The medal winners in the WineGB Awards 2019 are unveiled today, revealing an impressive range of winners from across all the winegrowing regions of the UK. Whilst traditional variety sparkling wine remains the UK’s top wine style, an impressive number of top marks were also awarded to still wines and a diverse range of grape varieties.

The WineGB Awards is the UK wine industry’s national competition designed to showcase the distinctive styles of sparkling and still wines produced in the UK. The Awards are run by the industry body Wines of Great Britain (WineGB), in association with sponsors, Waitrose and Rankin Closures.

A stellar line up of twelve judges, headed up by Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke, were carefully chosen to represent different spheres of the wine world, from wine buying and selling in retail, wholesale and the on-trade as well as communication. Each has extensive experience in competition judging and professional knowledge of English and Welsh wines. All the wines were judged to international standards of marking. See full list of judges below.

The judging took place on 17 and 18 June at the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. The wines went through a rigorous blind tasting process over the two days, with the second day dedicated to re-tasting the top scoring wines and selection of the trophy winners. The trophies will be unveiled at the competition awards ceremony on 23 July.

Highlights of the competition

• 254 wines submitted, 216 of which won medals
o 122 wins (56%) for still wines and 94 (44%) for sparkling wines
o A total of 39 gold, 53 silver, 124 bronze medals were awarded
o Sparkling wines won 26 gold medals, 29 silvers and 39 bronzes overall
o Still wines won 13 gold medals, 24 silvers and 85 bronzes

• Still wines make their mark on the medal table
o 68% (84) of the 122 medal-winning still wines were from the 2018 harvest, showing that last year’s ‘dream harvest’ is a quality year to watch
o Ageing potential of traditional English varieties can be seen with three wines from 2016 awarded gold medals and others taking silvers and bronzes
o Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Bacchus were the top-performing varieties
o Other varieties and styles are showing their quality credentials, with Orion and Pinot Gris gaining gold medals
o Gamay, Chasselas and Sauvignon Blanc have shown notable wins alongside the more ‘traditional’ cool climate still varieties grown in the UK

• High performers highlight success across the regions
o A quarter of all medals were won by South West (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire) including 6 golds
o Medal wins for North Wales vineyard
o South East (Kent, Sussex, Surrey) took just under 50% of the medals
o Other notable gold medal wins for Thames & Chilterns region, Dorset and Hampshire

• Sparkling wines dominate in the top awards winning 26 of the 39 gold medals
o Around half of the gold-winners were Chardonnay-led blends
o A gold medal win for 100% Seyval Blanc traditional sparkling wine
o Just over half of the sparkling wine gold medal winners were from the South East
o Other sparkling gold medal wins saw Buckinghamshire and Berkshire performing particularly well

• New producers make their mark alongside long-established vineyards

Susie Barrie MW, Chair of Judges, says:
“What was wonderful to see this year was the number of still wines entered into the WineGB Awards on the back of the superb 2018 vintage. We all know how great the UK’s finest sparkling wines are, but the still wines this year were the best we’ve tasted. It’s also terrific to see brand new names amongst the medal and trophy winners, as well as wines from such a broad range of counties. I know I’ve said it before, but the wines entered into the WineGB Awards get better every year and all of our hard-working producers should feel so proud of what they are doing to put the UK on the global wine map.”

Oz Clarke, Co-Chair of Judges, comments,
“As a long-time believer in English and Welsh wines, I am really proud to be involved in these national wine awards. We set the bar very high and all the medals – bronze, silver and gold – every medal counts and is hard-earned and well-deserved. Every single wine entered was evaluated and discussed by experienced judges from all walks of the wine trade and we take our roles very seriously indeed. There are no ‘consolation prizes’ in this competition and the outside world should know that any medal achieved in the WineGB Awards is a resounding endorsement for that wine and an impressive achievement.”
Notes to editors

For a list of all WineGB Award medal-winners, see link below:
WineGB Awards 2019 Results

A selection of high-resolution pictures taken on the judging days (see above) are available from WineGB – see contact details below.

The Trophies, to be announced on 23 July, include 13 class trophies, plus the top winners: Best Still, Best Sparkling and Supreme Champion. Other notable trophies include Winery of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Boutique Producer of the Year.

Judges of the WineGB Awards
Susie Barrie MW (Chair of Judges)
Oz Clarke (Co-Chair)
Sam Caporn MW
Sue Daniels
Nik Darlington
Simon Field MW
Richard Hemming MW
Matthieu Longuère MS
Christine Parkinson
Jane Parkinson
Pierpaolo Petrassi MW
Philip Tuck MW

About our Sponsors

WineGB are delighted to have the following main sponsors of the WineGB Awards 2019:

With over 50% market share of English sparkling wines, Waitrose has been a champion of homegrown wines since the beginning. The national high street chain lists the largest range of English and Welsh wines in the UK, with 110 wines from across the country currently available. Waitrose also produces its own English sparkling wine, Leckford Estate Brut, which is made from grapes grown on their farm in Hampshire. www.waitrosecellar.com

 

A long-standing supporter of the UK wine industry, Rankin Brothers & Sons is a leading manufacturer and supplier of bottle closures for still and sparkling wines, beers and spirits. A family-run business since 1774, Rankin has recently become the exclusive distributor for Sparflex products in the UK. www.rankincork.co.uk

 

 

 

For technical info on the competition:
Belinda Mercer (Competition Manager)
awards@winegb.co.uk
Tel: 07545 662424

For PR/media information:
Julia Trustram Eve, WineGB
julia@winegb.co.uk or sophie@winegb.co.uk
Tel: 01858 467792
Website: www.winegb.co.uk

Or
Katharine O’Callaghan, Callaghan Communications
ko@callaghancomms.co.uk
Tel: 07951 960898

Twitter: @Wine_GB
Instagram: @winegb
#WineGBAwards

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