Battle of the Wine Merchants

The first Norwich Festival culminated in an event on 1^st October at which local wine merchants went head-to-head for the titles of Best Red and Best White. Each merchant entered two bottles, each of which had to retail for less than £10.

Over fifty members of the public dropped in to the WinePress @ Wensum wine bar to sample the wines and vote on their favourite. Labels were covered to make sure that people weren’t swayed by preconceptions of different grapes or regions, and each bottle was numbered.

Aaaaand, drum-roll please, the winners were:

WHITES:

WINNER – Number 3: Naked Wines’ Sylvia Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

2^nd PLACE – Number 5: The Perfect Wine’s Lenotti Colli dei Tigli 2009 Bianco del Veneto

3^rd PLACE – Number 4: Virgin Wines’ Dom des Grands Presbyt`eres Muscadet sur lie 2009

REDS:

WINNER – Number 7: Naked Wines’ Chalk Hill Assemblage 2009

2^nd PLACE – Number 10: Virgin Wines’ Dom des Grands Presbytères Muscadet sur lie 2009

3^rd PLACE – Number 9: The Perfect Wine’s Chateau Haute Fontaine Tradition 2006 Corbières

Thank you to everyone who came along and voted! The wines can be found on the merchants’ websites.

The wines were revealed at the end of the evening – but for any early-comers who left before the announcement and are wondering which wines they voted for, the complete list of wines is :

WHITES:

1. Mellasat Vineyards: Chenin Blanc 2010

2. Premium Wine Collections

3. Naked Wines: Sylvia Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

4. Virgin Wines: Dom des Grands Presbyt`eres Muscadet sur lie 2009

5. The Perfect Wine: Lenotti Colli dei Tigli 2009 Bianco del Veneto

REDS:

6. Premium Wine Collections

7. Naked Wines: Chalk Hill Assemblage 2009

8. Mellasat Vineyards: Revelation 2009

9. The Perfect Wine: Chateau Haute Fontaine Tradition 2006 Corbières

10. Virgin Wines: Dom des Grands Presbytères Muscadet sur lie 2009