There are those competitions that award wines, and then there are those that celebrate them. We aim to do just that. With the quality of judges being our primary focus, this year on our judging panel we have Anne Jones from Waitrose. She is the Waitrose Category Manager for Wines, Beers and Spirits. Then there’s Tim Triptee, a Master of Wine, he is the International Director for Wines at Christie’s. On-board this year is Master of Wine Barbara Drew who is the Events Manager at Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd. Also with us is Master Sommelier Christopher Delalonde who is the head of Wines at The Dorchester hotel. These are few among other elite judges who are on our judging panel for the 2021 London Wine Competition.

Every year, we try to go above and beyond to ensure that the competition benefits you in more ways than one. Normally when a competition is over, you get a score and a medal. This year, however, you will additionally be provided with ‘tasting notes’ from the judges.  All entrants to the 2021 London Wine Competition will get shelf talker templates with tasting notes and scores when the 2021 results are announced.  The shelf talkers will be available to all, in the entrant’s zone on our website, free of cost.

What this means for you

London Wine Competition prides itself in being the key link between the producers, suppliers, importers, and the consumer at large. So get your diaries out and reflect on what it is that you need for your wines at the moment. What is it that concerns you most? Is it,

• Brand awareness

• Increasing your wine sales

• Getting your wines sampled by the decision-makers

• Distribution

• Launching or growing in the United Kingdom

• Being noticed

• ALL OF THESE

At London Wine Competition we understand just how important all of this is to you, and it is exactly what we can assist you with. Having you enter your wines with us instantly puts your wines in front of real trade buyers and sommeliers who are our judges. The opportunity to showcase your product to the people who create and shape wine consumption in the UK is an opportunity you need at the moment. 

Ever since its inception, the London Wine Competition has had a unique approach to judging the wines. It has three, highly effective judging criteria that are unlike any other leading competitions. 

The Judging

Wines are judged on three significant criteria –

1.Their quality.

2.Their value for money.

3.What they look like.

As a producer, you need to understand that just because a wine has won gold in a competition based on its quality; it will not necessarily fly off the shelves if it does not offer the value for money a consumer is looking for. It could perhaps offer both, but may not be designed and packaged well enough to stand out from various other gold winners on a retail shelf. Thus the golden triangle of Quality, Value, and Design is at the centre of our judging process.
London Wine Competition is designed to judge your wines the way a consumer would. It is imperative then, that to be able to judge them, we have judges who are experienced in buying wines for consumers; for both on and off-premise sales.

The Judges

Any competition is only as good in worth, as its judges. Because the competition focuses on quality, value for money, and the design and packaging, it requires judges that are skin deep in understanding the consumption trends of wines and its commercial competence.

The list of judges is comprehensive and well-curated. We ensure that every judge on our panel is either a wine buyer, a Master of Wine, a Sommelier, or is responsible for buying wines for an establishment promoting wine sales. To put into perspective, these guys are real trade buyers. People who are skilled tasters; who buy wines, day in and day out for a living!

Our judges for the 2021 London Wine Competition are –

Christopher Delalonde M.S. - Head of Wines at The Dorchester Hotel

Barbara Drew MW - Master of Wine at Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd

Elizabeth Kelly MW - Master of Wine, London

Robin Kick MW - Master of Wine, London

Kathrine Larsen MS - Master Sommelier, UK Sommelier of the Year 2014

Svetoslav Manolev MS - Master Sommelier working as Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer Flemings Mayfair, London

Matteo Montone MS - Master Sommelier, World best young sommelier 2019 Chaine de Rôtisseurs, Wine Director at Edition, London

Greg Sherwood MW - Master of Wine, Senior Wine Buyer at Handford Wines

Tim Triptree MW - International Director, Wine at Christie's

Victoria Burt MW - Master of Wine, Head of Product Development - Wine Qualifications at WSET

Yves Desmaris MS - Restaurant Manager, Head Sommelier, Wine Buyer at Pied à Terre Restaurant, London

