than compete with it. Menus shift with the seasons, focus on plates that are perfect for sharing and emphasise bold flavours and brilliant produce.

Small Plates

Small plates sit at the heart of the Vagabond kitchen - the kind of dishes designed to be ordered in rounds and matched against different wines as the evening progresses. Whether you graze your way through the list or build a full dinner around your discoveries, the format works.

Fondue

Melted cheese and wine have always been a classic combination, and Vagabond’s fondue has become something of a house ritual. Designed for groups, it is particularly popular on winter evenings, when dipping bread, potatoes and seasonal vegetables feels like the only sensible response to a glass of something bold.

Cheese and Charcuterie

Vagabond works with brilliant UK producers for its cheese boards, celebrating artisanal British cheesemakers. Its charcuterie comes from Cobble Lane Cured in London. Simple, delicious and exactly the kind of food wine loves most, with vegetarian, vegan and allergen information clearly marked on every menu.

Events, Tastings and Masterclasses

Beyond the everyday experience of a Vagabond bar, the group runs a deep programme of tastings, flights, classes and live events every week: tastings, tours, masterclasses, live music and the odd one-off, with most experiences running on a regular rhythm so guests can pick the format they like and choose their date when they book.

Winery Tour and Tasting

The Vagabond Urban Winery Tour and Tasting takes guests through the Canada Water production space, explaining how grapes become wine metres from where they are poured and finishing with a structured tasting of the wines in front of the tanks. It is the most direct way to understand the Vagabond winemaking philosophy.

Private and Corporate Events

From birthday drinks to full venue takeovers, Vagabond’s Events & Private Hire team builds nights around the guest list, not the other way round. Fourteen venues, an urban winery and a team that will shape the evening wine-first. Common formats include:

• Birthdays - corners or whole floors for favourite people, with the wine machines doing the wandering for you.
• Work dos - after-work drinks that don’t feel like a meeting, with sharing boards, self-pour cards and tabs that behave themselves.
• Team days - tastings, blending sessions and a little friendly competition to get curious teams knowing more than they let on.
• Full takeover - exclusive use of the venue, your playlist, their wine, with several Vagabonds hireable top to bottom.

The events team can also arrange DJs, music, AV, cakes, decorations and wine cards pre-loaded with credit. For private hires, Vagabond recommends roughly one self-pour card for every 5 - 10 guests and can leave a card ‘live’ in each machine for the duration of the event so guests can pour freely.

Enquiries can be sent to events@vagabondwines.co.uk.

WSET Wine Education

Vagabond runs accredited wine courses through its Academy programme, with the flagship being the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines, hosted at the Urban Winery. It is the standard WSET introduction to wine, taught in the same building where the wines are made and poured, with access to the working tanks and barrels as part of the experience.

The Academy is also where Vagabond invests in its own teams, who are given the knowledge, tools and freedom to be brilliant. That same culture of curiosity underpins the public programme and shows up in the recommendations guests receive on the floor.

Christmas at Vagabond

For groups of 2 to 250, Christmas at Vagabond is built around sharing. Festive packages combine Champagne welcomes, sharing boards, fondue, canapés and full festive feasts, with optional wine credit loaded onto the machines. Team nights, festive catch-ups and full venue takeovers all run with the wine, fondue, pigs in blankets on skewers and seasonal vibes already in place. Guests only need to bring the party.

Awards and Recognition

Vagabond’s awards span everything from the wines it produces and the bottles it buys to the experiences it creates and the people who make them happen. Highlights include:

• 2026 Independent English Wine Awards - Producer of the Year, recognising the quality, consistency and individuality of the wines made at the Urban Winery.
• 2026 Independent English Wine Awards - Best Alternative or Experimental Still Wine for Solena Batch 004, with a gold medal from the judging panel.
• 2026 Independent English Wine Awards - silver medals for Chardonnay, Dios Mío, Pinot Noir, Night Tripper and the Nature Series Cuvée 2019.
• 2024 WineGB Boutique Winery of the Year.
• 2022 Sustainable Wines of Great Britain Trademark.
• 2026 Bar Magazine Awards - Marketing Innovation Award for the digital tasting flights concept.
• Drinks Buyer Awards - On-Trade Buying Team of the Year for buying team Freddie Cobb and Colin Thorne.
• IWC Industry Awards shortlist for Buying Team of the Year and Specialist of the Year.
• British HR Awards - L&D Initiative of the Year, with Highly Commended Rising Star recognition for Emma Sánchez Ruiz and a shortlisting for People Team of the Year.

Find Your Nearest Vagabond

There are fourteen Vagabond bars across London, from neighbourhood dens to vibrant central locations. Each venue carries its own character, menus and crowd. The flagship is the Urban Winery at Canada Water, which combines bar, restaurant, winery and event space under one roof.

Practical Information

• Walk-ins are always welcome, though booking ahead is recommended, especially at busy times.
• Dietary requirements: vegetarian and vegan options are available, with allergen information on every menu. Specific needs can be flagged when booking.
• Bottle purchases: every wine on the list is available by the bottle in the bar at a discounted retail price, and the full range is also available via the online shop.
• Gift cards: redeemable at any Vagabond bar and available from the gift card page.
• Dogs: well-behaved dogs are welcome in all Vagabond venues.
• Challenge 25: a Challenge 25 policy operates in all venues, so guests may be asked for ID when ordering.

FAQ Highlights

Common questions are covered in a dedicated FAQ, from how the wine machines work and how long a table can be held, to dietary requirements, dogs and gift card redemption. For private hire enquiries, the events team is the fastest route and replies within a day with spaces, menus and a price.

Press and Careers

For media enquiries, interviews, imagery and the latest news, the Vagabond press team is available. Career opportunities, including bar, kitchen and head office roles, are posted on the Careers portal, with the current culture and team investment recognised through industry awards.

Book With Vagabond

Bookings can be made online for a table for two, a tasting flight, a group celebration or exclusive hire of an entire venue. Guests can reserve a table, browse what is on, hire a venue or simply pick a bar and check live availability. Walk-ins are always welcome, but booking ahead guarantees the spot, particularly at the Urban Winery during weekend slots.

Vagabond Wines is operated by Wineify Limited, registered office The Belfry, Majestic House, Colonial Way, Watford, WD24 4WH. For general enquiries: info@vagabondwines.co.uk. For private and corporate events: events@vagabondwines.co.uk. The website is www.vagabondwines.co.uk.