Wine GB 2020 awards announced

By Lisa Riley

Published: 08 September, 2020

Hattingley Valley Wines has won the Supreme Champion trophy for its King’s Cuvée 2014 at the 2020 Wine GB Awards, which were revealed in a virtual ceremony today.

The King’s Cuvée also won the Top Sparkling Wine award for the Hampshire winery.

Black Chalk Winery, another Hampshire vineyard, took home the Newcomer of the Year trophy, while Wiston Estate and Sugrue South Downs, both Sussex-based, won Winery of the Year and Boutique Producer of the Year respectively.

The trophy for Top Still Wine went to Kent’s Chapel Down for its Kit’s Coty Chardonnay 2017.

Wines from 100 producers spread across 27 counties were entered in the awards. A total of 17 trophies were given, together with 34 gold medals, 98 silver and 113 bronze.

The judging panel comprised Susie Barrie MW, Oz Clarke OBE and Rebecca Palmer, wine buyer for Corney & Barrow.

Barrie said: “This year more than ever we need to get the message out there about how great English and Welsh wines are, and get more and more people buying and drinking the wines.

“I am loving the innovation we are seeing from our winemakers and the way they are pushing every boundary – we have sweet wines, skin contact wines, Pet Nat styles and even sparkling Merlot.

“The competition gave us a fantastic overview of the wines that are available in the market right now, and we were so impressed with the quality.”

Clarke added: “I’ve been enthusing about English wines for almost as long as I have been enthusing about wine. I have watched and felt the improvement in our sparkling wines and our still wines year by year.

“The kind of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay still wines that we make now, we just couldn’t make even five years ago. The quality of the classic cuvées we are seeing as people lay down reserves and manage to blend them together in their non-vintage styles is simply fabulous.”

Stephen Skelton MW was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Wine GB board at the event.

A full, searchable list of the trophy winners and medal results is available here.

Sales of English and Welsh wines grew by 70% in 2019, with exports more than doubling.

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