IWC Champion Sparkling Wine goes to England

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 10 September, 2025

For the first time ever, the International Wine Challenge (IWC) have given an English wine the Champion Sparkling Wine (Daniel Thibault Trophy) award.

The accolade went to south-east English winery Nyetimber’s Blanc de Blancs Magnum 2016, which had already secured both the English Sparkling Trophy and the English Blanc de Blancs Trophy.

Nyetimber was doubly victorious this year, with its head winemaker Cherie Spriggs named Sparkling Winemaker of the Year for the second time.

Read more: Jessica Julmy takes the helm at Vega Sicilia

When Spriggs first earned the award in 2018, she was the first ever person outside of France to win the award and remains the only woman to win it with this second accolade.

Commenting on the wins, Spriggs said: “Everything we do at Nyetimber is in pursuit of quality, and awards such as these give well-earned recognition for the tireless efforts of everyone at Nyetimber. Blanc de Blancs is a very special wine for us, as it was the first wine to have ever been created at Nyetimber – so this feels like a very significant ‘first’ for English sparkling wine. Winning both of these trophies really brings to life the pioneering vision of Eric Heerema and the belief that I share with him that England really is the best place in the world to be making traditional method sparkling wines.”

To further add to the achievements of English producers, Gloucestershire-based winery Kingsthorne’s Seyval Blanc, Brut 2017 won Best Wine in First Year of Production.

Overall, this year proved to be successful for England – it claimed 15 gold medals (two more than last year), putting it in ninth place.

Other IWC highlights included Burgundy, with Maison Albert Bitchot, the Beaune producer, awarded Champion Red Wine for its Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Hospices de Beaune Cuvée Cyrot Chaudron 2023 and its technical director Matthieu Mangenot given Red Winemaker of the Year, and Australia, with its Tolpuddle Vineyard awarded Champion White Wine for its Chardonnay 2023.

The more niche category of sherry also got a look in, with the Jerez region winning 20 of Spain’s 34 gold medals, and the producer Bodegas Emilio Lustau taking home both the Champion Fortified Wine award and Fortified Winemaker of the Year.

The full list of champions this year were as follows:

The IWC Champion Wines 2025:

England: Blanc de Blancs Magnum 2016 by Nyetimber won the IWC Champion Sparkling Wine 2025 – Daniel Thibault Trophy, the English Sparkling Trophy, and the English Blanc de Blancs Trophy and Seyval Blanc, Brut 2016 by Kingsthorne won the IWC Best Wine in First Year of Production 2025, English Seyval Sparkling Trophy
France: Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Hospices de Beaune Cuvée Cyrot Chaudron 2023, Maison Albert Bichot won the IWC Champion Red Wine 2025, the International Pinot Noir Trophy, the French Pinot Noir Trophy, and the Clos de la Roche Trophy
Australia: Chardonnay 2023, Tolpuddle Vineyard won the IWC Champion White Wine 2025, the International Chardonnay Trophy, the Australian White Trophy, the Australian Chardonnay Trophy, and the Tasmanian Chardonnay Trophy
Spain: Amontillado Botaina Edicion Limitada En Rama NV, Bodegas Emilio Lustau won the IWC Champion Fortified Wine 2025 - Manuel Lozano Trophy, the Sherry Trophy, and the Amontillado Trophy
Italy: Vin Santo di Carmignano Riserva 2017, Tenuta Di Capezzana won the IWC Champion Sweet Wine 2025 – Alois Kracher Trophy, the Italian Sweet Trophy, and the Vin Santo Trophy

IWC Winemakers of the Year 2025:

England: Cherie Spriggs from Nyetimber, won IWC Sparkling Winemaker of the Year 2025
France : Matthieu Mangenot from Maison Albert Bichot won IWC Red Winemaker of the Year 2025
New Zealand: Brent Marris from Marisco Vineyards won IWC White Winemaker of the Year 2025
Spain: Sergio Martínez from Bodegas Emilio Lustau won IWC Fortified Winemaker of the Year 2025
Austria: Hans Tschida from Weingut Angerhof Tschida won IWC Sweet Winemaker of the Year 2025

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