White Castle Vineyards won big at this year’s WineGB Awards, walking away with a Gold for their Pinot Noir Reserve 2021 in addition to a further three Bronze Awards.

Set in the village of Llanvetherine - close to both Abergavenny and Monmouth, White Castle Vineyard are known for their dedication to producing a wide variety of quality Welsh wine.

Proud red wine producers Robb and Nicola are delighted with a second Gold in as many vintages for their renowned Pinot Noir Précoce reserve.

“We have the perfect site a microclimate like no other in Monmouthshire” says Robb “and our red grape varieties to date have delivered many an award winning wine.”

Robb and Nicola gained four awards in all, two for red wines, and two for white wines all grown on White castle soil as provenance and integrity are paramount to this couples success. There wines travel the length and breadth of the country and long may that continue as they have expanded again this year with further plantings of both white and red grape varieties.

The awards marked the end of a tremendous week for the couple as Mr Merchant was also recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Of the medals awarded, 156 went to sparkling, (38 Gold, 81 Silver & 37 Bronze) and 157 to still wines (10 Gold, 64 Silver and 83 Bronze) clearly demonstrating that the number and quality of still wines being produced in the UK is continuing to grow year on year.

Co-Chair of the Judges Susie Barrie MW said: “We were absolutely thrilled with the quality of the whole range of wines that we tasted this year. We consistently see great sparkling wines and they only get better. What is great to see though is the evolution of the other categories, especially amongst the still wines, and the quality we are seeing really shows such enormous potential for the future. We also had more wines entering the innovation category this year which is fantastic. What’s also terrific is that the wins come not only from the largest producers but also some of the smallest, and from long established wineries to newcomers. Huge congratulations to all the medal winners!”

The Gold medal winning sparkling wines were all produced by the classic method and with the traditional varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), with both large and small wineries being successful. Notable successes among smaller producers include All Angels Classic Cuvée 2017 (Berkshire), and two Wiltshire producers, first-time entrant Domaine Hugo’s Hugo 19 and Southcott Vineyard 2018 Classic – all scooping gold medals. The standout sparkling wine class proved to be Classic Cuvée vintage, taking 38 medals; winners ranged from 2013 vintage to a 2020. The sparkling rosé category also did particularly well winning 34 medals in this class. This year the competition saw two sparkling red wines take home medals, with Ridgeview Sparkling Red Reserve NV winning gold and Camel Valley Vineyard sparkling Red 2021 a bronze medal.