Olly Smith Is First English Wine Communicator Of The Year – UK Vineyards Association’s National Wine Awards Winemaker Of The Year And The Wine Of The Year Also Announced
The Annual English & Welsh Wine of the Year Awards ceremony took place in London recently, when the UK wine industry introduced for the first time an award to acknowledge the significant contribution that others make to enhancing and raising the profile of the industry and its wines to the outside world.
The English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year Award was introduced Michael Roberts MBE, Chairman of English Wine Producers, who commented: “there are many people out there who do so much to raise the profile of our industry and do so with tremendous dedication and enthusiasm. The amount of positive publicity our industry gets is sometimes overwhelming. We at EWP felt strongly that these many efforts were acknowledged. I am delighted to award the first English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year to Olly Smith, for all the enthusiastic writing and broadcasting that he has done.”
Commenting on his award, Olly Smith said: "I'm bowled over to be awarded Communicator of the Year. I'm a massive fan of English and Welsh wine and the recent flurry of international awards for our local wines is well earned and richly deserved. For me, it's an honour to be in the company of highly skilled winemakers from Cornwall, Dorset, Essex, Kent and right across the UK. These guys work incredibly hard to make the best wines they can and I'd just like to thank them for the unique flavours they create for us all to enjoy. As soon as I got home to Sussex, I popped the magnum of Ridgeview which had been kindly presented to me and somehow it tasted all the more exciting for being made just down the road. Everyone in the UK should taste the local wines from our isles - with each passing year it seems that every sip is a snapshot of quality on the rise".
A shortlist of three nominations was chosen by a panel of industry judges from EWP and UKVA. Also nominated were Oz Clarke, for his support and passion for English wines over many years, and Anthony Foster MW who has been closely involved in English wine through its annual national competition and regionally in East Anglia for many years.
The annual competition and awards ceremony are organised by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA). Also for the first time this year, the winners of the competition’s top two awards were announced: Winemaker of the Year, which was awarded to Ian Edwards of Furleigh Estate. This is the first time he has received this award, along with two trophies, four gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals. The Award for Wine of the Year was also announced – going to Chapel Down Bacchus Reserve 2010. Chapel Down’s winemaker, Andrew Parley received the award.
Olly Smith was invited as Guest Presenter at the Awards, and handed out the medal certificates and trophies to winning vineyards. He acknowledged the tremendous achievements of the winemakers, praising the ever increasing quality of the UK’s wines.
Commenting on the Awards and the day’s celebrations, Paul Langham, Chairman of UKVA said: “We are a growing industry with new wines and new personalities and this is reflected in the bigger event that we held to celebrate the awards. We were delighted to welcome Olly to present the awards – it created such a positive buzz.
“I’d particularly like to thank our sponsors for the awards lunch: Bucher Vaslin and their UK agents, N P Seymour and Amorim and their UK Agent Neville and More. This was a very positive industry event, allowing more vineyards to get together and celebrate the ongoing success of our industry and its wines.”
A full list of the awards in the English & Welsh Wine of the Year Awards 2012 is available on the EWP Website http://www.englishwineproducers.com/competitionresultsUKVA2012.htm
The English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year Award is sponsored by English Wine Producers, the marketing association for the UK wine industry and Dartington Glass (www.dartington.co.uk).
Photos of the event are available – please contact Julia Trustram Eve, English Wine Producers on tel: 01536 772264 or email julia@englishwineproducers.com
Further information about the competition and winners is available from Robert Cowley of UKVA on robertc@ukva.org.uk
The English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year Award was introduced Michael Roberts MBE, Chairman of English Wine Producers, who commented: “there are many people out there who do so much to raise the profile of our industry and do so with tremendous dedication and enthusiasm. The amount of positive publicity our industry gets is sometimes overwhelming. We at EWP felt strongly that these many efforts were acknowledged. I am delighted to award the first English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year to Olly Smith, for all the enthusiastic writing and broadcasting that he has done.”
Commenting on his award, Olly Smith said: "I'm bowled over to be awarded Communicator of the Year. I'm a massive fan of English and Welsh wine and the recent flurry of international awards for our local wines is well earned and richly deserved. For me, it's an honour to be in the company of highly skilled winemakers from Cornwall, Dorset, Essex, Kent and right across the UK. These guys work incredibly hard to make the best wines they can and I'd just like to thank them for the unique flavours they create for us all to enjoy. As soon as I got home to Sussex, I popped the magnum of Ridgeview which had been kindly presented to me and somehow it tasted all the more exciting for being made just down the road. Everyone in the UK should taste the local wines from our isles - with each passing year it seems that every sip is a snapshot of quality on the rise".
A shortlist of three nominations was chosen by a panel of industry judges from EWP and UKVA. Also nominated were Oz Clarke, for his support and passion for English wines over many years, and Anthony Foster MW who has been closely involved in English wine through its annual national competition and regionally in East Anglia for many years.
The annual competition and awards ceremony are organised by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA). Also for the first time this year, the winners of the competition’s top two awards were announced: Winemaker of the Year, which was awarded to Ian Edwards of Furleigh Estate. This is the first time he has received this award, along with two trophies, four gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals. The Award for Wine of the Year was also announced – going to Chapel Down Bacchus Reserve 2010. Chapel Down’s winemaker, Andrew Parley received the award.
Olly Smith was invited as Guest Presenter at the Awards, and handed out the medal certificates and trophies to winning vineyards. He acknowledged the tremendous achievements of the winemakers, praising the ever increasing quality of the UK’s wines.
Commenting on the Awards and the day’s celebrations, Paul Langham, Chairman of UKVA said: “We are a growing industry with new wines and new personalities and this is reflected in the bigger event that we held to celebrate the awards. We were delighted to welcome Olly to present the awards – it created such a positive buzz.
“I’d particularly like to thank our sponsors for the awards lunch: Bucher Vaslin and their UK agents, N P Seymour and Amorim and their UK Agent Neville and More. This was a very positive industry event, allowing more vineyards to get together and celebrate the ongoing success of our industry and its wines.”
A full list of the awards in the English & Welsh Wine of the Year Awards 2012 is available on the EWP Website http://www.englishwineproducers.com/competitionresultsUKVA2012.htm
The English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year Award is sponsored by English Wine Producers, the marketing association for the UK wine industry and Dartington Glass (www.dartington.co.uk).
Photos of the event are available – please contact Julia Trustram Eve, English Wine Producers on tel: 01536 772264 or email julia@englishwineproducers.com
Further information about the competition and winners is available from Robert Cowley of UKVA on robertc@ukva.org.uk
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