Add the salad onions and char-grill for two minutes on each side, so that brown griddle marks are formed. With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Sparkling Masters provides a chance for your wines to star. The 2023 competition was judged on 10 May at Ibis Styles, London Bridge, London, employing experienced judges.

Sparkling wines are celebratory darlings, de rigueur at weddings and birthdays, as aperitifs at gallery openings, and centre-stage at garden parties. Here, Patricia Stefanowicz MW looks at the best expressions on the market. Judging sparkling wines, whether Champagne, Italian fizz, Cava, or other fizzes from around the globe, is always an event to anticipate with excitement. The 2023 Sparkling Wine Global Masters event was as intriguing as ever. The day featured a diverse range of sparkling wines from different countries and regions that do not always fit into other Masters events. White sparklings dominated, but there were also some lovely rosés. In both colours, the better sparkling wines shone with star-bright brilliance, lovely definition and elegance. Add the spinach and prawns and cook for a further two minutes, turning the prawns halfway through cooking. Witty, brilliant and occasionally provocative, Desiderius Pongrácz was a blue-blooded count from the Hungarian aristocracy. He chose to live his life as a man of the land pursuing a career in viticulture. After graduating from the Hungarian Academy for Agriculture in 1944, instead of returning to the family estate, Desiderius Pongrácz joined the cavalry in the Hungarian army. Shortly after Hungary’s surrender, he was captured by the advancing Russians. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Sparkling Master. This report features the medal winners only.The same could be said of cool-climate wines from Trentodoc in northern Italy or indeed for cooler areas in Austria. Excitement comes from Spain, with Catalunya and Castilla-La Mancha showing nicely with either the traditional Cava grape varieties of Xarel.lo, Macabeo, and Parellada, or as blends with the more ‘modern’ style incorporating Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. With so much excitement and diversity, it is hardly surprising that sparkling wines are enduringly popular. White Sparkling Brut (12g/l or lower) Winery