Medieval Wine Tour

An immersive wine-tasting tour of late medieval London, led by bestselling author Dr Matthew Green with actors and musicians hidden en route

Step back in time and experience the sights, sounds and tastes of late medieval London on this immersive wine tour led by Dr Matthew Green and brought to life by actors and musicians. Brimming like a Shiraz grape with anecdotes and revelations, it will challenge your expectations of what life was like in the Middle Ages and furnish you with new perspectives on modern-day London and, of course, plague pandemics.

The tour includes a delicious coconut-shell of frothy medieval rosé, as well as two sizeable glasses of modern wines.

*** TIME OUT CRITICS’ CHOICE *** – 4/5 stars: “The winning Dr Matthew Green paints a lively picture of Medieval London…There can’t be many walking tours that take the ‘getting you drunk’ bit almost as seriously as the history bit. Luckily, the stories we’d heard were plenty vivid enough to stick in our fuzzy head…’ Read the full review here.

“A refreshing angle on medieval London – the rakish prof really brings the old city to life with frequent interludes from his troupe. His vivacious delivery and trickling of trivia really quench your thirst for knowledge.” – The Londonist; read the full review here.

Let Dr Green guide you through this stark medieval world from the crumbling Roman walls, to Cheapside and the Vintry, the wine-importing (and growing) district where Chaucer’s father lived and beyond to the ancient port at Queenhithe. We will finish with malmsey wine overlooking the Thames, taking in the full panorama of medieval London. Learn how so much of the City’s wealth was fuelled by ‘liquid gold’: a bewildering array of wines from all over Europe.

En route, a world of fun awaits: experience the deliciously twisted humiliation rituals reserved for vintners selling putrid wine; hear the gruelling stories of the young anchorites walled into tiny stone cells attached to churches for the rest of their lives; understand how the medieval metropolis grew out of the ghost town of Londinium; visit a PLAGUE PIT which doubled-up as a vineyard; take in some of the finest medieval architecture in London and ask Dr Green literally anything you want about the medieval life and worldview.

This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the medieval metropolis when it was a close-knit and neighbourly place, albeit one that would grow into a megacity, holding up a mirror to our sprawling and more anonymous capital. That, and an excuse to drink some delicious wine.

About Your Guide

Dr Matthew Green is a historian, writer and broadcaster with a doctorate from Oxford University. He has appeared in documentaries on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and has written historical features for the Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times. He is the founder of Unreal City Audio, which produces immersive tours of London as live events, podcasts and apps. His first book was London: A Travel Guide Through Time, his new bestselling book, Shadowlands: A Journey Through Lost Britain (Penguin), was released in March 2022 to much critical acclaim. Follow him on Twitter.