Sussex Winery receives prestigious title at the inaugural UK Wine Awards

(English Wine Producers – 26 July 2017)

The Bolney Wine Estate was delighted to receive the prestigious ‘Winery of the Year’ award at the inaugural UK Wine Awards. Spearheaded by English Wine Producers’ Julia Trustram Eve and members of the EWP and the UK Vineyards Association, the UK Wine Awards is the national competition for wine produced from grapes grown in England and Wales, inspired by the growing popularity of English and Welsh wines.

The respected title for the Sussex-based winery, which is run by Sam Linter, is testament to the hard work Sam and her team have put into The Bolney Wine Estate. The ethos at the winery is to produce the best wines possible and ensure quality is at the heart of everything – something which has clearly paid off. The high standards Sam has set – from maintaining the highest level of viticulture and vinification to the training the staff receive – has seen the winery go from strength to strength.

Sam Linter, Winemaker and MD of Bolney Wine Estate comments: “We are over the moon to have won ‘Winery of the Year’ at the UK Wine Awards – we still can’t quite believe it! It’s such a prestigious accolade and an endorsement of the hard work each and every one of us at Bolney puts into our wines. We’re delighted that UK wine is finally getting the attention it deserves – and we’re incredibly excited for what the future holds for the industry.”

Bolney also won ‘Top Still Wine’ and ‘Most Outstanding Single Varietal Wine’ for its Foxhole Vineyard Pinot Gris 2016 with judges remarking it is “a delightful example of Pinot Gris; pure, expressive and fragrant with notes of honeysuckle and spiced pear.” A dry white wine with fragrant aromas of rose, jasmine and conference pear, the palate is wonderfully rich and creamy with a slightly honeyed character – a perfect summer’s wine.

Ata Rangi – Martinborough – March 2017

Despite a last-minute hitch over the presenter for this tasting (a family bereavement intervened), we were able to arrange for Keith Tibble, Eurovintage, to present, at very short notice, what transpired to be a wonderful tasting.

The wines presented were great wines and Keith has said that he would be available to present other tastings. It is very useful to have someone like Keith who can step in at comparatively short notice. On this occasion, we were lucky enough to have the Ata Rangi wines on hand. Great effort from him and from Murray who was organising the tasting.

To recap, the wines tasted were:

  • Lismore Pinot Gris 2016 (Conversational wine)
  • Petrie Chardonnay 2015
  • Craighall Chardonnay 2015
  • Crimson Pinot Noir 2015
  • Ata Rangi Pinot Noir2014
  • McCrone Pinot Noir 2013
  • Kahu Botrytis Riesling 2016