HAMPSHIRE vineyards came away with 19 medals from the annual national wine awards.
Nearly 350 wines from across the country were tasted over four days at Exton Park Vineyard, in the Meon Valley, for the WineGB awards this year with a record number of entries.
Sussex and Kent were the top county, with 117 medal-winners between them but Hampshire still made its mark pin second alongside Cornwall and Devon, each with 19 medals, closely followed by Wiltshire with 14 medals.
Among the winners was Candover Valley vineyard Candover Brook which won gold for its Candover Brooke Brut NV.
Amanda Sinclair of Candover Brook said: "Having planted the vines in 2012 and with our first release only last year, we are thrilled that all of the hard work over these formative years has been recognised and are extremely proud of our Wine GB Gold Medal Award.
"We don’t need any excuse but have obviously popped open a bottle or two of our delicious ‘Candover Brook’ to celebrate. Thank you to all of the team and to all those that have supported us over the years and continue to do so."
READ MORE: Candover vineyard recognised as wines win awards
Judging hosts Exton Park also took gold for their Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2014. Exton Park CEO, Robin McMillan, said: “We are delighted to have won a gold medal. It’s great to continue having our premium sparkling wines recognised by such an important industry body and to help put Hampshire on the map for quality English wine.”
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Hampshire co-chair of the judges, Susie Barrie, said: “We were absolutely thrilled with the quality of the whole range of wines that we tasted this year. We consistently see great sparkling wines and they only get better.
"What is great to see though is the evolution of the other categories, especially amongst the still wines, and the quality we are seeing really shows such enormous potential for the future.
“We also had more wines entering the innovation category this year which is fantastic. What’s also terrific is that the wins come not only from the largest producers but also some of the smallest and from long-established wineries to newcomers. Huge congratulations to all the medal winners.”
The Trophy winners, including the unveiling of the Supreme Champion – the Wine of the Year - will be announced at the WineGB Awards ceremony on Friday, July 7 in London.
To see the full list of medal winners go to winegb.co.uk/our-wines/winegb-awards-winners-2023/.
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