I’ll remember where I was standing when the result came through. You always hope. But hoping and hearing your wine named the best in the country are two very different things.
Cuvée Edition 3 NV has been crowned English Sparkling NV Trophy Winner at the 2026 International Wine Challenge, judged against hundreds of the UK’s most respected producers. It also took a Gold Medal and a score of 95 points. For everyone who has given years to this estate, that is a very good day.
Judged blind, on the wine alone
If you don’t know the International Wine Challenge, here is what makes it matter. Every bottle is tasted blind. Wines are assessed and reassessed by panels of experienced judges before a single medal is given, so the name on the label counts for nothing. The wine has to earn it on taste alone.
Here is what the judges wrote:
“Taut and focused with lively lemony fruit and subtle toasty depth. It’s complex and linear with real precision and acidity.”
Ninety-five points. And the trophy for the category.
What you’ll find in the glass
Cuvée Edition 3 is our flagship non-vintage sparkling, and it’s the one I most love pouring for first-time visitors. It’s built for precision rather than weight. Citrus at the front, a thread of toast underneath, and a line of acidity that holds it straight from first sip to last. It tastes like our corner of Sussex, which is the whole point.
A trophy in our tenth year
What really lands for me is the timing. This win arrives a decade after the first vines went into the ground at Foxbridge Farm. Ten years of frost mornings, anxious harvests and patient work, gathered up into one bottle.
Ben Ellis, who owns the estate, said it better than I could. “From the beginning, the ambition for Everflyht was to create sparkling wines that could stand confidently on the world stage whilst remaining deeply connected to the land they come from. Winning this trophy during our tenth anniversary year feels incredibly significant.”
And Luke Spalding, who looks after the vines, kept it about the work, as he always does.
“Cuvée Edition 3 NV is a true reflection of our vineyard practices, our values, and the meticulous work that goes into every stage of production.”
Come and taste it for yourself
I could talk about this wine all day. It’s better in your hand. Cuvée Edition 3 is available now, while this edition lasts, and there’s no better time to open one. If you’d rather taste it where it’s made, come and find us in the vines.
