The awards, which are judged by selected sommeliers (wine waiters) saw over 1850 entries, of which only 176 were awarded a coveted Gold medal.  Biddenden’s Gribble Bridge Ortega is the first and only still English still wine to have been awarded Gold in the competition. 

Biddenden Vineyard’s Marketing Manager, Vikki Wright, commented “We are very pleased to have been awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s Sommelier wine awards – something which reflects the hard work & effort which has been put into ensuring that our wines are consistently of the highest quality.  To stand out against such a wide selection of wines across an international stage is something we are very proud of”. 

The award winning wine, Gribble Bridge Ortega 2010 is available direct from the vineyard shop, online at www.biddendenvineyards.com and from selected independent farm shops, pubs and restaurants across Kent, Sussex and London.

Cheesemakers of Canterbury, based in Dargate, near Faversham, home to Ashmore cheese and Kelly’s goats cheese as well as the recent Taste of Kent award winner Canterbury Cobble http://www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk/index.html

Kingcott Cheeses, based at Iden Manor Farm, Staplehurst, producing blue cheeses from their own herd of Friesan cows.  Taste ofKent award winner for Kentish Bluebell. http://www.kentishblue.co.uk/index_page.html

Winterdale Cheesemakers, Wrotham, run by the Betts Family and producers of Winterdale Shaw – Gold medal winner at the world cheese awards. http://www.winterdale.co.uk/

Silcocks, St.Michaels, producing organic cheeses from their own small dairy herd. http://www.silcocksfarm-organics.co.uk/

Ellie’s Dairy, based on the North Downs producing goats cheese from their own pedigree herd of goats.  http://elliesdairy.blogspot.co.uk/

High Weald Dairy, a family run dairy based inWest Sussex, recently awarded Sussex Food Producer of the Year. http://www.highwealddairy.co.uk/

The cheeses accompany the vineyard’s estate grown wines, Kentish ciders and farm pressed juices, along with a wide range of locally produced jams, chutneys, sauces, beers and more stocked within the shop.

Biddenden’s Ortega 2010, a medium, fruity white wine, and Gribble Bridge Dornfelder 2009 have both been chosen for the wine list for the pop-up restaurant, ‘Great Taste at the Cadogan’ which is currently being hosted at the Cadogan restaurant in London.  Further information can be found at http://www.cadogan.com/restaurant.html 

The show is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2dfq until Thursday 15th March to listen again for anyone who missed it.

The awards, which are initially voted for by the public, and then go through to a panel of judges for the final taste test are highly regarded across the county, and used as the bench mark for establishing the best food and drink products made in Kent.

Biddenden Vineyard’s Managing Director,Julian Barnes, commented “We are over the moon to have been awarded a Taste of Kent Award once again.  We feel this shows the great support we have from our customers, and also reflects the hard work which we put into ensuring that our wines, ciders and juices are consistently of the highest quality.  We would like to thank everyone who voted for us in this year’s awards – without which we would not have made it through to the final.”

The award winning wine, Biddenden Ortega 2010 is available direct from the vineyard shop, online at www.biddendenvineyards.com and from selected independent farm shops, pubs and restaurants acrossKent,SussexandLondon.

The duo visited the vineyard and helped out with jobs around the farm, including leaf stripping in the vineyard and helping out with the bottling of sparkling wine in the winery.  In return for their work, they were rewarded by having a wine tasting with Biddenden vineyard’s owner and wine maker,Julian Barnes, along with bottles of wine to accompany their evening meal.

In the evening, Dick and James laid on a meal aboard their boat, the Amelie Rose, for all of the producers whom they had visited during the day, using the produce they had worked for.

 The programme, ‘The Hungry Sailors’ aired on ITV on Tuesday 7^th February and is available on the ITV player for a limited time.

 Below: Dick & James Strawbridge with vineyard owner Julian Barnes

Biddenden’s Ortega white wine, strong Kentish cider and farm pressed apple juice have all reached the final three in their respective categories, which are voted for by the public and will now go on to be tasted by a judging panel.

The winners will be announced at the awards dinner on Friday 2nd March 2012.

The Taste of Kent awards are run by Produced in Kent a membership organisation dedicated to championing local food, drink, products and services in Kent.  For more information please visit their website.

To view a full list of this year’s finalists, please click here.

 Below, Julian Barnes collects the award for ‘Best Kentish Cider’ at last year’s Taste of Kent awards

The tour, “Beers, Wines, Brewery and Vines” combines tours of the two attractions, creating an exciting day out for any wine or beer enthusiast.  Start at Shepherd Neame brewery for a guided tour around the brewery, followed by beer tastings and a meal in the Visitor Centre bar.  After a short journey through the Kentish countryside arrive at Biddenden Vineyards where you will be taken on a guided tour of the vineyard and winery, with tastings of the award winning wines and ciders in the vineyard shop.  A Kentish cream tea is then served in the shop to complete your visit.

This tour joins the vineyard’s other joint tours, including Vines, Wines & Railway Lines with the Kent & East Sussex Railway, Oasts & Toasts with the Hop Farm, Narrow Lines & Wines with Romney Hythe & Dymchurch railway, Lake & Grape with Bewl Water, Garden Delights & Vineyards Sights with Pashley Manor Gardens and Kentish Cheese & Wine with Winterdale Cheesemakers.

Full details of our group tours and joint tours can be found by clicking here or by contacting us on 01580 291726 to request a copy of our Group visit leaflet.