England sparkles in record IWSC year

English sparkling wine seized the limelight as the International Wine & Spirit Competition unveiled its northern hemisphere results in a year that saw a record number of entries.

As the results were revealed on the first day of the London International Wine Fair, Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex was awarded the Competition’s newly created Gold Outstanding medal, a replacement for its former “Best In Class”, for the producer’s 2007 blanc de blancs.

Other high-achieving English producers among the country’s 33-strong medal haul included Furleigh Estate in Dorset and Gusbourne Estate in Kent, both of which received a Silver Outstanding for their sparkling wines.

However, it was France who topped the medal table, taking home a total of 827 medals, of which four were Gold Outstanding, 31 Gold and 54 Silver Outstanding. Second came Italy with 521 medals and Spain took third place with 509 medals.

While the Old World dominated the awards, a number of New World countries also enjoyed considerable success. Canada won further recognition for the quality of its ice wines, which produced three Gold Outstanding awards out of the country’s total tally of 195 medals.

Among the emerging wine producing nations, Russia took home a Silver Outstanding for its Special Collection Kuban Madeira Château Tamagne Reserve 1991.

Describing the growth in northern hemisphere entries as “impressive across the board”, IWSC Group sales & marketing manager David Kelly remarked: “It’s good to see new wines equally benefit from the international promotion opportunities open to them.

“We now have a proactive marketing programme to make sure all our medal winners have the tools they need to shout about their awards.”

For a full list of the northern hemisphere medal winners, visit www.iwsc.net, or visit the Competition’s stand G25, where a regular series of masterclasses will also be taking place throughout LIWF.