Best of Wales’ wines celebrated at annual awards

Wines from vineyards across Wales have been recognised by the Welsh Vineyard Association at its 2022 award ceremony.

The Welsh Wine Awards saw six wines from four Welsh vineyards take home accolades across the event, which was held at Llanerch Vineyard in the Vale of Glamorgan.

A total of 12 vineyards entered this year’s awards, representing a proportion of the growing Welsh wine industry, with around 30 vineyards currently operating across the country.

The competing wines were split into seven classes: white, rosé, red, sparkling white, sparkling rosé, best Welsh PDO/PGI and the Best Overall Wine and were judged by a panel of renowned industry experts: Simon Thorpe MW, WineGB; Richard Ballantyne MW, Noble Grape and Deiniol ap Dafydd, Blas ar Fwyd.

Andy Mounsey, Chair of the Welsh Vineyard Association and owner of Velfrey Vineyard in Pembrokeshire, said: “The Welsh Wine Awards continue to provide a unique opportunity to celebrate and spotlight the fantastic wine produced year-in-year-out across Wales.

“Our esteemed judging panel had a really difficult job selecting the winners as this year’s awards saw 43 wines entered, with a number of new vineyards featuring. The growth of the awards reflects the ever growing wine industry we have here in Wales, and something we’re really proud to be able to celebrate.”

Over the past 18 months, with the support of the Welsh Government Drinks Cluster, the vineyards have worked in partnership to develop a strategy for the Welsh wine industry to enable future growth. This strategy is due to be launched by the end of the year.

Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, who attended the awards, said: “It is wonderful to see the wine industry in Wales continue to grow and this year’s awards offered a great opportunity to celebrate its achievements.

“The Welsh wine industry is developing a reputation for producing wines of excellent quality as seen by the international recognition it is receiving. I’m looking forward to seeing what our Welsh vineyards produce over the coming years and continue to establish Welsh wine not just in the UK, but across the world.”

The full list of sponsors and class awards for the Welsh Wine Awards 2022:

Individual Classes

1. Best White – Sponsored by N.P. SEYMOUR LTD
   • Vale Solaris (2021), Vale Vineyard – Gwinllan y Dyffryn
2. Best Rosé – Sponsored by Delyn Warehousing
   • Vale Rondo Rosé (2021), Vale Vineyard – Gwinllan y Dyffryn
3. Best Red – Sponsored by Levercliff Associates
   • Barrel 48 (2020), White Castle Vineyard
4. Best Sparkling White – Sponsored by Halfpenny Green Wine Estate
   • Pefriog Phoenix (2019), Gwinllan Conwy
5. Best Sparkling Rosé – Sponsored by Carpet Fit Wales
   • Tintern Parva Dathliad Rosé (NV), Parva Farm Vineyard
6. Best Welsh PDO/PGI – Sponsored by Tool Raptors Ltd
   • Pinot Noir Précoce Reserve (2019), White Castle Vineyard
7. Best Overall Wine and Winner of the 2022 Thomas Davies Memorial Trophy – Sponsored inprint.org.uk
   • Tintern Parva Dathliad Rosé (NV), Parva Farm Vineyard

The Principal Sponsor of the awards – Food & Drink Wales