LONDON, September 8 - The Royal Opera House played host to the Decanter World Wine Awards last
night with some extraordinary wines winning top awards.
The most surprising win was the He Lan Qing Xue from China winning the
International Trophy for the Red Bordeaux Varietal over GBP10 - beating
Bordeaux blends from around the world, including Argentina, USA, Australia,
and Bordeaux itself. The category is open to any region that produces a
Bordeaux varietal grape and this blend included Cabernet Sauvignon and
Merlot grapes. This winemaking region of Ningxia has been rapidly improving
in past years, so the judges were delighted to award this wine with the top
accolade.
'China is not traditionally known for its wines so it was with great
surprise and pleasure that we found this delightful blend. The producer was
trained in the famous French wine region of Bordeaux so his experience is
very credible,' said Steven Spurrier, Chairman of the awards. 'This is what
the awards are about - finding hidden gems and putting them on the map.'
Mr Demei Li from He Lan Qing Xue commented 'This is an amazing win for
us and the Chinese wine industry. We can't believe we won the International
Trophy from the most reputable and most trusted wine competition in the
world- this is sure to boost our own wine sales and encourage more wine
production in China!'
The rest of the winemaking world was also in good form last night with a
total of 25 International Trophies being awarded.
Argentina cemented its position as a top wine producing country by
winning the most international trophies out of any other country with a very
credible 6 trophies. New Zealand and Australia weren't far behind scooping 3
and 2 trophies respectively indicating that these countries are improving
every year. Old World Wine producers also did well with France and Portugal
both winning 3 trophies a piece.
'Our awards are really about bringing quality wines to consumers,' says
Sarah Kemp, Publishing Director for Decanter. 'This year's awards saw 9
wines under GBP10 win International Trophies including a Macon-Villages
Chardonnay from Burgundy and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - proving that
quality wines don't need to break the bank!.'
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