This year’s English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition results are
announced today, with more medals awarded than ever before, acknowledging the consistently high quality of wines and winemaking coming from the UK.

Medals were awarded across the style categories by a judging panel of five
Masters of Wine, chaired by Susan McCraith MW. The results reveal the
quality of the 2009 vintage, shown particularly in the dry white and still
rosé categories. As ever the sparkling wines impressed judges with their
consistent quality.

A record number of entries from England and Wales were recorded,
acknowledging the larger harvest of last year but also including some new
wines and vineyards.

The category that stood out most for the judges was the still rosé section,
where 6 Gold medals were awarded (none were gained in the 2009
competition). The hard fought trophy for this category – the Waitrose Rosé
Trophy - was won by Camel Valley Fortnum & Mason Rosé 2009. This is the
second successive year for Camel Valley in winning this popular award and
the third time overall. An additional trophy was awarded from this
category – that of for Best Unchaptalised Wine - won by Wickham Vineyard
for their Row Ash Rosé NV.

Still dry white wines were a strong category, with the varietal Bacchus
taking the lead on the medal board, gaining all but one of the 6 Gold
medals, as well as the Trophy for best commercial production from the
previous vintage – awarded to Chapel Down Bacchus 2009. The other Gold was
awarded to a single varietal Madeleine Angevine, produced by Stanlake Park
Wine Estate.

Within the oaked white wine category, all entries gained a medal, with the
trophy for best oaked white wine awarded to Wickham Special Reserve Fumé
2009.

Red wines showed great promise this year with more medals awarded in both
the Pinot Noir and other varietal categories. This year’s Red Wine Trophy
was awarded to Plumpton College’s Sutherland’s Block 2009 Pinot Noir.

The Sparkling wine category proved to be as competitive as ever, with a
higher number of Gold medals over last year. Wines from non classic
varietal performed well alongside the classic varietal sparklers, and
sparkling rosés upheld their strong performance.

The star of the show in the competition is the Gore-Browne Trophy – The
Wine of the Year – which was awarded for the second year in a row to
Ridgeview Wine Estate, this year for their Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2001,
bottled in magnums. The wine also scooped the trophy for Best Sparkling
Wine.

Another significant accolade in the competition is the McAlpine Trophy for
Winemaker of the Year, awarded for a second time to Sam Lindo of Camel
Valley, who first won the title in 2007.

One notable trophy in the competition, the Montagu Trophy, acknowledges a
key part of any wine producing business, that of packaging and
presentation. For the first time this year, this trophy has been
additionally sponsored by Avery Denison, the world’s largest manufacturer
of food and drink label materials. After much deliberation the trophy was
awarded to Ridgeview’s Grosvenor 2001 Blanc de Blancs (magnums) – not only
for the quality of design in the foil and labelling but also for its
presentation in hand crafted wooded boxes, adding to the prestige of the
wine and reflecting the wine estate’s identity.

There was a triumph for the dessert wine category, with a Gold medal
awarded to Eglantine’s North Star 2006, produced from 100% Madeline
Angevine, adding to its already impressive Gold medal gained in France in
Vinalies earlier this year.

“As a panel we were all very impressed with the quality of this year’s
entries,” commented Susan McCraith MW. “We were delighted to award a record number of Gold medals across all the categories.

The still rosé category was the highest quality we’ve seen - truly world-class, and the red categories were the best we’ve ever tasted. The dry white wines impressed us greatly, and showed that the aromatic qualities of the grape varieties grown – particularly Bacchus – are a highly successful style here in the UK.

There were some real stars in the sparkling wine categories to rival
some of the best in the world. My congratulations to all entrants and
winners. There is a lot to be proud about.”

Acknowledging the organisation behind the scenes of the competition, Susan added: “I’d like to personally thank Brian Shirley, Chairman of the South West Vineyards Association, and his team for putting on such a well run tasting for us in Shaftesbury. There were a lot of wines to deal with and
the two days of judging went very smoothly. I would also like to thank all
my fellow judges for their time and effort over the competition.”

The competition is organised by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association
(UKVA). Commenting on this year’s results Sian Liwicki, General Secretary
of the UKVA, added: “We were delighted to see such a large number of
entries, from long established vineyards and some new names on the UK wine scene too. The large number of awards reflects the quality of our
industry’s wines and our growing confidence. My thanks on behalf of the
UKVA go to the judges for the expertise and professionalism that they
brought to the judging – we are thrilled with the results.”

The official awards ceremony for the competition will take place later in
July at the House of Lords, hosted by the President of the United Kingdom
Vineyards Association, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.

The full list of awards is published on the English Wine Producers Site
(www.englishwineproducers.com/results.htm).