Hellingly rosé is best of the bunch

The owners of a vineyard in Hellingly, East Sussex, are celebrating after winning more awards for their wine.

Kristina Studzinski and Ann-Marie Tynan, who started Off the Line Vineyard from scratch in 2014, won a silver medal in the prestigious WineGB awards for their Hip rosé last year.

This year they have won three more awards including a Global Rosé Masters Bronze in the £20 to £30 category for their Hip rosé 2016 made from Pinot noir. The other award winners included top producers from Provence, Italy, Australia, the US and Spain.

Kristina said: “We were thrilled to get this award in our first international competition as it shows our rosé can compete on the international stage and that top rosé can come from Sussex. Last year the Hip rosé 2016 won a silver medal in the WineGB awards which we were thrilled to bits to get. ”

They also won two WineGB Bronze awards one for their Dog rosé 2016 and one for their Dancing Dog rosé 2017. Both these rosés are made from different blends of grapes including Regent and Rondo which are disease-resistant grapes. Kristina and Ann-Marie grow disease-resistant grapes as they require considerably less spraying and so are better for the environment. The panel of judges for the WineGB awards was chaired by Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke and includes top wine buyers and Sommeliers. Waitrose, Country Life and Hotel du Vin are sponsors.

  Ann-Marie added: “Awards mean a lot to us as it is recognition for the quality we are achieving in our wines at an early stage of development. They inspire us to aim even higher.”

Off the Line is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm from May until the end of September. All the wines are available to taste and to purchase directly from Off the Line, North Street, Hellingly BN27 4EA. The wines can also be purchased from Cuculo Deli in Heathfield.

Off the Line will be at Le Marché on bank holiday Monday with all their wines available to taste and buy.

Off The Line Vineyard was established by the owners, Kristina and Ann-Marie, on a wonderful site in the Sussex Weald benefiting from south facing slopes. The site was prepared and the first vines planted in 2014. The focus is on growing Pinot noir, Regent, Dornfelder and Rondo, all red varieties.

The name Off the Line Vineyard was chosen because the vineyard is located beside the Old Cuckoo Line, a branch railway line that once ran between Polegate and Edridge.

Before growing vines and making wine, Kristina was a solicitor working mostly in the government legal service. She graduated from Plumpton College in 2013 (FdSc Wine Production) and gained further practical qualifications in vineyard management and pesticide operations. The ambition to own a vineyard and make wine grew out of a passion shared with Ann-Marie, Kristina’s civil partner.

Ann-Marie worked in fine wine investment sales before founding Off The Line Vineyard with Kristina. She is a trained ceramicist producing art in the Raku style. Ann-Marie and Kristina both explored many leading wine regions and worked on vineyards and wineries in Bordeaux and the Rhône before deciding to set up a vineyard and winery in England.