ABERGAVENNY’S Whitecastle Vineyard has carried off a top prize at the 2023 Welsh Wine Awards which took place at the iconic Llanerch Vineyard Hotel, Hensol.

The awards were sponsored by Vigo, a part of the Rawlings Group, and organised by the Welsh Vineyards Association (WVA) which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. There were 50 wines from across Wales, from 12 different vineyards, making this a record entry.

All 50 wines were sampled by a panel of expert judges, with the tasting divided into five different flights consisting of white and rosé sparkling, followed by rosé, white and red still wines. The judges were tremendously impressed by the quality, awarding a total of 20 bronzes, 26 silvers and 3 golds.

White Castle Vineyard’s Harry 2021 carried ofd the award for Best Still Red (sponsored by Food & Drink Wales).

Harry, was chosen as the best wine with PDO/PGI (an internationally recognised standard certifying its provenance and quality). This award was sponsored by inprint.org.uk. The same wine was also chosen as the Best Overall Wine (sponsored by John Buchan Agronomy Ltd), with Robb and Nicola Merchant from White Castle Vineyard being presented with the Thomas Davies Memorial trophy in recognition by Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths MS.

The Minister said: “A huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners at this year’s Welsh Wine Awards, and especially White Castle Vineyard on having the best overall wine for 2023.”