International Wine Challenge announces awards for Great Value wines  Add/Read Comments

Illustrating that access to fine wines is not just the preserve of the rich and famous, Tim Atkin MW, Sam Harrop MW, Charles Metcalfe, Derek Smedley MW and Michael Fridjhon, co-chairmen of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), reveal their Great Value Awards for wines that represent exceptional value for money.

Supermarkets dominate the awards with nine out of the ten winners available on the shelves of major chains. This compares to only four of last year’s ten Great Value winners. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons lead the pack, each stocking three IWC Great Value Award winning wines apiece. Sainsbury’s own-label Taste the Difference 12 year old Oloroso Sherry wins an award as does a sparkling wine exclusive to Waitrose, Boutinot Première Brut Montlouis 2002, which picks up a Great Value Award for a second successive year.

The Winners:

• Great Value fortified wine
  (between £5 & £10) - Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 12 year old Oloroso Sherry £6.99
  (between £10 & £15) - Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001 £9.26
  available from Oddbins, Sainsbury Supermarkets Ltd, Somerfield Stores Ltd,, Tesco Asda Stores Ltd and Bibendum
  
• Great Value red wine
  (under £5) - Casa Girelli Canaletto Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC 2005 £4.99
  available from Hall & Woodhouse, Justerini & Brooks and Sainsbury
  (between £5 & £10) - Tim Adams The Fergus 2004 £9.99
  available from Tesco Stores Ltd and Laithwaites
  
• Great Value rosé wine
  (under £5) – La Riojana Co-operative, Slinky Pink 2006 £3.99
  
• Great Value sparkling wine
  (between £5 & £10) – Boutinot Première Brut Montlouis 2002 £8.99
  Available from Booths
  (between £10 & £15) - P&C Heidsieck Bredon Brut Champagne NV £14.99
  Available from Waitrose
  
• Great Value sweet wine
  (between £5 & £10) - Brown Brothers Late Harvested Muscat 2006 £5.99
  Available from Jacksons Stores Ltd, Londis, Morrison Supermarkets, Noble Rot Wine Warehouses Ltd, Peckham's, Sainsbury Supermarkets Ltd, SH Jones & Company, Somerfield Stores Ltd, Spar (UK) Ltd, Tesco, Asda Stores Ltd, Bells Stores, Booths Supermarkets, Costcutter and Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd
  
• Great Value white wine
  (under £5) - Andean Vineyards Casa Bonita Chenin Blanc 2006 £2.99
  Available from Morrisons
  (between £5 & £10) – Settesoli Mandra Rossa Fiano 2006 £6.99
  Available from SWIG, Valvona & Crolla, Chandos Del and Flagship Wines
  

We have wines here from seven different countries, and not a whiff of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz. Instead, we see an eclectic selection; dry whites made from Chenin Blanc and Fiano, reds from Grenache and Montepulciano, a rosé made from Malbec, a sparkling Chenin and a sweet Muscat. All of them Gold or Silver medallists, and all refreshingly inexpensive. Who said the wine world was drowning in a flood of dodgy Chardonnay?

To be considered for an IWC Great Value Award, a wine had to have received either a Gold or Silver medal at this year’s challenge for which 9,358 wines were entered. Additionally, the wine had to have an average UK retail price of less than £20 (fortified and sparkling) or £15 (all other categories). For each category of wine (still white, sweet, sparkling, etc.) an award was available in each price bracket. However, a Great Value Award was only presented in a given price bracket if the judges felt that a wine in that price range demonstrated exceptional value for money - hence only one award for a rosé, for example.