The accolade comes after their Dunesforde Pinot Gris 2022 was presented with the WineGB Awards trophy at a ceremony in London today (Friday July 19).
The Tom Day Trophy was awarded to the Townsend family of the Dunesforde Vineyard by expert judge Susie Barrie MW.
Never before has a wine from Yorkshire been awarded such an honour.
RECOMMENDED READING:
In addition, Dunesforde Pinot Gris won the trophy for the Best Wine for the Midlands and the North.
The WineGB Awards celebrate the crème de la crème of wine from experts now describe as one of the world’s most exciting wine regions, Great Britain.
Expert judges including Oz Clarke OBE, Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW judge all the wines blind in a rigorous process. A record number of wines were entered this year.
(Image: pic supplied)
Ian Townsend, owner of Dunesforde Vineyard, said: “We couldn’t be prouder that our wine has been awarded these prestigious trophies by the esteemed WineGB Awards judging panel.
“Who knew that a wine from a small vineyard in North Yorkshire could be named as the top wine in the country in its category?
“When we planted the first vines in our village, Upper Dunsforth, in 2016, we could only dream that we could make wines anywhere near as good as this.
“We are over the moon that we are now standing side by side with some of the greatest producers in Great Britain.”
The trophy-winning wine, Dunesforde Still Pinot Gris, is from the exceptional vintage of 2022 which allowed the Upper Dunsforth vineyard to produce this wine for the first time.
The vineyard, situated just south of Boroughbridge, says the Pinot Gris is a rich but easy drinking wine with a wonderful variety of smooth orchard and citrus fruit flavours.
The judges notes on the wine were: “Aromas of lime peel and fresh pear. On the palate there is pear, white pepper and lime oil. Nice balanced acidity, good texture and a long finish.”
The four-acre vineyard was set up in 2016 and has grown to have 6,000 vines of the Bacchus, Solaris, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir Precoce. They make three still whites, a still red, three sparkling whites and two sparking roses.
Annually, some 10,000-12,000 bottles are produced, with it bottled in Staffordshire.
The vineyard hosts social and educational events and earlier in April, it staged its first-ever food and wine festival, featuring many local food and other traders, which proved exceedingly popular.
Dunesforde Still Pinot Gris is available online or from Dunesforde’s Cellar Door, priced at £22.
