Twenty-three own-label supermarket wines have won gold medals in the International Wine Challenge 2014.
Marks & Spencer topped the table for the second year running with six gold awards for its wines, including its own-label champagne and sherry. The retailer was awarded 138 gongs overall, including 50 silver and 82 bronze, out of a total 360 medals received by own-label offerings.
Waitrose was the champagne champion picking up three gold medals for its Blanc de Blancs Brut, Blanc de Noirs Brut and its 2004 Brut Special Reserve, while Sainsbury’s also impressed with its bubbly, winning gold for its 2013 Taste the Difference Conegliano Prosecco Superiore Brut. The two retailers took home four gold medals each.
Tesco impressed across a variety of styles, winning gold medals for three of its Tesco Finest tipples - Viña Mara Rioja Gran Reserva, its 2009 Dessert Semillon and its 2013 North Row Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.
Morrisons also took three gold medals – two for its sherries, while Aldi took two, including one for its Caversham Cream Sherry.
Asda received a single gold for its Koru Sauvignon Blanc 2012 from New Zealand.
Co-chairman of the IWC, Charles Metcalfe, said the calibre of wines from own-label had been “phenomenal” this year.
“Each year the quality of own-label wines gets better and better. Long gone are the days when you might be embarrassed to take an own-label wine to a dinner party,” he said.
The IWC is owned by William Reed Business Media, publisher of The Grocer.
Last year, the IWC changed its judging schedule to hold two tastings a year rather than one.
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