A respected late winemaker's champion vintage has been named East Anglian Wine of the Year at his family's Suffolk vineyard.
The annual awards event, run by regional producer association Wine GB East, was hosted by Giffords Hall Vineyard at Hartest, near Bury St Edmunds.
And the vineyard was overjoyed to be handed the coveted overall Wine of the Year trophy for its Classic Cuvee 2018, which also won the Spear Trophy for best sparkling wine.
Linda Howard, owner of Giffords Hall, said she was "truly delighted" with the result - particularly as the winning wine had been made by her husband Guy, who died in December 2019.
Mr Howard, who was well-known within the industry, had been a founding director of Wine GB and also chairman of the East Anglian Vineyards Association.
"The really special thing is that Guy made the wine that won," said Mrs Howard.
"It was particularly important for me. I just wish he had been here to see it, he would have been very proud. We knew it was a very, very good wine."
Mrs Howard said the event, which attracted about 20 producers from across East Anglia, was an important occasion for the region's wine industry.
"Because we all work so intensely we never get a chance to get together, so when we do it is a really nice occasion, and a good vibe," she said.
"I remember someone saying that you learn more from other vineyard owners than from any consultants."
Head judge Tanja Wright led an expert panel of judges to assess more than 50 wines entered for the competition - with 27 becoming medal winners and 14 achieving gold medals.
"We are seeing higher and higher quality wines emerging from East Anglia," she said. "We need to really make some noise and celebrate the wines from this region."
Toppesfield Vineyard, from Halstead in Essex, took the best rosé award and the prize for best red went to new vineyard, ARK Wines, near Sudbury, while the best Bacchus was awarded to Coopers Croft Vineyard near Newmarket.
The Guy Howard award for best retailer and promoter was presented to Matt Hodgson of Grape Brittania in Cambridge.
After the judging, the awards event was opened to the public for a full tasting of all the wines opened during the day - an opportunity gratefully received by many local wine enthusiasts.
Mrs Howard said grapes for her vineyard's champion wine had been grown in similar conditions to this year's dry, hot summer.
"2018 was a very good year, with weather conditions very similar to this year," she said. "Also the acidity was right so what we have got will last and will age well.
"This year has been an unusual year. Viticulture is generally dry farming, but our vineyard is very established and we are not suffering any kind of water stress.
"It has been particularly benign from a disease pressure point of view, which is good. But those with new plantations, particularly in their second year, are having to irrigate.
"But for us it looks like a good harvest, there is a lot of fruit, but the bunch weights are down.
"Some members are worried about a sudden influx of rain which could cause the skin of the grapes to split and then disease could set in.
"So I am feeling slightly nervous about that, but the upside is that when a year like this with bunch weights down the grape is small, so you get greater intensity of flavour. So we should be having some nice wines this year."
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