Gusbourne leads WineGB gold-medal awards

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 03 July, 2019

Kent’s Gusbourne winery has won six gold medals in the WineGB Awards 2019, the UK wine industry’s national competition.

Other leading gold medal winners were Chapel Down, also in Kent, and Buckinghamshire’s Harrow & Hope, which each won four.

A total of 39 gold medals were awarded, out of the 254 wines submitted. Silver medals were awarded to 53 wines and bronze medals to 124.

Sparkling wines dominated the awards, accounting for 26 of the gold medals. Still wines won 122 medals in total, with 84 of those from the 2018 harvest.

The leading varietals were Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Bacchus, with around half of the gold medals going to Chardonnay-led blends.

Wineries in Kent, Sussex and Surrey accounted for nearly 50% of all medals, with some 25% awarded to wineries from the South West of England.

The 12-strong judging panel was chaired by Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke, and included five other MWs and one MS.

Barrie said: “What was wonderful to see this year was the number of still wines entered into the WineGB Awards on the back of the superb 2018 vintage. We all know how great the UK’s finest sparkling wines are, but the still wines this year were the best we’ve tasted. It’s also terrific to see brand new names amongst the medal and trophy winners, as well as wines from such a broad range of counties.”

Clarke said: “As a long-time believer in English and Welsh wines, I am really proud to be involved in these national wine awards. We set the bar very high and all the medals – bronze, silver and gold – every medal counts and is hard-earned and well-deserved. Every single wine entered was evalu-ated and discussed by experienced judges from all walks of the wine trade.”

Blind tasting for the competition took place at the Institute of Masters of Wine on 17 and 18 June. The trophy winners will be unveiled at an awards ceremony on 23 July.

The awards are run by the industry body Wines of Great Britain (WineGB), in association with sponsors, Waitrose and Rankin Brothers & Sons, supplier of closures.

Printer friendly version