La Mare Wine Estate Becomes First Business in Channel Islands to Achieve AA Gold Award

La Mare Wine Estate is the first business in the Channel Islands to receive the AA Gold Award for Visitor Attractions, earning an impressive 96% in its initial AA Quality Assured Visitor Attraction assessment.

The AA Gold Award is given to attractions scoring 90% or higher, a distinction achieved by only around 10% of those assessed. La Mare’s extraordinary score ranks it among the top-performing attractions in the British Isles.

This accolade is a significant milestone for both La Mare Wine Estate and the Channel Islands tourism industry. The AA is one of the UK’s most respected and recognised hospitality, tourism, and quality assessment organisations, independently inspecting and accrediting hotels, restaurants, and visitor attractions across the British Isles. Its Gold Award is regarded as one of the highest standards of excellence within the visitor attraction sector.

The award follows a comprehensive independent inspection by the AA, which evaluates all aspects of the visitor experience, including booking, arrival, tours, hospitality, catering, retail, cleanliness, and customer service.

Inspectors awarded La Mare Wine Estate a 96% overall score. The Tour & Tasting Experience, retail experience, and cleanliness all received perfect scores. The estate was also commended for its hospitality, knowledgeable staff, and seamless visitor experience.

The AA Inspector described La Mare Wine Estate as “a stunning vineyard and working estate” and praised the attraction for delivering a visitor experience that “far exceeded expectations.”

The inspector also noted the ‘exceptional range of local products’ in the estate shop.

The report highlighted the estate’s engaging and informative tours, exceptional standards of hospitality and customer service, and noted that “every element of the day was seamlessly orchestrated by the estate team.”

Tim Crowley, Managing Director of La Mare Wine Estate, said:

“This is a proud moment not only for La Mare Wine Estate, but for Jersey and the Channel Islands as a whole. The inspections are unannounced so we did not know of the visit until after the inspector had been. Becoming the first business in the Channel Islands to receive the AA Gold Award for Visitor Attractions is an incredible achievement and recognition of the passion, dedication, and hard work of our entire team.

“Achieving Gold is an extraordinary accomplishment in itself, but to achieve a score of 96% in our first assessment makes this recognition even more special.

“This award belongs to every member of our team. Whether welcoming guests, guiding tours, serving customers in the café, caring for the gardens,  vineyards and orchards, or creating our products behind the scenes, everyone plays a role in delivering the experience that visitors to the estate enjoy.”

“We have invested significantly in enhancing our product and the visitor experience in recent years, from improvements to our facilities and customer journey to expanding our tours, experiences, and product offering. This gold award is a tremendous endorsement of everything we are striving to achieve.”

Founded in 1972, La Mare Wine Estate is one of Jersey’s leading visitor attractions, producing award-winning locally produced food and drink alongside a wedding venue, meeting rooms and a corporate events business.

The estate is a key contributor to Jersey’s visitor economy, attracting both local residents and international visitors seeking an authentic Jersey experience.

“While many people know us as a vineyard, La Mare Wine Estate is so much more,” Mr Crowley continued.

“We are custodians of a very special part of Jersey’s north coast. Alongside our vineyards,  organic orchards and visitor attraction, the estate produces a range of sustainable local food and drink products.”

The AA recognition follows a series of significant achievements for the estate. In October 2024, La Mare received certification from the Organic Soil Association (cider orchards) and LEAF, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable farming and environmental stewardship and in July 2025, was re-awarded Gold Green Tourism Accreditation. The estate also became the only business in the Channel Islands to achieve Gold accreditation for Green Meetings and, in September 2025, achieved certified organic status for its meadows and orchards.

In October 2025, La Mare launched its Apple Alchemy Collection, featuring Pomignac Jersey Apple Brandy, Pomelier Apple Port and Pétillant Sparkling Apple Wine, all crafted using locally grown Jersey apples and celebrating the Island’s rich cider-making heritage.

The AA report highlighted the estate’s beautifully maintained grounds, excellent café offering, engaging guided tours, exceptional retail experience, and consistently high levels of customer care. Staff were singled out for their professionalism, expertise, and enthusiasm, with inspectors noting that “nothing appeared to be too much trouble.”