The clock is ticking for entries into the separate 2023 London Wine, London Beer and London Spirit Competitions. An opportunity for producers, brand owners, importers, wine merchants, retailers and on-trade operators to pick out the drinks in their ranges they think best represent what they do. The products they think best connect with their targets customers. Here Richard Siddle sets out how and why these competitions stand out – from their own competition.
To enter the London Wine Competition click here, for London Spirits Competition click here, and for the London Beer Competition click here. Closing date for entries is February 22.
There are lot more established global drinks competitions than the three London events. Competitions that have for decades have tasted millions more bottles and brands and awarded hundreds of thousands more medals and trophies. But they all have one missing ingredient.
Tasting and judging wines, beers and spirits in the same way that consumers do. The ultimate test in whether a brand or product is worth a listing or not.
That’s what arguably sets the London Competitions apart. An awards programme that asks its judges to assess the products in front of them in three key ways:
Blind Taste
To first blind taste them – which, so far, is in keeping with all the far more established awards competitions around the world. But crucially that is just the starting point of the judging. Not the end.
Pricing and value for money
The judges are then told the recommended retail price and cost price of the wine, beer or spirit in question and asked to assess how that equates to the quality they have just tasted. Does it offer value for money at that price point?
Design
The judges are then asked to look at the actual bottles and products, to pick them up, to analyse their front and back labels and their overall brand design. Do they live up to the taste and quality credentials? Does it match the price being asked for it?
Those are the key criteria against which the judges are then asked to score each product to determine what sort of medal, if any, they deserve.
Sid Patel, founder and chief executive of the London Competitions, explains: “When we first started the London Competitions we wanted to look at awards through the eyes of the end consumer. What is most important to them when they are deciding what wine, beer or spirits to buy. Be it down a supermarket aisle, in their local wine merchants, or in a bar, pub or restaurant. What are the most important factors they use to determine what to order?
“We want consumers to know that the products we give gold, silver and bronze medals to have been chosen with them in mind and not just to please the palates of professional tasters.”
Scoring
To win a medal in each of the competitions a product needs to get the following scores:
Gold: 90 points or over.
Silver: a score between 76-89.
Bronze: a score between 65-75.
The right judges
Which is where the judges play their part. Over the last six years Patel and his team have worked hard to identify the individuals working at the front end of the drinks industry, responsible for making the buying decisions that dictate what products are being sold in our supermarkets, bars, pubs and restaurants.
These are the drinks professionals that can’t afford to have products sitting on their lists that are not being regularly bought and sought after. Even if they are not to their personal taste, they know they are the brands their customers expect and want to find when they go out shopping and drinking.
A line up of judges that include some of the best sommeliers, bartenders, mixologists, retail buyers and wine merchants.
A mix of judges that changes every year to keep up with the trends and who is working where. For this year’s judging pool of talent check out the lists here.
- Click here for London Wine Competition judges.
- Click here for London Spirits Competition judges.
- Click here for London Beer judges.
How to enter
The entry process for the three competitions ends on February 22 and you can find the individual criteria and what is needed below.
For London Wine Competition
1. Register here to create your account.
2. Log In with your details. Complete your company profile.
3. Enter the details of wines that you want to enter in the competition.
Fee: £120
4 to 9 entries: 10% discount
10 to 14 entries: 15% discount
15 or more entries: 20% discount
For London Spirits Competition
- Register here here first to create your account
- Login with your details. Complete your company profile
- Enter the details of spirits that you want to enter in the competition.
Fee: £180
3 to 8 entries: 10% discount
9 to 13 entries: 15% discount
14 or more entries: 20% discount
For London Beer Competition
1. Register here to create your account.
2. Login in here with your details and complete your company profile.
3. Enter the details of your beers you want to enter in the competition.
Fee: £100
4 to 9 entries: 10% discount
10 to 14 entries: 15% discount
15 or more entries: 20% discount
Key Dates:
Registration Ends: 22 February 2023
Judging Date: 20&21 March 20 & 21 2023
Winners Announced: 12 April 12 2023
- The Buyer is media partner to the London Competitions.
