Welsh couple take winemaking world by storm by winning key international awards
A WELSH couple have taken the world of fine wine by surprise by winning several key awards at an international wine competition.
David Gwyn Jones and wife Jacqui, from Bridgend, have run their vineyard in the south-east of Catalunya in Spain where they have been producing their Don Ferranti range for the past four years.
They have won a number of international awards, most recently at the China awards in Hong Kong where they won the double gold and best wine of Spain with their 2009 Don Ferranti Red, DO Terra Alta.
Their 2009 and 2010 Don Ferranti White, DO Terra Alta also won the bronze and silver awards respectively.
Mr Jones, 70, said: “We were absolutely elated when we found out we had won. I come from a farming background so I know how plants grow.
“We grow our crops as bio-dynamically and organically as possible. We do not use pesticides or anything artificial on them and I think that is part of our success. We have also got a fantastic wine maker.
“The awards have all come this year for us. That’s the thing with wine, it takes a while for it to mature and rest in the bottles. You can’t just get all the prizes as soon as you start producing. You have to have a lot of patience.”
A WELSH couple have taken the world of fine wine by surprise by winning several key awards at an international wine competition.
David Gwyn Jones and wife Jacqui, from Bridgend, have run their vineyard in the south-east of Catalunya in Spain where they have been producing their Don Ferranti range for the past four years.
They have won a number of international awards, most recently at the China awards in Hong Kong where they won the double gold and best wine of Spain with their 2009 Don Ferranti Red, DO Terra Alta.
Their 2009 and 2010 Don Ferranti White, DO Terra Alta also won the bronze and silver awards respectively.
Mr Jones, 70, said: “We were absolutely elated when we found out we had won. I come from a farming background so I know how plants grow.
“We grow our crops as bio-dynamically and organically as possible. We do not use pesticides or anything artificial on them and I think that is part of our success. We have also got a fantastic wine maker.
“The awards have all come this year for us. That’s the thing with wine, it takes a while for it to mature and rest in the bottles. You can’t just get all the prizes as soon as you start producing. You have to have a lot of patience.”
The couple, who run the St Mary’s Hotel in Pencoed – which has its own dedicated tasting room for the wines – also produce olive oil in Terra Altla, but have had a long-running desire to make wine.
While they were in the region they found vineyards growing red and white Garnacha, Cariñena, Tempranillo, Shiraz and Macabeo which showed a greater potential than the general standard of wines produced in the area.
A team of six make the wines in the small town if El Pinell de Brai in the province of Tarragona, and the first vintage, which took the double gold trophy in Hong Kong, came on to the market in 2009.
The plot is situated next door to Priorat and Montsant, which make some of the most high-quality new-wave wines of Spain, and Mr Jones’ ambition is to match them for quality.
He said: “We looked at several vineyards but they were too expensive for us to buy. We came to Catalunya where we bought the olive groves about five years ago and we found we were in the right position at the right time.
“I have always wanted to make wine. I was no expert and the beginning but I am becoming one now. It’s about learning as you go along, like all walks of life. No one comes in as an expert.
“The first year was a complete disaster as we had a massive hailstorm about five weeks before harvest and we lost the whole crop. Every vineyard in the area was hit. It was the worst hail storm in years. But I never thought of giving up. I’m not that sort of person. So we went back and we tried again and now we have won these awards.”
Since the success of his wines, Mr Jones is now looking to expand their products.
He said: “We have just developed our shiraz which is still a young wine at the moment. We will be laying that down for a few years. The 2009 red is also getting better in the bottle by the month.
“We have several brands of wine that we are looking at and we are hoping to make a cava this year as well, which will take a few more years before it is ready.”