Hampshire vineyard Exton Park hosts national wine competition

Nearly 350 wines from across the country were tasted at Exton Park Vineyard for the Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) awards.

Judging took place from Monday, June 5 to Thursday, June 8, with experts led by Hampshire co-chairs wine celebrity Susie Barrie and wine author and presenter Oz Clarke deciding who will take home the gold, silver and bronze medals.

Susie Barrie judging (Image: WineGB)

In the competition line-up were 20 wines from across the county’s vineyards.

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CEO of Exton Park Vineyard, Robin McMillan, said: “Exton Park was delighted to play host to the WineGB Awards this year – this week we’ve welcomed a stellar line up of judges to taste in this most important competition in the wine industry calendar.

Oz Clarke judging (Image: WineGB)

“Susie Barrie and Oz Clarke, the WineGB Awards co-chairs, emphasized just how special, and inspiring, it was to be at a vineyard across the judging process – it certainly adds something quite unique to the experience.”

A spokesperson for WineGB said: “We are so lucky to have such wine luminaries as Susie and Oz leading our stellar panel of judges. This national competition highlights the fantastic category in the world of wine that England and Wales now occupies. We were really thrilled to be in Hampshire and to be hosted by Exton Park who provided the magical and inspiring backdrop for this week of judging.”

The medal results will be unveiled on Friday, June 16, ahead of English Wine Week starting on Saturday, June 17. The top trophies, including the coveted ‘Wine of the Year’ will be announced on Friday, July 7, with all results being made available at winegb.co.uk.