Excitement in London Last Night as Chinese Wine Wins International Trophy at Decanter World Wine Awards 2011

LONDON, September 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Royal Opera House played host to the Decanter World Wine Awards last night with some extraordinary wines winning top awards.

Chinese version: http://www.prnasia.com/pr/2011/09/08/110879521.shtml
English version: http://en.prnasia.com/pr/2011/09/08/110879511.shtml

The most surprising win was the He Lan Qing Xue from China winning the International Trophy for the Red Bordeaux Varietal over £10 - beating Bordeaux blends from around the world, including Argentina, USA, Australia, and Bordeaux itself. The category is open to any region that produces a Bordeaux varietal grape and this blend included Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. This winemaking region of Ningxia has been rapidly improving in past years, so the judges were delighted to award this wine with the top accolade.

'China is not traditionally known for its wines so it was with great surprise and pleasure that we found this delightful blend. The producer was trained in the famous French wine region of Bordeaux so his experience is very credible,' said Steven Spurrier, Chairman of the awards. 'This is what the awards are about - finding hidden gems and putting them on the map.'

Mr Demei Li from He Lan Qing Xue commented 'This is an amazing win for us and the Chinese wine industry. We can't believe we won the International Trophy from the most reputable and most trusted wine competition in the world- this is sure to boost our own wine sales and encourage more wine production in China!'

The rest of the winemaking world was also in good form last night with a total of 25 International Trophies being awarded.

Argentina cemented its position as a top wine producing country by winning the most international trophies out of any other country with a very credible 6 trophies. New Zealand and Australia weren't far behind scooping 3 and 2 trophies respectively indicating that these countries are improving every year. Old World Wine producers also did well with France and Portugal both winning 3 trophies a piece.

'Our awards are really about bringing quality wines to consumers,' says Sarah Kemp, Publishing Director for Decanter. 'This year's awards saw 9 wines under £10 win International Trophies including a Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay from Burgundy and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - proving that quality wines don't need to break the bank!.'

For a full list of the award winning wines and tastings being held, please go online to http://www.Decanter.com/dwwa or contact Katie Siegel T: +44(0)207-471-8730, [email protected]

http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/presscentre

SOURCE Decanter