English Fizz is Named The Best in the World!

London’s Champagne and Sparkling Wine Awards took place in September with a host of international wine judges who blinded tasted their way through countless bottles of bubbly with the highest scoring being that of a small winery from Mayfield in Sussex. Yes, sometimes, it is not always the expected big names that win!

Each year ‘Glass of Bubbly’ recognises the best sparkling wines in the world via their awards with previous winners being mostly Champagne and Italian labels. Judges are looking at visual qualities of the wines along with aromas and flavours with each scored from 100 points.

Jonica from Fox & Fox and Susan from Paxton & Whitfield receiving the World’s Finest Glass of Bubbly trophy

The top scoring wine was The Paxton & Whitfield 2015 Brut Vintage with the winemaker being Jonica Fox who with her husband Gerard owns Fox & Fox winery in Mayfield, Sussex. Producing a little over 50,000 bottles a year since its formation in 2010, the winery already owns a list of gold medals for their wines with each year significant improvements to the wines they produce. This winning sparkling wine special edition label was in partnership with Paxton & Whitfield cheese stores who are the official supplier to HRH Elizabeth II with a royal warrant.

“This is not an unhealthy battle, instead this is a challenge among these professionals (winemakers) to deliver the greatest, to stand out from the crowd, to amass fellow professional acknowledgements, to surpass expectations and even to confuse itself with the senior greatest labels that have ever existed. You must work with and against mother nature, understand the expressions of your terroir and deliver your greatest blend, you have just one annual shot and you can not miss that moving target… The critics are many, lots unforgiving yet the quality is always recognised. The Glass of Bubbly awards puts these words to the test each year.” Christopher Walkey

Fox & Fox – Paxton & Whitfield 2015 – Tasting notes: