21st June 2006

NYETIMBER TRIUMPHS IN NATIONAL COMPETITION

Nyetimber Vineyard has once again scooped the top prize in the UK wine industry's national competition, The English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition.

Judging took place Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th June and the results were announced last night.  Nyetimber was awarded the Gore-Browne Trophy ('The Wine of the Year') for their Nyetimber Prestige Cuvee Blanc de Blancs 1998, as well as the Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine in the Competition.  This is the fourth year in a row that Nyetimber have been awarded Wine of the Year.

There were other top winners that gained Trophies, awarded to the best wine in their class:

Sharpham Vineyard Bacchus 2005 took the Best Wine of the Previous Vintage (Jack Ward Memorial Trophy).

The award for Best Red wine (The Bernard Theobald Trophy), Best Varietal Wine (Tom Day Trophy) and Best Wine of Other Year's Vintage (Wine Guild Trophy) went to Chapel Down Tenterden Estate Pinot Noir 2004 – making it the highest awarded wine in the competition.

The accolade of Best Rosé (The Waitrose Rose Trophy) was also awarded to Chapel Down for their Chapel Down English Rose 2005.

Two Trophies were won by Three Choirs Vineyards - Best Wine in Smaller Quantities (The President's Trophy) for their Three Choirs Noble Rot 2003, and Best Wine in Commercial Quantities (The English Wine Producers Dudley Quirk Trophy) for Three Choirs Willowbrook 2005.

The Trophy for Best Oaked White Wine was won for a second year running by Denbies Wine Estate, this year for Denbies Coopers Brook 2003.  This wine also became the first winner of the competition's newest Trophy for Best Unchaptalised Wine (The Berwick Trophy).

Camel Vallye won Best Presentation (The Montagu Trophy).  The presitigous Winemaker of the Year was once again awarded to Owen Elias of Chapel Down WInes, who wins it for the second year in a row.

Nearly 200 wines were entered in to the competition this year, and an impressive number of awards gained, showing the year on year rise in quality.  9 golds, 46 silvers and 73 bronze medals were given, with 32 wines awarded ‘highly commended’.  Gold medals this year included all styles of wine, from sparkling to still whites, a rose and red, indicating that still wines produced in the UK also deserve recognition for their quality and variety.

The line up of award winners included the best known commercial producers to new vineyards with their first vintage.  Every region in the country was represented in the Gold and Silver medal section.  Six judges made up the panel, headed by Julian Brind MW, who this year completes his three year tenure as Chairman of Judges.  He will be succeeded by Patricia Stefanowicz MW next year, who was also on this year’s panel.  Other judges included Stephen Skelton MW, Anthony Foster MW, David Bird MW and David Wrigley MW.  Commenting on the competition, Julian Brind remarked:” The quality of English wines right across the board just gets better and better, illustrated by some of the excellent results in the competition.  It has been a real pleasure to see the standard of these wines improve so much.”

In a change to previous years, the trophies will this year be awarded at the UKVA Awards Dinner, which follows their annual Symposium, taking place on 17th July in London.

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A copy of the full list of winners is available here.  Photographs of the awards dinner will be available after the event.

For more information, please contact Julia Trustram Eve, English Wine Producers, tel: 01536 772264, email Julia@englishwineproducers.com