A Winning Way With Wine

A Winning Way With Wine

Emma Rice, Head Winemaker at Hattingley Valley, has just won the title Winemaker of the Year from the UK Vineyards Association (UKVA).

This is a prestigious accolade which has helped to secure Hattingley Valley’s position among the top vineyards of England and Wales.

This award follows Hattingley Valley’s very first release, 2011 Sparkling Rosé, being awarded Gold in the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards, followed by Gold Awards for both 2011 Classic Cuvée and  2011 Sparkling Rosé in UKVA’s Wine of the Year Competition. It has also recently been announced that the 2011 Sparkling Rosé was awarded Gold and 2011 Classic Cuvée was awarded Silver in the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2014.

Such success is even more remarkable considering Hattingley Valley’s Chairman Simon Robinson only established the first vineyard, near Alresford, relatively recently in 2008.

Emma Rice commented: “Success with our first release is validation of Simon’s vision and everything we’ve been doing here.

“This is now a dynamic and vibrant industry with many opportunities for young winemakers; the future is bright for English wines and Hattingley Valley wines in particular. We are being highlighted more and more by the wine trade press as the place to look for high quality sparkling wine.

“We want to continue making award-winning wines that we are proud to call English and sell them not only to the domestic market, but take the message across the world. Hampshire in particular is the newest frontier in vineyard establishment and is seeing huge growth in volume as well as quality.”

Emma Rice celebrated her success with colleague Josh Foster, Olly Rouse, Head Chef of Lainston House, and county food group Hampshire Fare at the New Forest Show. Emma Rice attended the Show for a special session pairing Hattingley Valley’s wines with dishes created by Olly Rouse in the Cookery Demonstration Theatre.