The London Wine Competition looks to assess and reward wines based on how consumers judge them. What they look like, how much they cost and what they taste like. Now into its third year of competition the event has proven to be a new platform for producers all over the world to show their wines not just to the trade, but to use any medals and awards won to then promote their wines direct to their customers and consumers. If you want to take part in this year’s competition you can now take advantage of new pre-Christmas entry prices providing you enter by December 18.

When the London Wine Competition launched in 2018 it did so promising to offer something new, different and commercially important to the wine industry. A competition that was relevant both to the producers and winemakers entering, but most of all to the potential end wine consumer looking to find quality wines to buy. 

There are plenty of other more established events than the London Wine Competition, but none that judge the wines in the same way a consumer does. By what they look like on the shelf, what they cost, and what they taste like. The winning combination of value, quality, and great design. Lots of wines can claim one or two of those qualities, but not many all three. That is what the London Wine Competition is all about. Good news for consumers and good news for the trade.

For these are the wines that professional wine buyers and sommeliers need to have on their lists. They keep the cash flowing going, they keep the wine stocks flowing and ultimately they bring in the much-needed revenues and margins for the restaurant. It’s why the London Wine Competition only uses professional wine buyers to judge its wines. Those who are involved day in day out making the decisions about what wines they are going to list for their businesses.

Now into its third round of awards, the London Wine Competition is expected to attract more entries from around the world. The results of the second London Wine Competition were released earlier in the year and saw strong results from right across the world from the UK to the US, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, and Austria. But it was Australia that leads the way, taking away 11 Gold medals and scooping up 31% of the medals awarded. 

Sid Patel, chief executive of the London Wine Competition said of this year’s awards: “I am delighted with the level of quality which has gone up another two 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.”

The 2020 competition 

Now it is on to the 2020 competition and the chance for producers to enter their wines. Those that do before December 18 can take advantage of new pre-Christmas entry prices:

New Pre Christmas Entry Price: December 18 cost is £110.

Enter here. 

After December 18 to the closing day of judging in March 2020.

Price £125. 

(Warehouse closes for samples: March 6, 2020).

Judging: March 24, 2020.

Winners Announced: April 30, 2020.

The judges

This year will once again include a high profile judging panel featuring a number of Masters of Wine including Berry Bros & Rudd’s Barbara Drew MW  and Demetri Walters MW.  Other judges include:

• Angelo Altobelli: head sommelier at Belmond Hotel, London

• Pasquale Carandente:  store Manager, Oddbins

• Simon Field MW: wine consultant and writer

• Ben Franks: CEO and Co-founder of Novel Wines, London, UK

• Matteo Furlan: head sommelier, The Ritz London

 A full list of judges can be found here. 

Scoring

The awards are broken down like this:

Quality score: marked out of 50
Value score: marked out of 25
Packaging score: marked out of 25

To win a Gold you need to score 90 points or more. For a Silver it is 76-89 and Bronze it is 65-75.