UK's youngest winegrower, 20, wins gold award for East Sussex wine

The sparkling wine, produced by 20-year-old Ashton Kirby, has been awarded a Gold medal at the Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) Awards.

Ashton’s Bewl Water Vineyard in East Sussex received Gold for its Reserve Cuvée 2018, a traditional method English sparkling wine that blends Pinot Noir grapes grown on the slopes of Bewl Water Reservoir with a local Chardonay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir mix.

The wine now moves forward in the competition, becoming a nominee for the overall Cuvée trophy at the WineGB Awards ceremony in London on July 7.

Ashton, from Brigthon, became the youngest winegrower in the UK after finishing college during the Covid-19 pandemic and taking over an old, non-commercial vineyard near Wadhurst.

Just two years on, the vineyard now produces a range of red, white and sparkling English wines and Ashton regularly runs wine tastings at a number of venues, including Soho House.

Ashton said: “It’s mad to think that two years ago I was about to leave college with no real clue what to do with my life, and now I’m running a gold medal winning business. To get this recognition from the national body for English wine is a huge moment for us.

“I’m incredibly lucky to have some amazing people in my life who have cheered us on and helped get the vineyard to where it is today, and this award is theirs as much as it is mine.”

WineGB is the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry. At this year’s awards, more than 100 wine producers entered from more than 27 counties.