East Devon-based Lyme Bay Winery has won a plethora of medals from several nationally-recognised competitions in recent weeks.

The winery, based in Shute, near Axminster, took home gold Taste of the West 2023 medals for its Elderflower Wine, Blackbeer and Raisin Wine and Rhubarb Mead, as well as a silver for its Strawberry Wine, which was recently featured on Alan Titchmarch's ITV show Love Your Weekend.   

The annual Taste of the West Awards is the largest regional awards programme in the UK, which showcase the quality and diversity of food and drink producers, restaurants, hotels, and retailers in the South West, from the farthest tip of Cornwall, through Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. 

In addition, Lyme Bay Winery's Lugger Golden Rum, produced under the Jack Ratt brand along with the Mead, was the outright winner of the People's Choice Spirits Awards for the 'On the Rocks' rum category.

The Lugger Golden Rum also took home a silver medal in the 2023 London Spirits Competition, with judges' comments stating: "A gold rum with flavors and aromas of caramel, banana, vanilla and oak on nose and palate with smooth elegant finish."

Lyme Bay Winery was also delighted that the sister competition, London Wine Competition, awarded its recently released Chardonnay 2021 with a gold prize, with judges describing the wine as: "Clear, star bright, pale straw colour. Nose is clean, intense, and youthful, notes of lemon, lime, acacia, buttery, smoky and almond. Palate is fresh, balanced, medium complex and medium finish." 

Commenting on the award, James Lambert, managing director at Lyme Bay Winery, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved award recognition across a number of our core product lines.

"We have a diverse portfolio, and these awards recognise the quality and high standards we continually strive to achieve across all products."