Ridgeview wins five at Texsom as export volumes double

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 24 March, 2016

English sparkling wine producer, Ridgeview Wine Estate Ridgeview won medals for all five of its wines entered into the 2016 Texsom International Wine Awards in the US last week.

It was the first time an English winery has experienced such success at Texsom.

The awards for the Sussex-based winery included a gold medal for Ridgeview's 2010 Rosé de Noirs, a silver for the 2013 Single Estate Blanc de Blancs, and bronzes for the Cavendish, Bloomsbury and Blanc de Noirs, all from the 2013 vintage.

Texsom - the Texas Sommelier Conference - is one of the most prominent and influential beverage education and training institutions in the US.

Ridgeview's sucess at the awards reflects a significant expansion in its expert profile, with some 30% of production in 2015 being sold in 12 markets around the world, up from 14% in 2014.

The family-owned winery welcomed Finland as its first export market in 2008, followed by Norway.

Ridgeview has expanded into five new markets in the last two years, including most recently the Caribbean.

Tamara Roberts, chief executive of Ridgeview, said: "we have worked really hard to make sure we have the right distributors in the markets we work with.

"They share our values, know our expectations and we have joint aspirations to grow our businesses.

"They are forward-thinking partners and are passionate about our product: we consider them to be an extension of the Ridgeview team, and consequently, our brand.

"When it takes over five years for your product to go from grapes in the vineyard, through secondary fermentation in bottle, a few years in the cellar then eventually into the labelled bottle, you have to be careful who looks after your image, and your wines."

Roberts joined a number of key industry figures at No 10 Downing Street yesterday to speak to the prime minister and secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs on behalf of the WSTA on the importance of EU membership to the UK drinks industry.

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