The scores from the IWSC’s Austrian wine jury are in with an impressive 17 gold medals, 136 silver medals and 229 bronze awarded in what was the first time the competition has travelled to Austria to do the judging as part of a wider immersion into Austrian wine. It was also the latest country to join the list of those the IWSC is now judging in situ. David Kermode, part of the judging team, takes us behind the scenes.
Drum roll please…The finalists have been announced in both People’s Choice Wine Awards and the People’s Choice Spirits Awards across all categories in both competitions. In what are the seventh wine and fourth spirits awards they remain the only major UK competition that involves everyday drinkers as part of the judging process. Here Janet Harrison, founder of both competitions, explains the latest developments and the stand-out features of the 2024 edition.
The UK’s top sommeliers, restaurants and on-trade wine buyers will have the chance to put themselves forward and compete in what will be the fourth edition of the Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer. Entries for the 2024 event are now open ahead of the awards ceremony to be held in London on March 4. Here we look at what categories are available for this year’s awards and how to enter.
The London Spirits Competition has now established itself as one of the most important and relevant spirits competitions in the world. It attracts some of the best spirits judges in the world and rewards products that most appeal to potential consumers in how they taste, their value for money and what they look like. Here is how success in the London Spirits Competition has helped some brands grow and succeed in their target markets.
We continue our journey around the world with the IWSC’s panel of judges who have been visiting, tasting and assessing wines in their countries and regions where they come from by travelling to Margaret River, in the capable hands of Libby Brodie, who was part of the team of wine buyers, importers, merchants and consultants who were able to see for themselves just how far one of Australia’s increasingly premium wine regions has come in recent years.
Greek wines are very much the talk amongst discerning wine buying circles with enterprising and ambitious wine merchants, sommeliers and importers alike all looking to seek out new and interesting wines to take on. Which is where the 50 Great Greek Wine Awards can help identify the producers to be targeting. Here event organiser, Yiannis Karakasis MW, explains how it works and how he hopes it can play an important part in spreading the increasingly good news about Greek wines.
Whether you’re from retail or the on-trade, you will have heard one phrase coming up again and again when South African wine is discussed: “Bang for buck!” South Africa has long sealed its reputation for value for money, particularly at entry level. That, we can all agree on. But, things get more divisive when we start discussing quality at a premium level: can South Africa compete on a world stage with the greats? After a six-day trip to judge more than 560 wines in situ from across the country, the IWSC team of judges were more than impressed at their findings. One of those judges, Sophia Longhi, shares what they learnt and picks out some of the highlights from the IWSC South African wine awards.
Turkish wines now offer a “combination of gorgeous, expressive brightness of fruit that that almost has a slightly ‘New World’ feel that is countered by really lovely, interesting textures and an almost ‘Old World’ structure”. That was the summary of Sarah Abbott MW who helped lead a travelling group of UK wine buyers, and consultants to take part in the IWSC’s new initiative to taste where possible in the host country. Fellow judge David Kermode explains how and where the judging took place and picks out some of the highlights.
Romanian wines enjoyed a breakthrough year at the 2023 Winelovers Wine Awards, with nine gold medals, 27 silver and seven bronze as well as three ‘Best of’ awards going to Romanian producers. Romania’s collective success is very much what the Winelovers Wine Awards is all about in providing a platform for the most influential wines in Central and Eastern Europe to shine, as well as providing an opportunity for the region’s wineries, merchants, experts and consumers to meet. Here we go behind the scenes of Romania’s success at the awards as well as give an insight into Romania’s wine history, grape varieties and wine regions.
The fourth edition of the Star Wine List of the Year for the UK, in partnership with The Buyer, is set to take place in London on March 4 2024. To help set the scene for the competition we talk to Star Wine List’s founder, Krister Bengtsson, about not just what we can expect at the UK awards, but how Star Wine List competitions have grown to become a true global event with separate awards taking place in more cities around the world.
There are only a couple of days left to get Super Early Bird entry rates for the 2023 London Wine, London Beer and London Spirits Competitions. Three separate events with a common goal. To identify, reward and then promote the wines, beers and spirits that consumers are most likely want to go out and buy. An awards programme that judges products on what they taste like, their quality, their value for money and what they look like. The winning combination for any successful drinks product. Here’s how to enter the 2023 competitions and take advantage of Super Early Bird Entry fees that close at the end of September.
“We wanted to create a competition which would be true to the two principles we had defined: ambition and sustainability.” That’s how Rodolphe Lameyse, chief executive of Vinexposium, the world leading events business behind shows such as Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris and World Bulk Wine Exhibition, introduces its new business awards – the V d’Or – to highlight and reward drinks companies that are excelling in the way they are driving their businesses forward. Here he explains how the V d’Ors are going to work.
The interest in and demand for wines from Central and Eastern Europe were given a boost this month with the results of the Winelovers Wine Awards in Budapest that looks to highlight and reward the best wines from across the two regions. A leading panel of international wine judges were given the task of assessing the 840 wines entered. Here we go behind the scenes to see which wines came out on top.
With so many international drink competitions it can be hard to work out which ones are going to really make a difference to your brand, turn the head of all important trade buyers and the consumer wandering up and down the drinks aisle. So here’s the case for entering the three London Competitions for wine, beers and spirits which claim to judge and assess products in the same way that consumers do.
The People’s Choice Wine Awards and People’s Choice Spirits Awards do exactly what they say on the tin. The only major UK-based awards scheme that involves consumers and wine enthusiasts at each stage of the judging process. Early Bird entries are now open for both competitions and the chance to have your products and brands assessed by wine professionals and wine consumers at the same time. Janet Harrison, founder of the awards, explains the latest developments and the exciting features of the 2024 competitions.
The quality and diversity of wines now being produced across Central and Eastern Europe is turning heads of leading wine buyers across the on and off-trades with most major wine distributors and leading restaurants and sommeliers now looking to have a portfolio of wines from the area on their lists. The Winelovers Wine Awards has been set up to help celebrate and identify the best wines from the region with a comprehensive judging process featuring leading wine judges, professionals and specialists in Central and East European wines. Here’s how it all works.
“It’s a perfect way to meet people in the industry and to discover what the main emerging trends are. It’s also great to see what’s not released yet.” There’s three reasons why top spirits buyers, and leading drinks figures like Oliver Eardley, bartender at the Savoy Hotel, want to take part in judging the London Spirits Competition. As the dust settles on the 2023 competition early bird entries are now open for spirits brands, distillers, distributors and retailers to enter products into the 2024 London Spirits Competition. Here’s what you have to do.
It’s the closest thing the world restaurant industry gets to Eurovision with the Grand Final of the Star Wine List competition to reward and recognise the venues with the most exciting wine lists in their countries – and around the globe. Each of the winners in the respective country events, including the UK Wine List of The Year awards organised in partnership with The Buyer, went forward to the Grand Final which was held on June 19 in Stockholm.
The 2023 London Wine Competition proved to be its biggest yet in terms of the number of producers submitting their wines and the amount of professional judges hired to analyse them. This remains the only major global wine competition that assesses wines based on three criteria: their quality; their value for money; and what they look like in terms of packaging and design. Here are the main highlights from this year’s competition.
There was a record number of entries in this year’s London Spirits Competition with over 2,000 brands from more than 80 countries all hoping to win either a gold, silver or bronze medal in the only major global drinks awards that judges products on their quality, their value for money and their packaging and design. Here we reveal the top spirits in each category and reveal the trends across all the products entered.
