Gusbourne wins English wine award after bumper harvest

Kent-based winemaker Gusbourne announced on Thursday that it has been awarded the IWSC 'English Wine Producer of the Year' accolade, for the third time in the past five years.

The AIM-traded firm described the International Wine & Spirit Competition as “setting the benchmark” for international wine competitions.

Entries were received from almost 90 countries, with each wine judged at a permanent onsite cellar by more than 400 global experts judging products for seven months of the year.

The IWSC 2017 trophy award for best English producer followed the IWSC 2017 medal awards, which saw Gusbourne receiving two gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

Gusbourne also confirmed that its 2017 harvest was now complete, and had been the most successful harvest to date in terms of quality, with a yield that exceeded expectations.

It said an early start to the year resulted in the earliest ever harvest in Gusbourne's history.

As a result, grapes were able to benefit from full ripeness with optimum levels of both natural sugar and acidity.

Additionally, a warm and dry summer resulted in “significantly higher” yields than anticipated.

Despite widespread frost at the start of the season affecting vineyards across Europe, Gusbourne said the vast majority of its vineyards were unaffected.

That was said to be a result of “careful” site selection, vineyard management and a planned investment in advanced frost protection measures.

“We are extremely excited by the quality of the 2017 harvest which has proved an excellent year for grape growing and winemaking,” said chairman Andrew Weeber.

“Our dedicated team have produced an excellent crop that will add to our inventories of premium sparkling wine as we continue to grow our business.”