British-made sauvignon blanc is hailed as 'best in the world'

2023-01-16

Nothing to wine about! British-made sauvignon blanc is hailed as ‘best in the world’ among £20-£30 unoaked entries at ‘blind’ tasting competition

Gloucestershire-based winemakers at Woodchester Valley snapped up ‘Master’
Family business among handful UK vineyards producing sauvignon blanc grapes
British white wine beat out entrants from New Zealand, Austria and even Greece

A British-made sauvignon blanc wine has been hailed as the ‘best in the world’ among £20-£30 unoaked entries at a ‘blind’ tasting competition.

Gloucestershire-based winemakers at Woodchester Valley snapped up the ‘Master’ medal at the Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters awards.

The family business is one of just a handful of British vineyards producing sauvignon blanc grapes – traditionally grown in warm climates such as California’s Napa Valley and France’s Loire Valley.

The ‘blind’ competition was decided by judges with no knowledge of the origin country of the wines – with the family business beating out entrants from New Zealand, Austria and even Greece.

Gloucestershire-based winemakers at Woodchester Valley snapped up the ‘Master’ medal at the Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters awards (pictured: owner Fiona Shiner and her winemaker Jeremy Mount)

The competition was decided last Friday, January 13, after being run in collaboration with the London-based The Drinks Business.

Demand for English wine surged by a fifth last year due to enthusiasts visiting vineyards during staycations

The rise suggest a new-found taste for home-grown grapes.

The increase has been attributed to wine enthusiasts visiting vineyards during Covid staycations when foreign travel was restricted.

Majestic Wine said shoppers developed more adventurous tastes during the pandemic.

Majestic said: ‘We’ve seen a real growth of interest in English wines, and anecdotally know a lot of our customers have visited the wineries we stock.

‘The quality of the wine has come on leaps and bounds.’

Favourite English grape varieties include chardonnay, pinot noir and Bacchus – England’s answer to New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

Judges described the winning pick as a ‘perfect example’ of why they did blind tasting – demonstrating the surprise that a British entrant had won.

They wrote: ‘This is a perfect example of why we taste blind – partly to leave any preconceptions behind us, and partly for the absolute joy of surprise when something unexpected turns out to be wonderful.

‘And this wine was, indeed, wonderful. It starts with an intense gooseberry nose, building to reveal undertones of ripe lemon. On the palate there is bright, taut acidity and a juicy mouthfeel.

‘Very well balanced, there’s just a hint of sweetness on the finish, which is long and textured. A very engaging wine, perfect for matching with asparagus or goat’s cheese.’

Woodchester Valley is a family business run by Owner Fiona Shiner, her husband, and her daughter Chloe.

The family took a leap into the unknown when planting sauvignon blanc vines on a steep, south-facing limestone slope on the edge of the Cotswolds at Stonehouse.

The site was formerly known as ‘Stanhaus’ – which is mentioned as having one of just a handful of English vineyards noted in the Domesday book from 1086.

They had previously won a gold medal for their sauvignon blanc in 2019 – but never expected to take the top prize at the Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters awards.

British white wine has traditionally been written off by wine connoisseurs due to it’s cold climate that often does not allow white grapes to mature as intended.

Following the surprise win, vineyard owner Fiona wrote: ‘It’s a phenomenal result for us. Eyebrows were raised in 2015 when I planted Sauvignon Blanc in the Cotswolds.

Judges described the winning pick as a ‘perfect example’ of why they did blind tasting – demonstrating the surprise that a British entrant had won

‘Nearly 8 years later to have our sauvignon blanc wine judged one of the finest in the world and by such a prestigious panel of judges – it really doesn’t get much better than that!

‘From the first taste of the juice from the 2021 harvest we were excited about its potential and are immensely proud of winning this award.

‘We hope this highlights that England can produce great quality still wines as well as sparkling.’

Her daughter Chloe, 34, said that the family were thrilled with the win, and hoped it would set an example for other British producers to follow.

She said: ‘The British wine industry is predominantly based on sparkling wine at the moment, so adding a bit of variety to the industry is quite nice.

‘Sauvignon blanc is not really that widely planted in the UK, I think there is only about three or four producers in the UK.

Woodchester Valley is a family business run by Owner Fiona Shiner, her husband, and her daughter Chloe. The family took a leap into the unknown when planting sauvignon blanc vines on a steep, south-facing limestone slope on the edge of the Cotswolds at Stonehouse

‘My mum was always such a huge fan of that style of wine though that she took a risk.

‘The other nice thing is our winemaker, who is from Kent, has worked out in Kent before working here and so has had a lot of experience making it.

‘He was a bit sceptical about a sauvignon blanc from the UK, but I think his experience has probably been very valuable to our success.

‘There’s definitely an increasingly popular market for white wines in the UK, and just the growth in vineyards in general over the last few years has been phenomenal – which is exciting.’

Winemaker Jeremy Mount, who produces the wine for the family, added: ‘Sauvignon Blanc is a relatively new variety to the UK so it’s extremely rewarding to be given this award from such an esteemed panel of judges, acknowledging the quality of our Sauvignon Blanc against other world class wines.’

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