THE team at an ever-popular local vineyard are toasting their success after scooping a prestigious Gold Medal in the annual ‘Wines of Great Britain’ awards this month.

Three Choirs Vineyard in Newent was awarded one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals for its wines in the awards, which celebrates the best wine makers across England and Wales.

It also saw two other wines it produced for other vineyards win Gold in the awards.

Three Choirs, located at Baldwins Farm on the outskirts of Newent, dates back to the early 1970s when a local retailer planted the first vines.

The family-run business prides itself on being “one of England’s oldest vineyards”.

They have won multiple awards for their wines over the years and can now add four more top accolades to the list.

The WineGB Gold honour went to its Blanc de Noirs 2016; the Silver was awarded for its Bacchus 2022; and two Bronze medals were given for its Siegerrebe 2021 and Classic Cuvée NV.

Winemaking director Martin Fowke commented: “We are delighted for ourselves and two other vineyards White Castle (in Llanvetherine) and Whitehall (based in Wiltshire) who we also produced gold winning wines for that were entered into the WineGB awards.”

The White Castle gold-winning wine was Pinot Noir Reserve 2021, and Whitehall’s is called Whitehall Sparkling Rosé 2019.

There were more WineGB wins in the local area for Woodchester Valley in Stroud and Castle Brook in Ross-on- Wye, which picked up two Gold medals.

Planted in 1973 by local retailer Alan McKechnie and boosted by the record temperatures of the summer of 1976, the expanding Three Choirs got its name when it was sold in 1984 to John Oldacre, who had links to Newent’s Three Choirs Festival.

John passed away in 2001, but the company remains largely in the hands of his family.

The vineyard now boasts a state-of-the-art winery and visitor centre, a restaurant, rooms and lodges for visitors to stay on site.