RidgeView

Following England’s successful debut performance in the 2012 Sommelier Wine Awards, English and Welsh wine have been given their own sparkling wine category, alongside Prosecco, Champagne and sparkling wines from other countries.

As deputy director of the competition, I must declare an interest in this. It was wonderful to see the English contingent come from nowhere to score a dozen medals – only three less than California.

Three of these medals were Gold, plus both a Critics Choice trophy for RidgeView’s  “textured” Knightsbridge Blanc de Noirs 2009 and a By the Glass gong for Furleigh Estate’s “complex” Classic Cuvée Brut.

Judges in the UK’s only on-trade wine competition, the Sommelier Wine Awards, have given English wines the thumbs up, awarding not only three Golds, but also a Critics Choice award. One sparkler was chosen as the By the Glass fizz of choice, and a red from Kent picked up a silver.

Biddenden Vineyards in Kent won the sole still Gold for its Gribble Bridge Ortega, while the coveted Critics’ Choice award went to Ridgeview for its superlative Blanc de Noir and Dorset’s Furleigh Estate scooped a By the Glass award – only eight of these are awarded.

In a reflection both of the momentous year ahead and the desire of restaurants and bars to stock good local wines, English and Welsh still wines are to have their own category in this year's Sommelier Wine Awards. Run by Imbibe magazine, the Sommelier Wine Awards are the UK’s premier wine competition for restaurants, bars and pubs.

Success doesn’t come easy, with wines being tasted blind by leading sommeliers hailing from taste and flavour hotspots such as The River Café, Hakkasan, Gauthier Soho and Hotel du Vin. Luminaries from wine haunts Ransome’s Dock and The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, also take part as does former UK Sommelier of the Year, Laura Rhys MS.

This year’s European Wine Bloggers' Conference kicks off on Friday in the northern Italian city of Brescia in Franciacorta with a sell-out Sparkling Wine Masterclass, including a brace of English bubblies.

Fresh from its top podium position in Thesis, the Dutch wine competition, RidgeView’s Cavendish 2009 will be joined by  Denbies’’ Cubitt Reserve 2006, its first Pinot Noir sparkler, with the duo rubbing shoulders against pairs of Champagnes, top Cavas, plus two sparklers from pioneering New York wineries and a vintage Franciacorta fizz.

Birds, demon badgers and listening to bubbles all add up to a peculiarly British notion of terroir as River Café sommelier and pop-up restaurateur Emily O’Hare heads off to the South Downs

"Did you hear that yaffle?" asked Peter.

Sitting at lunch with Breaky Bottom winemaker, Peter Hall in his home in Sussex, I had not heard the call of the green woodpecker. My attention was elsewhere, my ears were otherwise engaged – in a flute of Peter’s sparkling wine made from the white grape variety, Seyval Blanc. When sparkling wine is poured for me, I always like to listen to it. I like to hear those bubbles fizzing and popping, noisily celebrating their escape.

Rounding off a busy week, DrinkBritain.com’s final Here comes Summer competition is to win a pair of tickets to visit RidgeView in the Sussex South Downs. Running just one tour a month, this is your chance to see how this boutique producer manages to wrest trophies from the Champenois, have its wine served to Barack Obama, and pick up a gong for its founder in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Seven of the UK’s leading winemakers are coming to town to share with consumers their visions in a new series of mid-week tasting dinners.

In a UK first, the award-winning Artisan & Vine wine bar is teaming up with DrinkBritain.com to launch a Best of English Meet the Winemaker series of events. Taking over Artisan & Vine’s popular Wednesday evening slot, the winemakers will guide guests through five of their wines alongside a three course meal specially created by resident chef James Robson.

Despite an inglorious summer, England and Wales look as if they have secured a bumper harvest, certainly in terms of volume. Ideal weather during Wimbledon coincided with the all important flowering phase, meaning that all the grapes that could develop did – often not the case in the UK.

Chapel Down in Kent reported 30% more fruit than in 2009, RidgeView in Sussex saw its largest harvest to date, while Camel Valley in Cornwall took in 50 tons compared with the norm of 40 tons. Meanwhile over in Wales, Parva Farm saw its second largest crop, with seemingly good quality too.

Sparkling wine producer RidgeView has beaten top champagnes costing up to three times as much to win the Decanter International Trophy for Sparkling Wine over £10 for its Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2006.

Founded in 1995 by Mike and Christine Roberts, RidgeView is no stranger to accolades – earlier this year it won Wine of the Year for the second year running in the English and Welsh Wine Awards – but this is likely to command a special spot on its ever-more crowded wall of awards.