As part of the stylish boutique hotel, TerraVina’s restaurant in Woodlands is an excellent example of a Californian-style dining experience set against the beautiful backdrop of the New Forest. With its open kitchen making good use of a modern flamed ‘pizza’ oven for many of the dishes, and terrace for al fresco dining, the ambience is modern and welcoming.

As the name suggests, wine is an important factor, and TerraVina boasts not only a vaulted basement cellar, but also a unique glass-fronted ‘open cellar’ in the restaurant housing a wide selection of wines individually chosen by co-proprietor Gerard Basset – who coincidentally is one of the world’s top sommeliers. Run by Gerard and his wife Nina, TerraVina follows a philosophy of informal and unpretentious dining that lets the food do the talking.

Chef David Giles credits the fresh, organic ingredients from local suppliers with giving the dishes their light yet full-flavoured appeal, and with daily deliveries including fish ordered while it’s still on the boat, the food doesn’t come much fresher.

When it comes to choosing wine to accompany your meal, as you would expect, the wine list offers plenty of new discoveries and classic favourites to tempt the connoisseur and novice alike. Despite having only been open for just over a year, the wine cellar is remarkably well-stocked, due mainly to the knowledge and expertise of Gerard. At one stage, there were about 30 wine merchants per day bringing 15 different bottles – 70% of which were chosen by tasting. The rest were purchased on reputation. All this hard work has culminated in a collection of about 350 wines ranging from classics to little-known producers to rare vintages, with prices to suit all pockets.