
The Global Sparkling Masters 2024, held on 9 May at Bellanger in Islington, London, featured high-quality judges evaluating 210 wines from 14 countries. Wines were awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals, with the best receiving the title of Sparkling Master. Among the entries, Italy had the most submissions, while the US did not secure any medals. The competition awarded 36 Golds and seven Masters across eight countries, with notable successes in the sub-£10 category. Moscato d’Asti stood out, earning eight Golds and a Master, praised for its balance of sweetness, lightness, and low alcohol content. Despite Champagne and Prosecco having…

The Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2024 has revealed its Top 20 Value Gold wines, showcasing the best wines under £15. These wines deliver exceptional quality for their price, making them ideal choices for everyday enjoyment without compromising on excellence. The judging process involves blind tastings and evaluations by regional panels and co-chairs, ensuring that each selected wine offers outstanding value. See the DWWA site for tasting notes. I’ll be searching these out in the coming months. DWWA 2024 Top 20 Value Gold Wines Angel’s Estate, Deneb Rose, Thracian Valley, Southern Region – Thracian Lowland, Bulgaria 2023 Bare Bones, Shiraz,…

The Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 results are out, highlighting the best wines from over 18,000 entries across 57 countries. France led with the most top medals, including 12 Best in Show awards. Notable winners include Burgundy and Champagne. Other standout regions are Australia, Spain and Italy. The awards also featured impressive performances from emerging regions like Greece and Japan.

After a break due to the pandemic, the Sommelier Wine Awards (SWA) resumed at The Oval in London this year. This unique competition, dedicated to wines for the on trade (hospitality) industry in Britain, provides a specialised platform where the best of suppliers’ offerings can be showcased. The event is judged by professionals within the industry. This year, it was orchestrated by Agile Media in collaboration with Imbibe, with Isa Bal MS of Trivet Restaurant, which has recently earned two Michelin stars, overseeing the event. Judges included a diverse group from across the UK, such as Matteo Furlan from The…

The International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) has recently announced the results of thousands of entries judged by a team of more than 120 international experts. This panel included over 20 Masters of Wine and nearly a dozen Master Sommeliers. The results are available in an online database. Champagne stood out with a great performance, securing 11 gold medals and highlighting its enduring excellence. France led the way in the country medal tally, amassing nearly 700 medals, of which 27 were gold. Italy and Australia also impressed, ranking among the top three with nearly 550 and almost 340 medals respectively.…

The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2024 took place on 17 April 2024 at The Thomas Cubitt in London. Renowned for its rigorous judging process, this prestigious event draws on the expertise of seasoned wine judges, ensuring that only the finest wines receive awards. Each wine was evaluated rigorously, with the standout entries being awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals. The competition highlighted exceptional wines across various price ranges, including an affordable category for wines under £10: Gold Medal Winners: De Bortoli Wines, Winemakers Selection – 2022, South Australia, AustraliaViña Santa Helena, Santa Helena Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon – 2023, Central Valley,…

The London Wine Competition is an annual event that recognises and rewards wines based on their quality, value for money and packaging. The competition is designed to provide consumers with a clear guide to the best wines available in the market, judged through a meticulous evaluation process. Wines are scored on a 100-point scale, and those that score 90+ points are considered exceptional. The 2024 winners have just been announced. The top winners were: Best Wine of The Year 2024: CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS FAT CAT TAWNY, Australia.Best Winery of The Year 2024: JUSTIN VINEYARDS & WINERY, USA.Best Wine of…

The Wine Merchant Magazine runs an annual competition where a selected panel of independent merchants blind-taste their way through more than 1,000 wines. The result is a great list of wines (also available as a magazine supplement) which arguably is the best of the best. Here are the value wines from the list: Best Value Red Trophy: Zuccardi Los Olivos Malbec, Mendoza 2020 (£12.90, Hatch Mansfield)Best Value White Trophy: Wildeberg Wild House Chenin Blanc, Western Cape 2022 (£8.99, Boutinot)Best Value Sparkling Trophy: Global Wines Portugal Cabriz Espumante Brut 2017 (£16.50 Marta Vine) These wines are stocked by many independent specialist…

The Welsh wine industry celebrated the 2023 Welsh Wine Awards, held at the Llanerch Vineyard Hotel in Hensol on 6 November, 2023. The awards, marking their most successful year yet, were organised by the Welsh Vineyards Association (WVA) . In a year that also commemorates WVA’s tenth anniversary, the competition saw a record-breaking entry of 50 wines from 12 different Welsh vineyards. The wines encompassed a diverse range, including white and rosé sparkling wines, followed by still wines in the rosé, white, and red categories. A panel of expert judges sampled each entry, organising the tasting into five distinct flights.…

