A prestigious new award, ‘Devon Wine of the Year’, has been launched by the Food Drink Devon Awards to celebrate the very best wine the county produces, from its plethora of high calibre vineyards and wineries.
Entries are open to all Devon-based producers, both members and non-members of the organisation, with entries closing on Monday April 22.
The winner of the inaugural ‘Devon Wine of the Year’ award will be announced at the glittering Food Drink Devon Awards’ ceremony on Monday October 7 at Sandy Park in Exeter.
Food Drink Devon board director and wine writer, Susy Atkins, says on the launch of the award: “English wine has become hugely exciting of late and we are lucky to have many excellent wineries here in Devon.
Through the award, we want to celebrate the best wine made in our county selected by our expert judges.
“To enter the award, wines must be made in Devon from at least 85 per cent Devon-grown grapes, but can be any colour, vintage or non-vintage, any varietal or blend, dry or sweet, still or sparkling.”
Judging is conducted blind with all product labels obscured and hospitality and retail judging taking place anonymously. After a rigorous and considered judging process, all results are verified by an independent adjudicator.
Categories for this year’s eminent awards include the 'Producer Awards' which also includes the ‘Food Product of the Year’, ‘Drink Product of the Year' and 'Best New Product of the Year'. 'Retail Awards' include categories for 'Best Retailer’ and ‘Best Online Retailer’, while the sought-after ‘Hospitality Awards’ cover ‘Chef of the Year’, ‘Best Fine Dining Restaurant’, ‘Best Restaurant’, ‘Best Hotel Restaurant’, ‘Best Pub’, ‘Best Café’ and ‘Best Takeaway or Street Food’, plus ‘Best Training School’ and the hugely popular, ‘Sustainability Pioneer Award’. In addition, every entrant will have the chance to win a silver, gold or platinum award. Platinum awards represent a perfect score of 100 per cent , gold awards recognise scores of 90-99 per cent and silver, 85-89 per cent.
To find out more and enter the awards visit www.fooddrinkdevon.co.uk/awards/