Of 189 entries from 60 vineyards/producers, 78% received medals, including 11 gold, 68 silver and 69 bronze.
The wines were judged over two days by a team of six masters of wine, who marked the wines to international standards: Anthony Foster MW (chairman), David Bird MW, Robin Crameri MW, Sally Easton MW, Maggie McNie MW and Patricia Stefanowicz MW,
Trophies are awarded to the winner of each category in the competition, each acknowledging the variety of wine styles produced in theUK. This year East Anglia showed its award-winning credentials, scooping five of the 13 trophies, with four won by South West producers, three from the South East and one from the East Midlands.
The three South East winners were all from Chapel Down, which won The Wine Guild Trophy (Most outstanding large production vintage earlier than 2012) for their Bacchus Reserve 2011, the McNie Trophy (Most outstanding oaked white wine) for Kit’s Coty Estate Chardonnay 2011 and the Best Red Trophy, the Bernard Theobald Trophy for its Pinot Noir 2011.
Bacchus proved its popularity by also taking The Tom Day Trophy (Most outstanding single varietal wine), The Jack Ward Memorial Salver (most outstanding large production from 2012), and The Berwick Trophy (most outstanding unchaptalised still wine) – all of which were awarded Giffords Hall Bacchus 2012 (East Anglia).
This year’s top sparkling wine trophy was won by Furleigh Estate (South West), which was awarded the same trophy last year. This year its Blanc de Noirs 2009 won the award, along with an additional trophy, The President’s Trophy (the most outstanding small production wine).
Both sparkling and still rosé remain popular according to the association, gaining over a quarter of the gold and silver medals, and now have their own trophies: The Bob Lindo Trophy (most outstanding sparkling rosé wine) was awarded to Furleigh Estate Rosé 2010 and The Waitrose Rosé Trophy (most outstanding still rosé) was won by New Hall Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosé 2012(East Anglia), which also won The English Wine Producers Dudley Quirk Memorial Trophy (Best Large Production).
The UKVA says: “Proving again that the UK produces exceptional dessert wine, the winner in this category, awarded The Stefanowicz Trophy is Eglantine North Star 2011 (East Midlands). Although the smallest category in the competition, the judges remarked on the quality of the entries.”
“I was particularly impressed with the spread of new and established producers that won awards this year,” said UKVA chairman Paul Langham. “There are consistent winners each year which shows just what good producers they are and this year they are joined by the first wines of some of our newer names. This competition, judged by a team of highly professional judges has not only illustrated the ongoing success of our country’s sparkling wines, but also the fantastic range of still white, rosé and red wines.”
The awards and medals will be presented at a celebration lunch at the House of Commons later in July, attended by many from the industry. Two of the most prestigious awards in the competition: UK Winemaker of the Year and Wine of the Year will be announced at the lunch. A full set of results is available on: www.englishwineproducers.com and www.ukva.org.uk
