Monday, September 4th, 2006


WINE LOVERS CELEBRATE IN THE  SHOWERS

Showers did not deter wine lovers from turning out in force at the 32nd English Wine and Regional Food Festival - the UK's longest running event of its kind.

The festival took place at the English Wine Centre in Alfriston last weekend and visitors were able to sample wines from some of the country's leading producers and regional food and enjoy live jazz, a hog roast and country craft stands.

For the second year running Kent's oldest family-owned vineyard won the Wine of the Show with its dry white Ortega wine. Biddenden Vineyards scooped the most prizes at this year's festival coming first and third in the dry white section and first in the rosé class.

It was also a successful year for local vineyards with the East Sussex Vineyard Breaky Bottom, based at Rodmell near Lewes, winning first prize in the late harvest class and the West Sussex vineyard Warnham Vale, exhibiting at the festival for the first time, coming top in the oaked white section. Warnham Vale's debut was also popular with visitors to the festival who voted the same wine as their favourite wine of the show. The public vote was first introduced last year and once again visitors were invited to nominate their favourite wines for the public Wine of the Show accolade.

Wine writer and consultant Martyn Doubleday, former owner of Hidden Spring Vineyard at Horam, chaired the panel of experts who judged this year's wines.

Presenting the prizes with festival originator Christopher Ann he said: "The quality of the wine was quite outstanding, particularly in the dry white and sparkling categories and with so many different styles of reds entered this year we had a tough job picking the winner. I'm a huge fan of English rosé wine and my only disappointment was that so few rosés were entered this year. I hope to see, and drink, plenty more next year!"

For the second year running the Sussex churdle stand proved a talking point. Last year festival organiser Steve Mitchell launched a stand selling the pies baked in the shape of bishops' mitres. Steve hit the national headlines when he tracked down a recipe for 17th century churdles and recreated the pies for the Radio 4 programme Who Ate All The Pies, in which poet Ian Mcmillan went in search of the lost churdle. The programme whetted Steve's appetite for the historic pies and he has been making them at Walton's Oak Barn at the wine centre ever since.


                  COMPETITION RESULTS ENGLISH WINE
                            FESTIVAL 2006


Wine of the Show Biddenden Ortega 2005
Highly commended Kemps Brut

Dry White 1st Biddenden Ortega 2005
    2nd Three Choirs Willow Brook 2005
    3rd Biddenden Huxelrebe 2005 

Oaked White 1st Warnham Vale The Gap 2004
    2nd Iron Railway Dry Fumé 2004

Medium Dry 1st Iron Railway Old Tramway 2005


Sparkling 1st Kemps Brut
    2nd Three Choirs Classic Cuvée
3rd Ridgeview Cavendish 2003

Rosé 1st Biddenden Gribble Bridge 2005
2nd Three Choirs Premium Selection 2005

Red 1st Bookers Pinot Noir 2004
    2nd Carters King Coel 2003
    3rd Plumpton Estate Cloudy Ridge N/V

Dessert/Late Harvest 1st Breaky Bottom Late Harvest
1999
2nd Sandhurst Late Harvest 2001

Public Wine of the Show Warnham Vale The Gap 2004
                                 
                                ends

For further information contact:
Jeannine Williamson Steve
Mitchell
Motcombe Media
Walton's Oak Barn
Tel: 01323 641078 Tel:
01323 871271