Wexford man Robert Milne was announced as the 2020 Waterford Whisky Grower of the Year this week.

Waterford Distillery held its growers' gathering on Thursday 21 October at the distillery.

Each year, Waterford Distillery invites its growers from across the country to celebrate the harvest year and for the announcement of the Grower of the Year award.

Robert farms at Ballymorgan, Co Wexford, and his whisky is known as Ballymorgan. Waterford names its whisky according to where it's grown and is focused on Terroir.

Waterford Distillery Grower of the Year 2020 Robert Milne from Ballmorgan, Co Wexford.

The Irish Farmers Journal caught up with Robert earlier this year at harvest time. At the time, Robert was harvesting oilseed rape and moving to spring barley.

He commented: "I like growing for Waterford [Distillery]. Waterford come along and say 'you grow great barley and we're going to make great whisky out of it'. It's lovely to see it being turned into a very good product."

Terroir

Terroir is where the environment around a crop affects the flavour of the end product. For example, the soil type, micro-climate and topography of an area affect the flavour of the barley.

Research published by Teagasc earlier this year confirmed that terroir affects the flavour of new-make spirit produced from Irish barley.

Waterford Distillery Grower of the Year 2020, Robert Milne from Ballmorgan, Co Wexford.

Terroir is commonly associated with French wine.