Rude Wines celebrates wine award results

It’s the only wine competition that lets the wine-drinking public have a say in which wines win. Now in its second year, the People’s Choice Wine Awards has just released the finalists for 2019. Ordinary wine sippers and seasoned professionals have chosen the contenders from 22 categories.

Striking a chord with the trade and consumer alike, competition was stiff this year with three times the number of wine companies submitting entries, from the big supermarkets to wineries themselves.

But it’s the way the competition is run that really stands out. For each wine, the judges must answer the question “would you buy it yourself?”, trying to get to the nitty-gritty of what the UK’s wine consumers will really enjoy drinking.

So it’s no wonder they’re celebrating at Ledbury-based online retailer Rude Wines. They entered wines into nine categories and have been shortlisted for five of them. And they cover sparkling, white, rosé and red wines, showing Rude’s range is hitting the spot across the wine spectrum.

Their own Rude Reserve Prosecco is a finalist in the Fabulous Fizz: best sparkling wines rest of the world category. The only Prosecco to make the finals.

In the Food friendly red wines for light meals section, Albert Bichot Côteaux Bourguinons is up against competition from The Wine Society and Australian producer Wakefield.

Rude clearly know their stuff when it comes to wines with food, with Michel Fonne’s Riesling Tradition finalist in the Food friendly white wines for meals with sauces. Up against the big boys Concha Y Toro and Treasury Wine Estates, theirs is the only European wine in the finals.

They know how to party too, with Portugal’s Escada Touriga Nacional chosen in the Party Central section, competing against 19 Crimes and Most Wanted.

And, Rude are tickled pink that Domaine de Pellehaut’s Family Réserve Rosé has made it through in the War of the Roses group. It’ll battle it out with Graham Norton’s Own Pink, Concha Y Toro, and Domaine of the Bee.

Rude Wines MD, Deborah Guest, puts the success down to their focus on finding wines that are a notch up from the usual high street choices. “When we started out six years ago, it was because we wanted to find great wines and make them available to everyone. The idea was always to be a bit suggestive, nudging people to drink better. It’s a big pat on the back to see so many of our wines reach the finals. They’re all wines we’ve gone out and found ourselves, shipping them to the UK.”

The People’s Choice Wine Awards will reveal the ultimate winners at a ceremony in Manchester in February 2019.