The inaugural winner of the Devon Wine of the Year Award
Head Judge and wine expert, Susy Atkins, explains why the time was right to launch the new Devon Wine of the Year Award, and why Sandridge Barton Winery was a worthy first winner.
Top wine award goes to Sandridge Barton Classic Cuvée
England’s wine-making scene has become more and more exciting in recent years, with quality raised higher than ever and an unprecedented number of commercial vineyards and wineries popping up across the country, especially in the south.
In recognition of the increasing significance of Devon wine, this year Food Drink Devon launched a new award for ‘Devon Wine of the Year’. This is the overall winner of all the wines entered into the awards in 2024, in any style, though they must be made from grapes grown in Devon and made in Devon.
This year we also recruited some highly experienced judges to assess the entries: Fiona Beckett, The Guardian’s wine critic for many years; Marc Millon, highly respected wine writer and author; Rebecca Mitchell, Wine & Spirit Education Trust educator; Yorick Driesen, MD of Regency Wines and myself.
Over 30 wines were entered this year; far more than ever before. The wines were blind-tasted (we didn’t see the labels or know which winery they came from) all on one day and the judges discussed the merits of each one before awarding the best with platinum, gold and silver awards. Then came the moment to choose our first Devon Wine of the Year.
Judges were unanimous in deciding that the top award should go to Sandridge Barton Classic Cuvée, a very fine example of English Sparkling Wine (ESW).
The award was presented to Sandridge Barton head winemaker and CEO Duncan Schwab at the Food Drink Devon Awards dinner on 7 October.
This special award will be continued next year when we look for Devon’s Wine of the Year 2025!
Susy Atkins, wine writer, author and presenter and Food Drink Devon Board Director.