WineGB West held their annual competition on 17th November at the fantastic setting of Sandridge Barton Wine Estate in Devon. Nearly 100 wines were entered over 8 classes, sent in from vineyards and producers across the width and breadth of the West – Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

The wines were tasted on the day by a judging panel made up of Rebecca Mitchell (Certified Sommelier & Wine Educator), Zoe Driver (Assistant Winemaker, Black Chalk), Phoebe French (WineGB & MW Student), Debbie Warner (Wild Wine School) and Yannick Loué (Founder of ‘Le Vignoble‘) with the White and Rosé Sparkling and Bacchus classes being the highlight of the competition; this was the first year that Bacchus wines were judged in their own class, and the judges were impressed both with the quality and the range of styles presented.

Rebecca Mitchell, Panel Chair, shared her thoughts of the competition: “We were impressed by the exceptional quality of wines being produced by Wine GB members from right across the West of England. It was really encouraging to see the attention to detail and wine-making expertise producing some really interesting styles in this region. The stand-out flights were the two Sparkling White and Rosé categories with some real flair and talent being demonstrated. The Bacchus flight was probably the most exciting for us to judge purely due to the diversity of styles within that category.”

The judging day was followed by a Member’s Event, held the next day with a tour of the winery and lunch in the Circa restaurant at Sandridge Barton, finishing up with a tasting of all the competition wines and presentation of the trophies.

The winners included wines from across the region, with trophies awarded to the winners in each style category (see list below). The full results can be found on the WineGB West website.

The trophy winners:
Best Sparkling White – Pinot Meunier 2018, Langham Wine Estate (The Ray Palfrey Cup & South-West Wine of the Year)
Best Sparkling Rose – Pinot Noir Sparkling NV, Trevibban Mill (The Chairman’s Cup)
Best Wine from Bacchus Grape – Bacchus 2021, Three Choirs
Best Dry White Wine – Dart Valley Reserve 2021, Sandridge Barton (WGBW Committee Cup)
Best Oaked White Wine – Constantine 2020, Trevibban Mill (WGBW Challenge Cup)
Best Non-Dry White Wine – Madeline May Chardonnay 2021, Whitehall Vineyard (The Association Cup)
Best Rosé Wine – Charlotte May Rose 2021, Whitehall Vineyard (The Stewards Trophy)
Best Red Wine – Pinot Noir 2019, Whitehall Vineyard (The Sunnybank Trophy)
Outstanding Contribution to WineGB West – Charlie Brown, Sandridge Barton (Gillian Peakes Memorial Bowl)

Photo (L-R): Tommy Grimshaw (Winemaker, Langham Wine Estate); Duncan Schwab (Winemaker, Sandridge Barton); Charlie Brown (Assistant Winemaker, Sandridge Barton)