MORE than 50 wineries from across Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Wiltshire submitted wines for a top national competition.

The 38th year of the WineGB Wessex awards saw the regional wine body team up with The Pig Hotels as the event sponsor.

On November 8, The Pig in Brockenhurst hosted the judging, with a new award titled ‘The Pig Wessex Wine of the Year Trophy’ to celebrate the best overall wine. This was presented to Zam Baring of Grange Estate in Alresford for its 2016 Classic Magnum Sparkling Brut by WineGB Wessex chair, Jacob Leadley. 

Mr Baring said: “We are thrilled that The Grange CLASSIC 2016 in magnum has been chosen, not only as The Best in Wessex Sparkling Brut for 2022, but also as The Pig Wessex Wine of the Year for 2022. 
"This was made in only our second year of commercial production, and we think there is enormous potential still to come from the wines made since then and, of course, those yet to be made."

The rest of the 2022 winners are as follows:

The Pig Wessex Wine of the Year Trophy - Grange Estate, Classic Magnum Sparkling Brut 2016

The Best in Wessex Sparkling Brut Trophy - Grange Estate Classic Magnum Sparkling Brut 2016

The Best in Wessex Sparkling Rosé Trophy - Langham Wine Estate Rosé NV

The Best in Wessex Still Wine Trophy - The Wharie Experience, Pinot Rosé 2021

For vineyards less than two hectares, there are two specific awards:

The John Youles Trophy (still) - Priors Dean Golden Harvest 2020

The Roger Marchbank Trophy (sparkling) - Domaine Hugo, Hugo Sparkling Brut 2019

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The judging panel was made up of Nik Darlington from the Graft Wine Company, Phoebe French from WineGB, Luke Harbor The Pig Hotels’ head of wine, Hannah Milnes from The British Bouchon, Beth Willard from Wine Traders and Luke Wolfe from Whitewolfe Estate & Agro-Pro.

The Pig’s Robin Hutson said: “I have been an English fizz evangelist for years. For nearly a decade we have been reducing sales of champagne by the glass at THE PIGs, in favour of English sparkling wine, and I have also been really inspired by the leaps and bounds made with English still wines.

“I have been blown away by what has been achieved by the many talented and dedicated wine makers here in the UK. We have made the decision to dedicate a sizeable chunk of our wine lists to our native product, searching out the very best offerings we can get our hands on.

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“We are really pleased to be supporting the WineGB Wessex Awards, celebrating the innovation and creativity of wine makers right on the doorstep of our Hampshire and Dorset based PIGs.”

Hampshire Chronicle:

WineGB Wessex chair and founder of Black Chalk Wine in Andover, Jacob Leadley, said: “Wessex is one of the most exciting and diverse of the UK’s wine regions; its potential to produce top quality English wines was clear to see at the judging and tasting.  We were delighted to partner with The Pig Hotels, which has three establishments in Wessex, and as one of the leading endorsers of local food and drink producers, we are grateful for their support.”

Wessex is the third largest region within WineGB and has the biggest range in vineyard size. The organisation currently has more than 70 members it supports, through viticulture, winemaking, funding, education, tourism and marketing, in the Wessex area.