Australian publication The Real Review tastes around 10,000 wines per year, with a particular focus on Australia and New Zealand, providing ratings and reviews “to empower consumers and elevate their wine experiences.”
An algorithm then uses those unbiased reviews to generate the Top Wineries list based on scores.
The UK is also a key annual focus for the publication, and the results of this year’s ‘Top Wineries in the UK’, one of the world’s most comprehensive blind tastings of wines from the United Kingdom, have now been released.
The tasting panel consisted of British wine journalist Anthony Rose, wine critic, educator and jancisrobinson.com contributor Young Shi, and Rosemary George MW.
Remarkable consistency
Last year’s winner, Nyetimber, retains its crown as The Real Review’s Top Winery of Great Britain for 2026, and in doing so becomes the first winery to have won the title three times and in two consecutive years.
Last year the West Sussex estate celebrated its return to the summit after Langham had pipped them to the post in 2024; now Nyetimber has renewed its dominance, comfortably clear of the field. The regularity of its high scoring underlines the remarkable consistency that has made Nyetimber a benchmark for English sparkling wine.
Langham Wine Estate again claims the runner-up position, and this time does so with a meaningfully higher score than last year. Dorset’s finest continues to push the front-runner hard, and the gap between first and second place is now even narrower than in 2025.
Spectacular rise
However, the single most dramatic story of the 2026 rankings is the spectacular rise of Coates and Seely. Hampshire’s flagship sparkling wine producer vaults from 12th to 3rd place, a significant gain on its 2025 performance. That kind of leap, from the fringes of the top 10 to the podium in a single year, is almost without precedent in this competition. Nicholas Coates and Christian Seely have long been regarded as among the most serious practitioners of English sparkling wine; this ranking confirms that their ambition is being matched by results in the glass.
Coates ans Seely are not the only Hampshire success story. Raimes English Sparkling makes the most dramatic ascent of anyone in the top 30, leaping 17 places from 31st to 14th.
Quietly raising their game
And Everflyht Vineyard from East Sussex climbs 12 places (29th to 17th) with a similarly impressive gain of points. Both producers serve notice that the depth of talent in English sparkling wine continues to broaden well beyond the established elite.
Also deserving special mention is Artelium, the East Sussex producer that climbs 11 places from 21st to 10th, breaking into the top ten for the first time. Together with Wiston Estate (up five from 13th to 8th) and Oastbrook Estates (up eight from 27th to 19th), this points to a cluster of Sussex producers that are quietly but consistently raising their game.
Sobering reversals
If there are notable winners, there are also some sobering reversals. Hambledon Vineyard, in fourth position last year, drops to 15th, an 11-place fall.
Bluestone of Wiltshire, eighth in 2025, slips to 16th.
Most striking of all are the falls of Oxney Organic Estate and Ridgeview. Oxney, which was 9th last year, tumbles to 34th, while Ridgeview, one of the founding names of English sparkling wine, falls from 17th to 38th. These are significant movements for two producers with distinguished track records.
Click HERE to read the full article.