The Buyer | Final call for early bird pricing for London Wine & Spirits Competitions

As the saying goes "You've got to be in it to win it" which is particularly the case for drinks competitions. Over nearly the last 10 years the London Wine Competition and the London Spirits Competition have become two of the most important influential drinks events in the world.

Not just for the quality of products entered but the fact they are judged predominatly by some of the most influential drinks buyers in the UK responsible for deciding which wines and spirits end up on retailers' shelves and in bars, restaurants and pubs.

As Sid Patel, chief executive of Beverage Trade Network and founder of the London Competitions, says: "We are excited to be running the London Competitions again and bringing the best talents in the UK drinks industry together to taste, assess, and use their buying expertise to judge all the products that enter our separate wine, beer and spirits competitions.

"Once again our 2026 panel of judges features an impressive blend of top trade buyers, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, importers, distributors, writers, and influencers, representing the diverse perspectives and expertise of the modern wine industry."

He adds: "These competitions are essentially a benchmark for the drinks industry to determine which are the best peforming products when it comes to quality, value for money and packaging and design. Every year we strive to make the competitions even more robust and commerciallly valuable for all the producers, importers and retailers that are entering. Our thanks go to them for their continued support and wanting to test themselves against each other."

Consumer focus

The three separate London Competitions were devised in order to assess beers, wines and spirits in the same way that consumers do when deciding which drink to buy in a busy bar, or bustling supermarket. The competitions focuses on these crucial criteria: quality, value, packaging and design.

Quality: All products are judged by those with direct buying experience from right across the industry including bartenders, drinks buyers, sommeliers, Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers, who are tasked initially with assessing each product, blind, for quality.

Value: Each product is then assessed for its value for money and how that compares to its quality.

Packaging: All drinks our bought with our eyes so each product is also assessed for its packaging and design and how well they match up to its quality and value for money.

Each product also receives feedback from the judging panel on how well it performed in each area with suggestions on how it might be improved.

Design and quality

What makes the London Wine and London Spirits Competitions different from other major international drinks events is the fact all entries are judged on their quality, their value for money and what they look like on shelf or on a back.

The three main factors influencing most consumers’ buying decisions, but also on their sheer marketability. Little point in dreaming up an esoteric brand with a fancy label only for it to sink without trace in the marketplace because it has failed to make sufficient impact on the shelf or to register with consumers.

The London Competition judges are tasked with rewarding those products that have that elusive combination of quality - based on its taste, appearance, aroma, body, and aftertaste - its value for money - how well a particular brand vs its quality - and its packaging and design and whether that lives up to the quality and value for money of the product.

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the best in class.

The award winners are also supported by a strong consumer awareness campaign conducted largely via social media.