The Taste of Dorset Awards has garnered a reputation for being one of the most iconic events in the local calendar with the food and drink community coming together to celebrate the area’s best and most innovative companies, pubs and restaurants.
To add to its prestige, this year’s awards will see the introduction of an exciting new category - Best Vineyard or Distillery. The new award has been created by legal firm Blanchards Bailey and Blackmore Vale Magazine, which runs the Taste of Dorset Awards, to showcase the best the region has to offer from its glorious array of producers – many of which distribute their popular products across the country and abroad.
Candidates need to submit products for tasting and will also be assessed on criteria such as production methods, branding and innovation. The winning entry must prove it has the best spirit or wine cultivated primarily from ingredients sourced in Dorset. All entries must be bottled in Dorset and will be judged by representatives from Blanchards Bailey and the Taste of Dorset Awards.
Sarah Heath, Principal and Head of Commercial Services at Blanchards Bailey, said: “Our aim for this new award category is to highlight a sector of business that competes on a national level. Dorset’s distillery and vineyards distribute throughout the UK and export internationally, with many having developed products that are appreciated and known by millions.”
She added: “We want to show our support for the people that make these businesses so successful and are proud to be sponsoring this award in its inaugural year.”
From the first event in 2008, the awards have showcased a wide range of food and drink producers – from the big guns with nationally recognised brands such as Fudge’s Bakery, Honeybuns and Badger Beer to the smallest of micro-breweries and kitchen-table preserve makers.
The awards have also shone a spotlight on the area’s finest chefs, restaurants, pubs, markets and retail outlets.
Entries for the new category are now open, with the awards ceremony taking place on 7 November at George Albert Hotel in Evershot, near Dorchester, where there will be a huge gala presentation evening to celebrate the winners.
