Dunesforde Vineyard, between York and Boroughbridge has won a prestigious gold medal in the WineGB Award.
Dunesforde is the first Yorkshire vineyard ever to do so in the competition’s eight-year history and the most northerly.
The medal-winning wine is Dunesforde Still Pinot Gris from the exceptional vintage of 2022 which allowed the Upper Dunsforth vineyard to produce this wine for the first time.
The WineGB Awards, the premier competition for UK wines, saw a record number of entries this year with wines made in 33 counties across England and Wales gaining honours.
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Over 350 medals were awarded but only 56 gold medals were handed out and only 21 of these were given to still wines, making Dunesforde’s medal exceptionally rare.
All wines in the competition were judged blind by expert judges including Oz Clarke OBE, Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW.
Their notes on Dunesforde Still Pinot Gris 2022 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.”
(Image: pic supplied)
Now Dunesforde’s wine has been shortlisted for a WineGB trophy in the category of Best Still Varietal White and the results will be revealed on Friday July 19 at the Drapers’ Hall in London.
Peter Townsend, Head of Wine Development at Dunesforde, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded a gold medal in the WineGB Awards for our Pinot Gris. Growing grapes in North Yorkshire isn’t always easy but we are delighted to be recognised for our hard work and dedication to making delicious, high quality wines.
“Our Pinot Gris is a rich but easy drinking wine with a wonderful variety of smooth orchard and citrus fruit flavours. We are ecstatic that the judges enjoyed it as much as our customers do.”
Only just over 1000 bottles of the award-winning Dunesforde Still Pinot Gris were produced. It is available online or from Dunesforde’s Cellar Door, priced at £22.
Since 2016, the Townsend family have been producing award-winning wines, helping fuel the great reputation England now has for them, particularly its bubbles.
They planted 6,000 vines of four different varieties: 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 most notable grapes are Solaris, their first to make a Michelin-starred restaurant- the Yorke Arms in Ramsgill in the Yorkshire Dales.
The vineyard’s sparkling white Queen of the North also won the 2022 Wine GB Trophy for the Midlands and the North.
