By : Anna

As part of a global drinks initiative to highlight high-quality wines from around the world, the London Wine Competition will be showcasing its 2018 Gold and Silver medal winners at the upcoming London Wine Fair, which will take place at Olympia London in West Kensington on May 21-23, 2018.

The 38th annual London Wine Fair, which features three days of innovative tastings, master classes and industry briefings, is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year for the UK wine industry. This year, the event is set to attract an even larger number of sommeliers, wine buyers, wine advisors, retail wine store managers, and on-trade wine experts, making it the perfect venue to introduce these influential wine insiders to some of the top-ranked wines in the world that picked up awards at the recently concluded London Wine Competition.

At this year’s London Wine Competition,16 wines from all over the world – including five from Australia, four from Italy, two from the UK, and one each from France, Moldova, New Zealand, Spain and the United States – were awarded the prestigious Gold medal, while another 137 wines were awarded Silver medals. These 150+ wines will now be available for tasting at the London Wine Fair, which is expected to feature more than 14,000 wines from more than 40 countries.

One of the London Wine Competition winners that will be showcased at the upcoming London Wine Fair will be Arcadian Shiraz from Idyll Wine Co. in Australia. This Australian Shiraz, which ranked No. 1 overall at the London Wine Competition and won “Wine of the Year” accolades, impressed wine judges with its combination of quality, value and packaging. It was one of just 16 wines that scored the 90 points or higher that were required to win a Gold medal.

In addition, attendees of the upcoming London Wine Fair should keep their eyes out for two award-winning UK wines from the London Wine Competition – Blanc de Blanc from Hoffman & Rathbone (ranked No. 5 at the London Wine Competition) and Classic Raimes English Sparkling (ranked No. 10), both of which received Gold medals at the event.

The list of London Wine Competition Gold medal winners that will be making an appearance at the upcoming London Wine Fair include:

 - Arcadian Shiraz, Idyll Wine Co (Australia)

 - Cuvee Pazo Pondal, Pazo Pondal (Spain)

 - Jarno Rosso, Castorani (Italy)

 - Old Vine Shiraz, Cape Barren Wines (Australia)

 - Blanc de Blancs, Hoffmann & Rathbone (Great Britain)

 - RedHeads Whip-Hand, Direct Wines Production (Australia)

 - Luna Vineyards 2016 Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Luna Vineyards (USA)

 - Cabernet Sauvignon IGP Château Vartely, Château Vartely (Moldova)

 - Offida DOCG Rosso, Velenosi Vini (Italy)

 - Classic Raimes English Sparkling (Great Britain)

 - Blue Pyrenees Section One Shiraz, Blue Pyrenees Estate (Australia)

 - Nero d'Avola IGT Terre Siciliane, When in Rome Wine Ltd (Italy)

 - Rosé Champagne Trésor de France (France)

 - 2015 Shiraz, Shaw Vineyard Estate (Australia)

 - Sweet Agnes Riesling, Nelson - Seifried Estate (New Zealand)

 - Podere Castorani Reserva, Castorani (Italy)

“We’re really excited about continually finding new ways to highlight and showcase the very best wines in the world that score highly on the basis of three judging criteria – quality, value and packaging,” said Sid Patel, CEO and founder of Beverage Trade Network, which organizes the London Wine Competition, as well as other wine industry events around the world.

“We couldn’t think of a better venue than the London Wine Fair to get these award-winning wines in front of influential commercial buyers in the wine trade,” Patel noted. For wine buyers looking for interesting new wines to add to their portfolio, the Gold and Silver medal winners at the London Wine Competition offer an unbeatable combination of taste, quality, value and packaging that could make them future customer favourites.