Glass of Bubbly Awards 2025 Category Trophy Winning Wines

Each Champagne and Sparkling Wine that enters the Glass of Bubbly Awards is judged blind by a panel of international judges. After its initial scoring to see if it wins a medal, the judges then taste again and place it in the most relevant consumer-friendly category. These are then scored for how well they fit that category, with the highest scoring winning the trophy. The judges often comment to us about how much fun this part of the judging is and there are always lots of interesting discussions going on around the table!

Michael Edwards, our Honorary Judge who sadly passed away this year, said: “I simply love the idea of categorising award winning wines in easy to understand descriptive names such as Sea Breeze and Fruity and Floral, this is a whole new way of judging wines.”

Here are the Category Trophy Winners for 2025

Classic & Elegant
A wine showing a timeless, refined and luxurious quality.

Winner – Champagne Mangin et Fils – Au Fil du Temps 2020 – France

Judges Tasting Notes – Biscuit, brioche and butter aromas. Elegant wine with digestive biscuit and almond croissant notes alongside ripe apple, red fruit and a touch of spice.

Creamy
A soft rounded wine that gives you a buttery/creamy experience of aromas and/or flavours.

Winner – Champagne Canard-Duchêne – Rosé Essentiel – France

Judges Tasting Notes – Pale salmon-pink in colour. Delicate creamy aromas. Flavours of brioche, cranberry, pomegranate, red cherry, strawberry, creamy Danish pastry and candied fruit.

Dessert
A stand out sweeter tasting wine that will pair well with most dessert dishes.

Winner – Silverhand Estate – Silver Reign Rosé – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Vibrant strawberries and red berries with floral notes and a hint of cherry blossom.

First Date
The perfect wine to accompany that first date. Nothing too complex and not necessarily a wine that needs to pair with exact foods.

Winner –  Casa Gheller – Prosecco DOC Treviso Brut – Italy

Judges Tasting Notes – Light, delicate floral aromas with gentle apple and elderflower. Really fresh, crisp apple on the palate with peaches and cream – an excellent example of the style.

Forget Me Not
A wine with a unique taste. There’s something very different about this wine making it stand out.

Winner – Haskap – Royal Haskap – Slovenia

Judges Tasting Notes – Deep ruby-purple in colour. Lots of blackberry and cherry fruit with herbal and pepper notes. Really interesting!

Gastronomic
A complex wine that holds enough body to accompany fine cuisine.

Winner – Champagne Sanger – Terroir Natal –  France

Judges Tasting Notes – Toasty nose with hints of lemon blossom, tangerine, apples, pears and fresh bread. Crunchy fruit and yellow plums with notes of herbs and minerals, which develop into croissant and brioche on the palate. Very rich with layers of pastry and cream and quite a buttery finish. A beautifully complex wine to pair with food.

Herbal Gardens
A wine that will have a herbaceous character from herbs to freshly cut grass.

Winner – Frome Valley – Paunton Sparkling 2015 – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Delicate pink hue. Herbaceous and aromatic. Savoury herbal flavour with red berries and a smoky overlay with an earthy note.

Hint of Spice
This wine will show characteristics of seed, fruit, root, bark or other plant spices from sweet to heated.

Winner – Posestvo Dvor – Penina Dvor RR – Slovenia

Judges Tasting Notes – Spice aromas and flavours with notes of mineral and candied lemon peel.

Light & Fruity
A light and easy to drink wine with expressive fruity flavours.

Winner – Adgestone Wine – Sparkling Red – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Lovely red colour. Beautifully fruity wine, full of red berries and cherry.

Meditation
An addictive wine for those special relaxing times. This wine will express itself more and more the longer it is opened and the longer it stays in your glass. Ideal for those special relaxing times.

Winner – Birchden Vineyards – The Charmed Finch BdN 2021 – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Relax and take your time over this glass. The aromas open up more and more as it reaches room temperature, enjoy light white fruits to tomato leaves, damp hay to roasted red berries. Flavours are crisp and clean, zesty style initially with a chalky grapefruit showing, which mellows. 

Oaky & Toasty
This wine will express a smoky, toasty and/or oaky style character.

Winner – Hunter’s – MiruMiru Reserve 2020 – New Zealand

Judges Tasting Notes – Beautiful oaky and toasty aroma with biscuit and hints of hazelnut. Complex layers of toast, brioche with nuts and a hint of citrus, peach and apple.

Pastries Delight
A wine showing a yeasty, brioche, nutty character.

Winner – Pere Ventura – Tresor Anniversary Gran Reserva 2020 – Spain

Judges Tasting Notes – Touch of brioche and chocolate on the nose. Full palate with butter, hazelnut praline, yellow fruits, apple, toast, brioche, nuts with chocolate notes and a long layered finish.

Sea Breeze
This wine will show a salty sea spray tasting experience just as if you were standing on the beach and admiring the waves.

Winner – Dropmore Vineyard – Classic Cuvée Brut 2021 – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Gentle orchard fruits in aroma. Salty, mineral character with white floral notes. A tangy finish.

Spring Fling
A floral driven wine that expresses flowers from cherry blossom to rose petals. Imagine yourself walking in to your local florist.

Winner – Steininger – Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Sekt 2023 – Austria

Judges Tasting Notes – Dried redcurrants, ripe red cherry and floral notes on the nose. Full of flavour: floral, almonds, macadamia nuts, orange zest, raspberry, apple and strawberries. A wonderfully versatile wine.

Summer Days
A refreshing and crisp tasting experience likely to be red berry driven. Ideal for those moments spent enjoying the sun.

Winner – Champagne Henriot – Rosé – France

Judges Tasting Notes – Pale salmon-pink in colour. Creamy palate with strawberries and cream, brioche and caramel notes, dried cranberry, dried cherry with a peanut nuance and Summer herbs, sage and rosemary.

Tropical Burst
A wine which shows a touch of tropical fruit character such as pineapple, banana and mango.

Winner – Shebo Winery – Sekt Pálffy Extra Dry L 654 – Slovakia

Judges Tasting Notes – Fresh vibrant aromas of pineapple, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit and apricot. Rich on the palate with tropical sweetness and lemon curd, then apricot lingers on the finish.

Winter Warmer
This wine will be of a fuller flavoured character. Perfect for a winter’s evening sat in front of the fire.

Winner – Lumière – Blanc de Noirs 2020 – Japan

Judges Tasting Notes – Daisy and florals on the nose with a touch of marmalade and orange rind. Rich apricot fruit on the palate with honey, walnuts and almonds finishing with ginger spice. Really long finish that keeps going, Ginger nuts in a glass. A unique example of a sparkling wine.

Zesty & Zingy
A wine that will be citrus flavoured with a definite zing to it.

Winner – Plumpton Estate – Charmat – England

Judges Tasting Notes – Green apple, white peach, lemon, lime and melon on the nose. Lemony and zesty on the palate with a persistent mousse. A touch of salinity, citrus and yellow apple with notes of delicate bread, lime zest and tangerine.