England
2018 Gold 4 Silver 3 Bronze 3 Commended 9
2017 Gold 3 Silver 4 Bronze 3 Commended 7
One of the great things about the Sommelier Wine Awards is the way in which it can provide us with a snapshot of the wine industry – and it absolutely did that here. Our medal winners were an A to Z of the grape varieties being grown for still wines in the UK, and our tasters’ feedback told us all that is good and bad about it.
On the plus side, there were some thoroughly decent wines here – four Golds was the country’s best performance yet – and it was truly heartening to see medal winners across the whole of the South, from East Anglia to Devon. So clearly there is potential.
The downside is that, unlike with sparkling wines, for instance, which are well established and well made year after year, the challenges of uber-cool-climate grape-growing and winemaking sometimes prove too much for our producers. A lot of wines were thrown out to reach these medal winners.
As for pricing, the whites were generally OK, but our tasters grumbled about the cost of the reds. So, promising, but still a work in progress.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
'Very exciting to see an increasing number of wines coming from England and Wales, it’s a very healthy sign for the industry.' Melody Wong, Ten Trinity Square Private Club
‘The English need to look at their winemaking techniques. They need a broad palate of skills to iron out the big differences between the vintages, and they don’t seem to have the experience yet.’ Tom Forrest, team leader
‘They really struggled to keep the acidity in balance overall, confirming my opinion that the English should stick to sparkling wine except in warm vintages.’ Euan McColm, Beaverbrook
‘I didn’t find many interesting wines, it was challenging trying to give a medal, and difficult to find value for money.’ Giuseppe Longobardi, The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston“