TWO Dorset wineries have scooped eight medals between them at the WineGB Awards.

The Langham Wine Estate near Dorchester was the biggest winner with five award winning wines while Bride Valley Vineyard at Litton Cheney won three medals.

The annual WineGB Awards saw producers from almost every county in England and Wales being awarded medals.

This year saw a record number of entries, with more than 100 producers entering, 11 of these for the first time.

Langham Wine Estate was award five medals in the sparkling – classic method category. Gold for its ‘Blanc de Blancs 2018’, silver for ‘Culver Classic Cuvée NV’ and bronze for ‘Pinot Meunier 2018’, ‘Corallion Classic Cuvée NV’ and its ‘Rosé NV’.

Fiona Wright, of marketing and sales at the estate said:“We’re delighted that our Blanc de Blancs has been awarded a gold medal at this year’s WineGB Awards.

"A style that we have become known for, Langham Blanc de Blancs is a showcase of the exceptional quality Chardonnay that is grown in our single site vineyard. With the winery situated just metres from the vineyard, our hand-harvested grapes get to the winery in the very best condition. The distinctive and complex Langham style is shaped by our use of indigenous yeasts for the first ferment, along with blends made from carefully selected parcels of wine from both oak and stainless steel fermentation.”

Bride Valley Vineyard Ltd was the other regional winner with three of its wines being awarded medals. Again in the sparkling – classic method category, Bride Valley picked up a gold for its ‘Blanc de Bancs 2018’ as well as two silvers for ‘Dorset Cremant NV’ and ‘Rosé Bella 2018’.

The vineyard's Bella Spurrier said: "We're thrilled at Bride Valley Vineyard to receive a gold medal for our Blanc de Blancs 2018, particularly given both the number and calibre of other entries.

"This fine, elegant wine is Bride Valley's signature sparkling and we know Steven (Spurrier) would have been justifiably proud to see its success."

All the gold medal winning sparkling wines were from classic varieties (chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier), with both large and small wineries being successful.

Some 48 per cent of the medals were awarded for sparkling wines while 52 per cent were awarded for still wine and almost every county in England and Wales was represented.

Sussex and Kent dominated the medal tables with 61 and 60 medals respectively; but Dorset punched above its weight, in joint 11th place along with Essex for receiving eight medals.

Co-chairman of the judges Susie Barrie said: “We were absolutely thrilled with the quality of the whole range of wines that we tasted this year.

"There were some fabulous wines in both still and sparkling style categories, which shows just how exciting and dynamic the UK now is as a wine region. What’s terrific is that the wins come from both the largest producers and some of the smallest, and from long established to newcomers.

"We’ve also awarded medals to wines from every region in the country, showing the scope of styles and grape varieties. Huge congratulations to all the medal winners!”

The Trophy winners will be announced at the WineGB Awards ceremony on July 15 in London.