Cornwall Takes the Gold for Wine

Bob Lindo of Camel Valley spent 20 years cultivating his victorious vineyards in Cornwall.

He's just won the UK's first ever gold medal in the International Wine Challenge - the Oscars of the wine world.

"Every time anybody in the English wine industry wins something it's good for everybody," he said.

"We all gain and it raises the profile of English wine in general."

Since winning the prize, sales of his Bacchus 2007 have soared, and they're not just toasting the success of English wines in Cornwall.

A total of 24 medals were awarded to British bottles.

One of the judges, the wine critic Tim Atkin, says it's no surprise home-grown wine is going down well.

"The lovely thing about English wines is they're a bit like English apples - they've got a beautiful perfume to them, those hedgerow flavours you get in English wine are just like a beautiful Autumn afternoon," he said.

The UK is the largest importer of wines and often considered the hub of the international wine trade. But only 0.3% of the bottles we buy are British.

There are currently 383 vineyards in the UK. And every year they produce 2.2 million bottles of wine.

But that's nothing compared to France which makes nearly seven billion.

English Wine Bacchus 2007 By Bob Lindo Wins Industry Oscar Gold | Business | Sky News