THE second Welsh National Wine Competition, organised by the Welsh Vineyards Association, was held on Monday 21st September at Jabajak Vineyard, Restaurant & Rooms, Carmarthenshire.
A total of 41 wines were entered by member vineyards of the association- up from 34 in the previous competition. There were even numbers of white, rose, red & sparkling wines submitted.
The judging panel was led by Roger Jones who sits on the Decanter World Wine Awards panel as well as owning The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, a Michelin starred restaurant.
Following the judging Roger Jones announced the awards and commented on the wines. 14 of the 24 awards were made to wines from the Monmouthshire vineyards which are Ancre Hill Estates, Monmouth, Parva Farm Vineyard, Tintern, Sugarloaf Vineyard, Abergavenny & Whitecastle Vineyard, Llanvetherine.
The judges were very impressed by the overall standard of the wines and particularly commented on the four gold medal winning wines: Ancre Hill Estates’ Chardonnay (white), Parva Farm Vineyard’s Bacchus (white) Llanerch Cariad Medium Dry (white) and Ancre Hill’s Barrel Fermented Sparkling wine.
After the awards ceremony, a delicious lunch was enjoyed by the judges, members and visitors of the WVA. Chairman Richard Morris of Ancre Hill Estates thanked the judges for their sterling work and also thanked Amanda and her team at Jabajak for hosting the competition and Joy Morris for organising it.
The Welsh Vineyards Association was formed in 2013 and is a group of enthusiastic vineyard owners and anyone who has an interest in Welsh wine whether or not they have a vineyard. Details can be found on the website. www.winetrailwales.co.uk