The Guardian reports that English wines won 25 gold medals at the 2026 International Wine Challenge, up from 10 last year, with England achieving the highest gold-medal percentage by entries and Kent leading the domestic regions. Judges pointed to older vines, longer maturation, improved vineyard knowledge and more confident winemaking as key reasons for England’s rise, while supermarket bottles from Aldi, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s also featured among the gold-medal winners.