English Sparkling Wine or Champagne?

[Thomas]

jasmudger,

I know you are just getting into this thing--wine--but please keep the following in mind, and it comes from an old hand.

Gold medals, or any medals, reflect more the competition than the wine. For instance, if the competition for English/Welch wine of the year was just about English/Welch wine, and not in comparison to the rest of the wine world, it really says little about the wines themselves.

Having been consuming and been a wine judge for some time, I have come to the conclusion that today's competitions speak more to marketing than to wine.

It's ok to read what others have to say about their wine experience (tasting notes, even ratings) but it is best to believe what you taste and to compare wines supposedly in the same classification.