A new Hampshire vineyard business has recently launched with the release of their first ever English sparkling wines, and the announcement of a competition win the very same day.

Longdown Vineyard is an independent, family run business based in Twyford, Winchester with two sites – established vines in Bishops Waltham where they work in collaboration with Northbrook Vineyard, and a newly planted vineyard in Twyford. A duo of English sparkling wines, featuring a white and a rosé, are now available.

Both wines, produced by Northbrook Vineyard and sold to Longdown for own label  have already won an award in the 10th Anniversary year of the Independent English Wine Awards (IEWA), with the largest ever number of entries. Judging took place with an experienced panel of wine pros who assessed all wine blind. The Longdown English Sparkling White took a Gold medal and received the IEWA26 Best English Sparkling White accolade. The Longdown English Sparkling Rosé took a Bronze medal.

Louise Papworth, Longdown co-founder, expressed her surprise and delight at the news:

“We have been working very hard since establishing our relationship with Northbrook, to get our first ever English Sparkling wines ready to launch and it’s been quite a journey. To get to the point where we can finally share them with the public is amazing. To get news of the IEWA26 awards on the same day, including a top award, is really fantastic. We are proud to say we only make wine we want to drink and it’s incredibly rewarding to have affirmation of the quality we have worked so hard to achieve. We have a lot of other wines to make and exciting new plans in the offing. We really are delighted and can’t wait to share more as we continue the Longdown journey.”

The award winning Longdown English Sparkling White 2022 carries hints of green apple with a toasty richness and is perfect for any occasion. The Longdown English Sparkling Rosé 2022 is a beautiful pale sunset pink, bursting with summer fruit flavours and is perfect served with sunshine. Both are made in the traditional method.

With new wines to taste and lots of exciting new ideas bubbling away in the background, Longdown Vineyard is definitely one to watch. To order your bottles and to find out more, visit the website.