Simon Field MW - Master of Wine, London

Clement Robert MS - Master Sommelier, Head Of Beverage & Wine Buyer, The Birley Clubs

David Round MW - Master of Wine and Director at Big Fish Little Fish

Demetri Walters MW - Wine Educator, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Anne Jones - Waitrose Category Manager: Wines, Beers and Spirits

Abdelilah Ait El Caid - Sommelier at COYA London

Angelo Altobelli - Head Sommelier and wine buyer, Muse by Tom Aikens

Vincenzo Arnese - Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Beatrice Bessi - Head Sommelier at Chiltern Firehouse

Neil Bruce - Wine Consultant, Studio Alto - mk2 version

Matteo Furlan DipWSET - Head Sommelier presso The Ritz, London

Will Hill - Senior Wine Buyer at Albion Wine Shippers

Andre Luis T Martins - Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer, The Cavalry and Guards Club, 2021 London Wine Competition Judge

Roberta Neave - Category Buyer - Wine at Star Pubs & Bars

Antonio Palmarini - Wine Buyer at Franklin's Wine

Stefano Pasqual - Head Sommelier at Gordon Ramsay Group

Julien Sarrasin - Head Sommelier at Club Gascon and 3rd best UK Sommelier 2017

Erik Simonics - Head Sommelier, Caprice Holdings Ltd

Adriana Valentini - Head of Beverage, Oxford and Cambridge Club – London

The Winner takes it all

How does winning this competition make a difference to you? Why should you care? Well, the winners of 2021 London Wine Competition have unbelievable ancillary benefits. 

1.Bling your bottles

-All winners have an option of purchasing their winner stickers from us. Your winning medal stickers can be used extensively on your brand support tools like Brand deck, Shelf talkers, bottle neckers and case cards. 1000 winner stickers are added as a bonus with your first order.

2.Won here, drunk there

-Beverage Trade Network, the organisers of this competition, in 2020 launched Get Drinks Delivered. It is an online platform that connects retailers and brand owners to consumers with their delivery services. This came as a much needed move in the wake of the pandemic. All winners of the 2021 London Wine Competition will be integrated here for everyone to sit up and take notice.

3.Guide your way to glory

-Winners of the 2021 London Wine Competition will be promoted on London Drinks Guide. It is a platform that will help promote your winning wine and the venues selling them.

4.Straight from the horse’s mouth

-Ever wondered what the judges had to say about your wine? Well, now you can know it all. All entrants to the 2021 London Wine Competition will get shelf talker templates with tasting notes and scores when the 2021 results are announced. The shelf talkers will be available in the entrant’s zone free of cost. This leaves no guesswork or confusion for the score each wine has received.

5.Shout it out loud

-The results will be shared with over 50,000 trade professionals, and over 20,000 wine buyers the world over, in the Beverage Trade Network community. It will also get press coverage with media partners of the 2021 London Wine Competition.

6.So much social

-Winners get year-round social media support along with the press support from the London Wine Competition and our media partners.

7.The List

-Top 100 winners of the 2021 London Wine Competition, will feature in the Top 100 On-Premise & Off-Premise wines list and Top 100 LWC wines. 

Still thinking?

This is the time for all of us to pick up our boots, step up and go the extra mile to ensure that we adapt to this pandemic and use it to our advantage. With a lot of benefit to reap out of this competition, hop on our bandwagon today!

Key information

When - March 15, 2021

Where - The Worx, London

Important dates

Registration Ends - Feb 22, 2021, Enter Your Wines Now

Warehouse Closes - Feb 26, 2021

Judging Date - March 15, 2021

Winners Announced - April 12, 2021

Fee schedule

£110 Regular - Dec 26 to Feb 22, 2021

More the merrier - Quantity Discount Now Available

4 to 9 entries - 10% discount

10 to 14 entries - 15% discount

15 or more entries - 20% discount