A West Dorset-based vineyard and winery has predicted a record year for the production of its award-winning wines.

The Furleigh Estate, in Salway Ash, is expecting its best ever harvest this autumn and owner Rebecca Hansford has said that a largely warm and dry summer has aided the vineyards.

Rebecca Hansford said: “We are so excited about this year’s bumper harvest. It’s come at a significant time for us as we enter our 10th year as a working vineyard and winery. A dry Glastonbury festival and a warm Wimbledon are usually reliable indicators that the grape harvest is going to be good, so we’ve had high hopes since the start of the summer. We are so fortunate that the English climate has been kind to the vines this season.”

It is another welcome boost for the vineyard and it follows the news that two of its wines scooped two prestigious quality awards.

The vineyard’s Classic Cuvee 2009 picked up gold in the Champagne and Sparkling World Championships, which was held at the end of July. The Blanc de Blancs 2009 wine also picked up silver in the awards.

It was the inaugural year for the global wine competition, which was launched by renowned writer and author Tom Stevenson.

Mrs Hansford added: “To win gold and silver medals in the very first Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships is a great honour. We are very proud that both the wines we entered into this competition won medals, particularly given that Tom Stevenson is such a leading authority in the sparkling wine world, and we really value his opinion of our wines.”

On judging the awards, Tom Stevenson, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the number and quality of entries in the inaugural year of the toughest fizz competition on the planet.

“It is the first wine competition to be judged exclusively by Champagne and sparkling wine specialists and the only global competition in which every judge agrees on all the medals awarded.

“All wines scoring bronze or less were culled, making our medals truly elite and the wines that win them very special.”

Harvest takes place over three weeks from mid-October and Furleigh Estate’s vineyard and winery will be open to the public during this time for two very special harvest lunches. For more information email info@furleighestate.co.uk or call 01308 488991.