The History of Vinopolis

The Vinopolis site beneath the arches of a Victorian railway viaduct, the Vinopolis site is spread over 2½ acres of space devoted entirely to the world of wine and its associated pleasures. The viaduct was built in 1866 by the South-eastern Railway Company to carry their extension line from London Bridge Station over the river to Cannon Street on the north bank.

Vinopolis was the brainchild of a successful wine merchant called Duncan Arbuckle. Upon speaking to his clients he realised that there was a real interest in wines, how they are made and of course, how to truly enjoy them. So, Duncan set about creating a unique attraction dedicated to the pleasures of wine – something that had never been done before. This was no mean feat as it involved securing considerable financial backing and of course locating a suitably impressive and historical site to house his wine attraction. Raising the funds for a project of this scale took many years and after much searching across all of London, the site at Bank End was discovered beneath the arches of a Victorian railway viaduct.

History books tell us that the viaduct was built in 1866 by the South-eastern Railway Company to carry their extension from London Bridge over the river to Cannon Street on the north bank. It’s true that wine and food has been central to the surrounding area for many hundreds of years as Roman remains have been found on the site and can be seen on the tour and the fantastic neighbouring Borough Market has been open in one form or another since 1756.

It’s important to remember when wandering around the arches of Vinopolis that everything you see today had to be built from scratch. All that stood on the site was a series of long tunnels; twists and turns have been added; as have walls; others have been removed and opened out. Everything was made to order and as a result we have the unique and spectacular venue you see today. The vinopolis tour opened it’s doors to the public for the very first time on the 23rd July 1999. It started initially as a very long (4 hours!) wine tour but over the years the business has evolved according to market needs and today it runs as a thriving wine tour and corporate events venue. The love of wine and the desire to offer everyone the opportunity to explore and learn about this fascinating world is what drives the business today.

We are passionate about what we do and we hope you enjoy everything we can offer. Whilst wine remains central to us, we now also offer the opportunity to learn about other historical drinks including whisky, gin, beer and of course absinthe.

So what about the future of Vinopolis? It’s an exciting time for us and we very much intend to continue to grow and grab future opportunities in the same, passionate way we have in the past. So here’s to a happy and successful future, cheers!