The London Wine Competition announced its winner on the 20th of July, 2020. For the third consecutive year, the London Wine Competition successfully awarded wines that shone amongst the three main criteria: Quality, Value, and Packaging.

As award-winning wines from the London Wine Competition are being promoted across the globe, LWC has opened up entries for the 2021 competition. Wine competitions have been an industry favorite for years, however, most wine competitions are judged in the same way - by blind tasting and judging wines based on quality. However, for the past three years, the London Wine Competition has broken tradition and has brought a different approach to judging on the table.

Just like every year, the 2021 London Wine Competition aims to set a true benchmark for buyers and consumers looking to buy wines of the best Quality, Value, and Packaging.

Why Quality, Value, Packaging?

Beverage Trade Network, the organizers of the London Wine Competition asked over a hundred buyers across the globe about how they pick wines for their portfolios and lists. In the end, it all boiled down to three main aspects - Quality, Value, & Packaging.

With this, the unique judging process of the London Wine Competition was birthed. Apart from quality, the London Wine Competition also judges all the wines on their packaging and value for money. To be more precise, the London Wine Competition judges in the way a consumer would, when picking a bottle.

The average customer always looks at the price first. Then they look at the label and pick out the wines with designs and stories that appeal to them. So, these two things come before a producer even gets a chance to show how well their product is.

Quality

We celebrate the wines that are both enjoyable and easy to drink, wines that are well-balanced where their acidity, tannins and alcohol levels all work seamlessly together.

Packaging

What a brand looks like is how every consumer chooses their wines. Up to 70% of consumers would choose a new drink just because it looks good. So, well-designed packaging is a must-to-consider factor.

Value

To be a good wine, it is not necessary to have a higher or cheaper price. What affects most is the value for money it holds.

The 2020 London Wine Competition

Over the past years, the London Wine Competition saw winners from across the globe, and highlighted wines based on their quality, value, and packaging - and this year was no different. 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 this year, just like every year.  

Some of the winning wines of the 2020 London Wine Competition include:

● Wine Of The Year - The Dead Arm Shiraz 2017, Australia, McLaren Vale

● Winery Of The Year - d'Arenberg, Australia, McLaren Vale

● Best Wine By Quality - The Dead Arm Shiraz 2017, Australia, McLaren Vale

● Best Wine By Value - Villa Saletta Chianti 2015, Toscana IGT, Italy

● Best Wine By Packaging - Silverado Vineyards SOLO Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Napa Valley, United States

View full results of 2020 LWC here

London Wine Competition makes sure that wines judged are recognized for their quality, value, and packaging, rather than their already acclaimed names and regions. We understand that good wines can be produced from regions which are not typically wine regions, and that’s why judges blind taste the wines to create a fair scoring.

The judging process

Wines that are entered in the London Wine Competition are judged by buyers and industry experts with current direct commercial buying responsibility, and drinks consultants and experts who are also directly involved in the development of new brands or buying drinks for commercial resale.

The points scored when judging the three competitions are divided to ensure the right weighting is given to each of the three key criteria of quality, price and design. It is broken down as such.

Quality Score: marked out of 100

Value Score: marked out of 100

Packaging/Design Score: marked out of 100

For the medals:

Gold: you need to score 90 or over.

Silver: a score between 76-89.

Bronze: a score between 65-75.

Along with the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, the London Wine Competition also offers seven other special category awards, namely:

● Wine of the Year

● Winery of the Year

● Best in Show by Country

● Best in Show by Varietal

● Best Wine of The Year by Quality

● Best Wine of The Year by Value

● Best Wine of The Year by Package

So, the medal-winning wines are the ones that:

● Offer the best value for the price

● Offer the best quality for their price

● Stand out of the shelf against the competitors

● Tell their story in the most relevant way

Entries for the 2021 London Wine Competition are now open.

Why Enter?

● Along with winners being awarded medals, the London Wine Competition also offers a wide range of marketing tools to help take winning brands forward.

● Results to go to 50,000+ trade professionals around the world in the Beverage Trade Network community

● Results will get press awareness among media partners of the London Wine Competition and will be posted on BTN news and Bevroute News

● Results to go to 20,000+ Wine Buyers around the world

● Buyers will see your package giving you great exposure

● Year-round social media promotion by London Wine Competition and Beverage Trade Network

Entries for the 2021 London Wine Competition are now open. Enter your wines now

Key Dates:

Registration Ends - Feb 22, 2021

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

Check out the winners

New: Quantity Discount Now Available

4 to 9 entries: 10% discount

10 to 14 entries: 15% discount

15 or more entries: 20% discount

---

London Wine Competition has been created exclusively to helping drinks producers and brand owners get closer to the buyers, distributors, and retailers that can bring their products to market.

Put your wines in front of top wine buyers and get rated by Quality, Value for Money, and Packaging.

If you're looking to get in front of a leading panel of top-level wine buyers with current direct commercial buying responsibility in London, now is the best time to enter your wines.

LWC Entry Process & Fees

Deadline For Submission Is Approaching Fast.

Leading wine brands from around the world now have an opportunity to grow their business and gain the attention of wine buyers, wine directors and influencers within the UK wine industry. Time to submit your wines in the 2021 London Wine Competition.