Devon’s Lyme Bay Winery has made history at the 2025 International Wine Challenge (IWC), becoming the first English producer to win the IWC National Trophies for the best English White Wine and best English Red Wine in the same year! The winery didn’t stop there, also winning the IWC Varietal Trophies for the same two wines. This remarkable triumph not only cements Lyme Bay Winery’s status as a leading light in English winemaking, but also highlights its unwavering ambition to craft world-class still wines from some of the country’s finest vineyards.
The IWC Trophies went to Lyme Bay Winery’s Martin Lane Chardonnay 2020 and Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir 2021.
Comments from the IWC judges included that The Pinot Noir has “Beautiful aromatics of autumn leaves, ripe cherries, dried herbs, and iodine. The palate reveals ripe strawberry and cranberry, with appealing spicy details. A complex, textured finish completes this elegant wine.”
The Martins Lane Chardonnay judges’ notes expressed “Burgundy eat your heart out! Spry, toasty oak with ripe peach, melon, and apples. Wholesome fresh dry flavours of wet stones, citrus zest and a long, lingering finish. Harmonious and expressive.”
“Our direction is icon level,” commented Clem Yates MW, Lyme Bay Winery’s recently appointed winemaker consultant. “These awards reflect the exceptional work of our team, our growers, and the belief that English still wines can sit on the world stage.”
Operating from Axminster in Devon, Lyme Bay Winery has long term relationships with growers and vineyards in regions including Essex, Kent, Herefordshire, Devon, and Oxfordshire. The award-winning Chardonnay hails from a single parcel in Martin’s Lane, Crouch Valley – a region Clem describes as “the best in the UK for still wines”. The Pinot Noir is a blend of five carefully selected parcels from Essex.
“This is a massive accolade to the wineries vision,” commented Operations Director Wolf Sieg-Hogg “The entire team has worked tirelessly to get here. It’s a huge moment for us – and for English still wine.”
As the industry continues to define what “English still wine” truly means, in an interview with the IWC team earlier this week, Clem Yates explained Lyme Bay’s aspiration is clear “We’re not chasing Burgundy—we’re chasing excellence. Over time, a uniquely English style will emerge. But for now, our goal is simple: to make the best wine we possibly can from the best fruit in the country.”
With four IWC Trophies in hand and a growing reputation as a still wine powerhouse, Lyme Bay Winery has firmly placed itself at the forefront of English winemaking’s next chapter.
Wolf Sieg-Hogg concluded. “I am absolutely thrilled for the team to have achieved such incredible recognition through this global competition for our still wines and cellar door. We strive to make the best wines from the best grapes from the best vineyards and to do this it is an absolute team effort. Credit and thanks must go to our full team, our growers across the South of the UK and especially to our vineyard manager Duncan McNeil. Our commitment is to quality and growth and we are very excited for the future of English still wines! “
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