The 2nd Edition of the London Wine Competition, which judges quality, value and packaging sees Australian wines trounce the rest of the world with 11 Gold medals and scooping up 31% of the medals.

Although Australia strode above all the other countries there is considerable balance provided across the results with traditional France and Italy winning as well as new age wines from England, Portugal, New Zealand, Austria, Spain, and the USA scooping significant category awards.

Kellermeister’s Wild Witch Shiraz seized the top Gold medal securing ‘Wine of the Year’ and Best Wine By Quality. Situated in the Barossa Valley Australia’s classic region for top quality Shiraz growing and producing, the Wild Witch is not produced in every vintage.

Not to be outdone, the old classics also had their reflections in Gold medals. Jean Bouchard’s Mercurey Rouge 2015 won ‘Best In Show By Country’ for France and contributed to ‘Best Winery of the Year’ awards for this historic Burgundian producer.

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva from Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani secured ‘Best in Country’ from the Italian entries, whilst La Prima Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from Castello Vicchiomaggio won Best Sangiovese.

Some of the new age wines selected for awards also came from traditional countries such as Evidencia Reserva Touriga Nacional, Portugal’s national variety made and presented in contemporary ways.

The UK’s Kentish wine estate Gusborne also secured a notable ‘Best Varietal in Show’ for its Guinevere Chardonnay, whilst the Alexander Valley Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon won Best USA wine.

Austrian winery Fink and Kotzian Weinbau won the highly prized ‘Best Wine by Package’.

Sid Patel CEO of London Wine Competition reviewed this year’s awards,

‘I am delighted with the level of quality which has gone up another 2 notches from last year. The high standard of judges has helped us achieve even more notable awards than in 2018. It has been interesting to hear so many judges comment on how the packaging has an effect on their scores’.

London Wine Competition judges quality, value, and packaging to assess the product entries in ways that consumers will judge the product. With 11 Masters of Wine, Master Sommelier, buyers from key retail and senior sommeliers from London’s fine dining scene, the experience and expertise applied to the judging has been of the best quality.

During interviews with the judges, many confessed that the packaging added a level of dimension that they hadn’t expected. Some even declared that it changed their mark of the final product and affected how they saw the taste of the wines.

The awards also demonstrated the real scope of global production and competition with award winners being selected from a number of lesser-known wine producing countries Uruguay, Russian Federation, Jordan, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine.

2019 London Wine Competition Winners

Kellermeister Wild Witch Shiraz - Wine of the Year

Jean Bouchard Mercury Rouge (2015) - Winery of the Year

Kellermeister Wild Witch Shiraz - Best Wine by Quality

Jean Bouchard Mercury Rouge (2015) - Best Wine by Value

Fink & Kotzian Weinbau OG - Best Wine by Packaging

Kellermeister Wild Witch Shiraz - Best in Show by Country - Australia

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico Riserva - Best in Show by Country - Italy

QUEEN OF KINGS BLANC DE NOIR (BRUT) - Best in Show by Country - Spain

Jean Bouchard Mercury Rouge (2015) - Best in Show by Country - France

Evidência Reserva Touriga Nacional - Best in Show by Country - Portugal

Alexander Valley Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Best in Show by Country - United States

Kellermeister Wild Witch Shiraz - Best in Show by Varietal - Shiraz / Syrah

Alexander Valley Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Best in Show by Varietal - Cabernet Sauvignon

Guinevere - Best in Show by Varietal - Chardonnay

Jean Bouchard Mercury Rouge (2015) - Best in Show by Varietal - Pinot noir / Spätburgunder / Blauburgunder / Pinot nero

Old Coach Road Nelson Sauvignon Blanc - Best in Show by Varietal - Sauvignon blanc / Sauvignon gris

Rosso di Rosso - Best in Show by Varietal - Merlot

Fink & Kotzian Weinbau OG - Best in Show by Varietal - Riesling / Johannisberg

Pata Negra Reserva - Best in Show by Varietal - Tempranillo

Castello Vicchiomaggio. La Prima Chianti Classico Gran Selezione - Best in Show by Varietal - Sangiovese

Casalinga Pinot Grigio (2017) - Best in Show by Varietal - Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio

To access the full list of winners, please check out on the website HERE.