The Good Housekeeping Wine Awards 2023 uncovers great wines across various price points, styles and regions. The awards are backed by rigorous testing from the Good Housekeeping Institute, which has a long-standing reputation for evaluating the best in food and drink. For the inaugural awards, experts tasted wines from nine key wine-growing countries and assessed them based on complexity, flavour and finish. Best Portuguese WinePérola do Lima Vinho VerdePrice: £9.95Score: 96/100Tasting Notes: Crisp and zesty with hints of elderflower, fresh citrus, and green apple.Supplier: Slurp Best Italian Wine‘PassioneSentimento’ Passimento BiancoPrice: £11.99Score: 95/100Tasting Notes: Intense, bold tropical wine with fresh citrus…

Decanter has introduced a ‘Value’ category this year for wines that score above 95 (out of 100). A wine is considered ‘Value’ if it’s priced at £14.99 or below. In 2023, the wines in the Value category made up 13.48% of the 705 Gold medals given out. The criteria for these wines include exceptional fruit qualities, a vibrant regional style and overall tastiness. It’s important to view these scores in relation to the entire group of entries, especially given that only 3.86% of Gold medals were awarded. Lacrima Baccus, Summum Reserva Cava Brut, Penedès, Spain 2018Supplier: lacrimabaccus.comDescription: Complex, focused nose…

The IWSC, or the International Wine & Spirit Competition, is an annual competition that assesses and awards the highest-quality wines and spirits from around the world. Unfortunately, the IWSC web site isn’t really designed for consumers and instead it serves producers and retailers who put award stickers on their bottles. You can browse the results but it’s time consuming to narrow in on affordable wines to try. As far I can see, there were no own-brand supermarket gold awards for 2023 and these were the silver awards: Aldi Asda Co-Op Lidl

The results for the International Wine Challenge™ 2023, have recently been released. Over 40 countries entered, with thousands of wines, all of which were evaluated in a blind taste test by a panel of international experts. Over 6,000 wines received accolades. While well-established wine-producing countries like France, Australia, and Spain secured a prominent position in the medal tally, unexpected surprises were seen with the Netherlands winning its first silver medal and Egypt and Denmark taking their first bronze medals. There’s an article and search on the IWC web site. However, these details aren’t much use for those interested in knowing…
Majestic | The Wine Society | Tesco | Waitrose | Sainsbury’s | Morrisons | Co-op | Asda | Aldi | Lidl | £7 and Under | Over £20
Nearly a third (32%) of UK consumers say they have already used AI for alcoholic drinks advice. More
Among socially active wine buyers, 37% have bought a wine recommended online. More
In 2026, 72% of consumers now think wine knowledge is essential to appreciation, up 20 percentage points on 2025. More
Rías Baixas wines reached more than 107 countries in 2025 and exports represented 31 per cent of the denomination’s total sales. More
Light Strike Can Cause Wine Degradation in Just One Day. More
People actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. More
In the UK, 73% of Alcohol is Bought From Retail Rather Than Hospitality. More
UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. More
For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More
In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More
Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More
Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More
A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More
Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More
In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More
In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More
In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More
In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More
Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More
Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More
In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More
Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More
8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More
Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More
Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More
Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More
Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More
During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More
In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More
In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More
In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More
In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More
In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More
In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More
In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More
Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More
In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More
In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More
In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More
The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More
Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More
Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More
In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More
The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More
90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More
25% Off Wine Aldi Amarone Argentina Articles Asda Australia Award Awards25 Bibendum Bizarre Blog Books Bordeaux Bulgaria Bulk Bottling Cabernet Sauvignon Carménère Cava Champagne Chardonnay Chile Climate Change Coop Crémant Decanter Duty English Wine EPR Fairtrade Food France Furmint Germany Glossary Greece Health Hungary Italy IWSC Jeroboams Laithwaites Legislation Liberty Wines Lidl Low Alcohol M&S Majestic Malbec Merch Merlot Morrisons Natural News New Zealand Non-Alcoholic Ocado Old Vine Organic Past Tastings Pick List Pinotage Pinot Noir Port Portugal Primitivo Prosecco Regulations Reviews Ribera del Duero Riesling Rioja Ripasso Rose Sainsbury's Saperavi Sauvignon Blanc Shiraz Sicily South Africa Spain Sparkling Supermarkets Sustainable Tax Terroir Tesco The Wine Society Unrepresented USA Valpolicella Virgin Wines Waitrose Wanderlust Welsh Wine What to Buy Wine Art WineGB WIne Glasses Zinfandel