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    star wine all the winners 2024

    2024 winners in Star Wine List of The Year UK with The Buyer

    The Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer was the chance to shine the light on and reward some of the leading venues, hospitality operators and individuals who are helping to promote and bring the best quality and value premium wines to diners all over the country. A chance, crucially, to also bring together sommelier teams and restaurant owners and give them the chance to enjoy some time away from their busy venues and celebrate their own success in being named a finalist in the 2024 awards. Here’s who was shortlisted and which restaurants were named as winners. 

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    winners of people choice awards

    All the winners in People’s Choice Wine & Spirits Awards revealed

    Last night saw the results of both the People’s Choice Wine Awards and the People’s Choice Spirits Awards announced at a special awards evening held at the Revolution Bar in Manchester. The night saw producers, importers, merchants and brand owners come together for an event that rewards and highlights the best wines and spirits as chosen by both professional drinks trade judges and also regular consumers – showing they have what it takes to be a success in UK bars, restaurants and retailers. The Buyer, which has been trade media partner for the awards since it was launched, was on hand to record all the winners. 

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    Chris

    Why New Zealand has so much to offer the premium on-trade

    As we count down to the final of the Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer we turn our attention to the New Zealand category and talk to Chris Stroud, market manager for Europe for New Zealand Winegrowers about why it has supported the event from its first year. He explains how important the premium on-trade is to the New Zealand wine category and how the awards can help play an important role in shining the light on the diversity and quality of New Zealand wines.

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    The panel of judges for the 2023 London Spirits Competition

    Final entries call to London Wine, Beer and Spirits Comps 2024

    If you are looking to enter the London Competitions for wine, beers or spirits then you need to get your skates on to get your entries in by February 22. Here we set out what the awards offer, how medals are awarded and then promoted, and who is responsible for making the judging decisions. The London Competitions are unique amongst international awards in that they judge products for their quality (blind), and then their value for money and what their packaging and design looks like.

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    Fine Wines Direct UK will be part of the online awards ceremony for the first UK Wine List of the Year awards on February 22 at 6om

    Finalists of Star Wine List of the Year with The Buyer announced

    The finalists in what will be the fourth Star Wine List of The Year UK with The Buyer have been announced, picking out the very best restaurants and bars that have wine as a central part of their offer. The chosen venues will now go forward to the final to be held in London on March 4 and the chance to network with fellow finalists and the drinks partners for the competition. Here we reveal who will be competing for the overall winners.  

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    Chelsie Bailey London Comp

    Brand ambassadors take London Competitions to next level

    The London Competitions for Beers, Wines and Spirits has introduced a new global ambassador programme where it is giving leading sommeliers and wine buyers around the world the chance to help promote the awards in their respective countries whilst also sharing their experiences of what drinks trends are driving their local markets and how medal winners in the London Competitions can look to target local listings. As the clock ticks down for entries into the 2024 London Competitions (February 22) we feature three of the ambassadors based in Bangkok, the UAE and the UK.  

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    iwsc in georgia main

    IWSC in Georgia: judges blown away by the quality of wines

    “There’s been a huge step forward in the top end wines and we have found some absolutely world class examples – the improvement over the last decade has been really quite remarkable.” That was the assessment of Alistair Cooper MW who headed up the judging panel of UK wine professionals to travel to Georgia and put its wines through the rigorous IWSC judging process. Fellow judge, David Kermode, reports back on what was a breakthrough trip for the quality of Georgian wines, and a chance to see how far Georgian wines have come in recent years. 

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    downpour winners kate macdonald jonny ingledew Long Read

    What it means to win in London Wine & Spirit Competitions

    “It has put the wind in our sails so we can progress and grow.” “Only one word is needed: fantastic!” “Being a gold medal winner has had a significant impact on our sales.” Just three of the comments from past winners of the London Wine and London Spirits Competitions that capture what it means for independent winemakers, distillers, and brand owners around the world to be recognised and rewarded in these fast growing events. As the clock ticks down for entries into the 2024 competitions we talk to a number of past winners to find out what impact getting a medal has had on their individual businesses. 

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    iwsc judges argentina 1

    IWSC judges get to see the best of Argentina for themselves

    We conclude our series of articles following the IWSC on its tasting and judging journey around the world as we travel with David Kermode to Argentina to see what the panel of IWSC judges discovered during their extensive judging sessions there – with nearly 450 medals awarded including 11 golds. Based in Mendoza the group of UK-based wine professionals also had the chance to visit and see what is happening in Argentina during their visit.  

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    Fine Wines Direct UK will be part of the online awards ceremony for the first UK Wine List of the Year awards on February 22 at 6om

    Entries open for Star Wine List of the Year UK 2024 with The Buyer

    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. 

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    All the judges for the 2023 London Spirits Competition

    Who’s who of judges for 2024 London Wine & Spirits COMPs

    The London Competitions for wines, beers and spirits pride themselves on the quality of their judges. All of whom are handpicked for not only their drinks trade experience, but the fact the vast majority are currently in drinks buying roles, responsible for the products and brands that end up on their lists. Here we look at some of the judges taking part in the London Wine and London Spirits Competitions as we click down to the end of early bird pricing to enter on December 20.

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    austrian wine judges

    IWSC On The Road: What UK judges thought of Austrian wine

    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.

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    Pic copyright Phil Tragen 2022

    People’s Choice Wine and Spirits Awards 2024 shortlist

    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.

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    downpour gin

    London Spirits Competition’s case studies of gold medalists

    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.

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    margaret river judges

    IWSC On The Road: Medals galore for Margaret River producers

    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.  

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    50 greek main

    50 Great Greek Wine Awards shows quality of country’s wines

    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.   

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    iwsc south african judges

    IWSC On The Road: Judges pick their best South African 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. 

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    iwsc turkey winners

    How IWSC took its judging to Turkey to find the best wines

    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. 

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    romania-liliac-winery

    Rise in Romanian wine & success at Winelovers Wine Awards

    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.

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    star wine list uK thames

    Krister Bengtsson: taking the Star Wine List Awards on a world tour

    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. 

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