December at The Rhynd

Jan 15
3 min read

A LOOK BACK AT OUR WINE SAFARI AND FOREST FEAST EVENTS

The Rhynd’s wine safari and forest feast series has been an extraordinary – and surprising(!) – success. Indeed, if you want to come on one, the only available spots are in August and September next year with the first 180 places from May to August sold out.

It was a simple idea back in 2024: Let’s organise a wine safari through the forest and people can try local drinks with some canapés. Once we had scratched the surface, though, it turned out that solving questions around the nature of the universe’s dark matter would have been simpler.

There was no running water, electricity, loo facilities or way to cook the food. Nor was there anywhere to sit, a wet-weather plan, a location to host or, in fact, any enquiries for such an event. Within a month of the initial idea, we had built tables and benches from a felled poplar, that had to come down because of some powerlines, and I had built an Argentinian grill for head chef Jack to cook on. Whether it would actually work, I had no idea. I wasn’t even sure it would remain standing for the entirety of the first forest feast with my standard of welding.

We bought a stretch tent off our friends Ben and Margaux at Salt and Pine, and it took us just 9583 hours to get that put up in a style we were happy with. My poor wife Lisa was in charge of keeping the main pole up while I ran around tightening ratchet straps. It was incredibly satisfying to finally get it put up, only to immediately take it down to re-rig all the rope. It was easier the second time, but it then immediately came down so that we could replace the aluminium poles with timber ones. And so it went on.

Suffice to say, there was a lot of running around come our first wine safari and forest feast. All the food and drinks had to be taken up to the forest in the back of the Hilux and, if anything was forgotten, you just had to cope. The Argentinian grill, amazingly, worked, although any wind meant that the charcoal would burn incredibly hot before fizzling out. Head chef Jack was up against it. The fact that the guests went home happy from that first event was a testament to the effort everyone put in. Our debrief notes covered three pages.

The grill still works, and we’re buying a larger stretch tent for next year’s events, along with a way to keep drinks chilled via solar power. We even have a little box trailer now that transports everything up to the forest and, whisper it, a tap nearby that occasionally produces water to wash up with. At the risk of being mistaken for an estate agent, we now have branded umbrellas in case it rains.

They are still some of the most stressful events to host, though, as there is no escaping the 290 moving parts, and the fact that you are cooking a fine-dining, seven-course menu in the middle of the forest. We love them, though, and we can’t wait for next year’s challenges.

If you would like to join us at one of our remaining 2026 dates, please book here.

This year has been incredibly tough across the board, with the stress of the forest rooms, plummeting wheat prices, getting bums on seats in the café, ensuring roofs stay on, and trying to make improvements everywhere. The fact that we are still standing is a testament to the team we have here, from Athene in the café, to Zara on David and Alyson’s wedding team. Everyone has put in an incredible shift, and I wanted to say a massive thank you to the team that work here. Have a fantastic New Year all, and see you soon.

To read previous newsletters, please head to

https://www.therhynd.com/blog .

JANUARY CALENDAR

2-4 January

Café open as normal

Please book a table

2-4 January

Clay Shooting open as normal

Please book a slot

9-11 January

Café open as normal

Please book a table